Author Guide · Memoir
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Brooke Shields was 11 when she made Pretty Baby (1978) and still a teenager when she appeared in the Calvin Klein jeans ads of 1980. She went on to Princeton, graduating in 1987 with a thesis on the films of Louis Malle, the director of Pretty Baby. Her books cover the same life from different angles: an early book written while she was a student, a memoir of postpartum depression that started a public argument with Tom Cruise, a book about her mother Teri, and, at 59, a book about ageing. This guide covers her four key books, in order, and where to begin.
By Lisanne Swart · 4 key books · 1985–2025 · Updated October 2026
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Quick answer
Brooke Shields’s key books are On Your Own (1985), Down Came the Rain (2005), about postpartum depression, There Was a Little Girl (2014), about her mother, and Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old (2025). Start with Down Came the Rain, her best-known book.
Where to Start with Brooke Shields
If you want her best-known book
→ Down Came the Rain (2005) — postpartum depression after the birth of her first daughter.
If you want her childhood and her mother
→ There Was a Little Girl (2014) — growing up famous, managed by Teri Shields.
If you want her most recent book
→ Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old (2025) — on ageing as a woman.
4 Brooke Shields Books, in Order
On Your Own
Published by Villard in 1985, while Shields was a student at Princeton, which she attended from 1983 to 1987.
Down Came the Rain
Published by Hyperion, an account of the postpartum depression Shields experienced after the birth of her first daughter, Rowan, in 2003, and of her treatment, which included the antidepressant Paxil. In 2005 Tom Cruise publicly criticised her use of antidepressants, and she replied in The New York Times.
There Was a Little Girl
Published by Dutton in November 2014, two years after the death of her mother, Teri Shields, who managed her career. Shields writes about their relationship and her mother’s alcoholism.
Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old
Published by Flatiron Books in January 2025, when Shields was 59. As the subtitle says, it collects her thoughts on ageing as a woman.
In What Order to Read Brooke Shields
Her books are self-contained, so you can read them by subject. Read in publication order, they follow her life backwards and forwards: Down Came the Rain covers her late thirties, There Was a Little Girl returns to her childhood, and the 2025 book looks at the present.
On Your Own (1985), published while she was at Princeton, is mainly of interest to readers who want everything.
A reading path
1. Down Came the Rain (2005)
2. There Was a Little Girl (2014)
3. Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old (2025)
Everything Else Brooke Shields Published
Beyond the 4 key books: 2 more, grouped by kind.
Open a group with the + to see every book in it.
Early and children’s books
2
2 books · 1978–2009
- 1978The Brooke Bookan early book published by Pocket Books when she was a child star
- 2009It’s the Best Day Ever, Dad!a picture book, illustrated by Cori Doerrfeld
The years · 1965–2025
Quick facts about Brooke Shields
- Known for
- Child stardom in Pretty Baby (1978) and the Calvin Klein jeans ads (1980), and an outspoken memoir about postpartum depression
- 1965
- Born in Manhattan
- 1978
- Pretty Baby, aged 11
- 1987
- Graduates from Princeton
- 2025
- A book on ageing
- Born
- 31 May 1965, Manhattan, New York City
- Early fame
- Pretty Baby (1978); Calvin Klein jeans ads (1980)
- Education
- Princeton University, 1987; thesis on the films of Louis Malle
- Stage
- Broadway roles in Grease, Cabaret, Chicago and The Addams Family
- Married
- Andre Agassi (1997–1999); Chris Henchy (since 2001), two daughters
- Documentary
- Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields (Hulu, 2023), directed by Lana Wilson
The red mark is 2005: Down Came the Rain, her memoir of postpartum depression.
How Brooke Shields Writes: Public Life, Private Subjects
Each of her adult books takes one subject and stays with it: depression after childbirth, her mother, ageing. They are memoirs organised around one subject rather than full life stories.
She writes about mental health openly. Down Came the Rain describes her depression after childbirth and her treatment with an antidepressant, which put the book at the centre of the 2005 dispute with Tom Cruise.
Her mother is present in every book. There Was a Little Girl is entirely about Teri Shields, who made the decisions about her early career, the mother who managed her career.
Watch
Brooke Shields on her new book
Brooke Shields talks to ABC’s Good Morning America in 2025 about Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old.
Frequently asked questions about Brooke Shields’s books
How many books has Brooke Shields written?
Four key books are on this page: On Your Own (1985), Down Came the Rain (2005), There Was a Little Girl (2014) and Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old (2025). She has also published children’s and early books, including The Brooke Book (1978) and the picture book It’s the Best Day Ever, Dad! (2009).
What are Brooke Shields’s books in order?
On Your Own (1985), Down Came the Rain (2005), There Was a Little Girl (2014) and Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old (2025). Earlier and alongside these came The Brooke Book (1978) and children’s books such as It’s the Best Day Ever, Dad! (2009).
Where should I start with Brooke Shields?
With Down Came the Rain (2005), her memoir of postpartum depression. If you are more interested in her childhood fame, start with There Was a Little Girl (2014).
What is Brooke Shields’s most famous book?
Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression (2005).
What happened between Brooke Shields and Tom Cruise?
In May 2005 Cruise publicly criticised Shields for taking the antidepressant Paxil for postpartum depression. She replied in a New York Times opinion piece, “War of Words”, on 1 July 2005. Cruise apologised to her in person on 31 August 2006, and she called the apology “heartfelt”.
Is There Was a Little Girl about her mother?
Yes. It is about Teri Shields, who managed her career and died in 2012. Shields writes about their relationship and about her mother’s alcoholism.
Is Brooke Shields’s documentary based on her books?
No. Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields (Hulu, 2023), directed by Lana Wilson, is a separate two-part documentary, not an adaptation of any of her books.
Did Brooke Shields go to college?
Yes. She studied at Princeton from 1983 and graduated in 1987; her senior thesis was on the films of Louis Malle, including Pretty Baby.
Footnotes
- Brooke Shields — Wikipedia
- Down Came the Rain — Publishers Weekly
- There Was a Little Girl — Kirkus Reviews
- Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old — Publishers Weekly
- Brooke Shields on surgery, ageing and her memoir — NPR
Bibliography last verified 9 October 2026. Where sources give different first-publication years, this page uses the year in library catalogues or the publisher’s own record.
This list was not put together by a machine.
The notes are all mine,
and the books are all his.
Lisanne x
Written by Lisanne Swart, who has curated reading lists and author guides at lisanneswart.com since 2021.
See more on her personal bookshelf.
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