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Jessica Simpson signed with Columbia Records at seventeen, sold more than two million copies of her debut album Sweet Kisses (1999) in the United States, and let MTV film her first marriage for Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica (2003–2005). Open Book, published in February 2020, tells what the cameras did not show: childhood sexual abuse, years of dependence on alcohol and prescription pills, and the pressure on her body and image. It topped The New York Times bestseller list. This guide covers her 1 key book, and where to begin.
By Lisanne Swart · 1 key books · 2020–2020 · Updated October 2026
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Quick answer
Jessica Simpson has written one book, Open Book (2020), a memoir that topped The New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. It covers her childhood, her music career, her marriage to Nick Lachey, her relationship with John Mayer, and her dependence on alcohol and pills. Six new songs were released alongside it.
Where to Start with Jessica Simpson
If you want her whole story
→ Open Book (2020) — from childhood in Texas to stopping drinking.
If you know her only from Newlyweds
→ Open Book (2020) — the marriage the cameras showed, told from her side.
1 Jessica Simpson Book
Open Book
Her memoir, published in February 2020, follows her from childhood in Texas to pop stardom, reality television and her fashion business. She writes about being sexually abused as a child, her marriage to Nick Lachey, her relationship with John Mayer, body image, her dependence on alcohol and prescription drugs, and her decision to stop drinking. It topped The New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists and was accompanied by six new songs, her first new music since 2010.
How to Read Jessica Simpson
There is only one book, so start there. Open Book runs from her childhood to the period after she stopped drinking.
Six new songs were released as part of the book, her first new music since Happy Christmas (2010), and make a natural companion to it.
A reading path
1. Open Book (2020)
2. The six new songs released with Open Book (2020)
The years · 1980–2020
Quick facts about Jessica Simpson
- Known for
- Jessica Simpson is known as a pop singer of the early 2000s, for the MTV reality series Newlyweds, and for her fashion brand, the Jessica Simpson Collection.
- 1980
- Born in Abilene, Texas
- 1999
- Debut album Sweet Kisses
- 2005
- Launches the Jessica Simpson Collection
- 2020
- Open Book
- Born
- 10 July 1980, Abilene, Texas
- Music
- Signed to Columbia Records at 17; Sweet Kisses (1999) sold over two million copies in the US
- Television
- Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, MTV, 2003–2005
- Business
- The Jessica Simpson Collection, launched in 2005
- Book
- Open Book (2020), New York Times number one
- Family
- Three children with Eric Johnson; the couple announced their separation in January 2025
The red mark is 2020: Open Book, her only book so far.
How Jessica Simpson Writes: Telling It Straight
Open Book is written in the first person, in keeping with its title. In an NPR interview in February 2020 she said there had never been a moment in her life when she had been more honest with herself.
The book was written with a collaborator, the writer Kevin Carr O’Leary, a common arrangement for celebrity memoirs.
Difficult subjects — childhood sexual abuse, alcohol and prescription drugs, body image — are part of the story alongside her music, television and marriages.
Watch
Jessica Simpson on Open Book
Jessica Simpson talks to NBC’s TODAY in 2020, the week her memoir Open Book came out.
Frequently asked questions about Jessica Simpson’s book
How many books has Jessica Simpson written?
One: the memoir Open Book (2020).
How many books has Jessica Simpson written?
There is only one so far, Open Book, published in February 2020.
Where should I start with Jessica Simpson?
With Open Book (2020), her memoir and only book.
What is Jessica Simpson’s most famous book?
Open Book (2020). It topped The New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists.
Did Jessica Simpson write Open Book herself?
She wrote it with a collaborator, Kevin Carr O’Leary. The story and material are her own.
What does Open Book reveal?
That she was sexually abused as a child, that she depended on alcohol and prescription drugs before she stopped drinking, and her side of her marriage to Nick Lachey and her relationship with John Mayer.
Was Open Book a bestseller?
Yes. It topped The New York Times bestseller list and the Publishers Weekly list.
Did Jessica Simpson release music with the book?
Yes. Six new songs were released alongside Open Book, her first new music since the 2010 album Happy Christmas.
Is Open Book worth reading if you’re not a fan?
Much of it is about childhood sexual abuse, alcohol and prescription drugs, and body image rather than fame, so it can be read without knowing her music or Newlyweds.
Footnotes
- Jessica Simpson — Wikipedia
- Jessica Simpson opens up about addiction and abuse in new memoir — NBC News
- Jessica Simpson talks of alcohol abuse, finding herself again in memoir Open Book — NPR Weekend Edition, February 2020
- Open Book, Jessica Simpson with Kevin Carr O’Leary — library catalogue record
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.
“There’s never been a moment in my life that I’ve been more honest with myself.”
— Jessica Simpson on Open Book, NPR Weekend Edition Sunday, February 2020
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