Only Say Good Things: Surviving ‘Playboy’ and Finding Myself

This juicy debut memoir from Hugh Hefner’s widow provides an intimate account of her decade-long stint inside the Playboy Mansion. Adrift during her senior year at San Diego State University in 2008, Crystal was encouraged by a friend to send a photo to Playboy during one of the magazine’s open calls. She was swiftly invited to a Halloween party at the mansion, where Hefner picked her out of a lineup to join him in his private quarters; the next day, he invited her to move into the mansion full-time. Crystal enthusiastically accepted, and, over the next five years as one of Hefner’s “girls,” she unsuccessfully attempted to establish an emotional connection with the much older man, who occasionally exhibited tender feelings toward her but mostly treated her with coldness and cruelty. After Crystal left the mansion briefly to date Jordan McGraw, the son of TV personality Dr. Phil, Hefner proposed to her. She accepted, feeling that he “needed her.” Married in 2012, the two remained together until Hefner’s death in 2017. Crystal writes at length about the mansion’s chilling atmosphere: Hefner kept keys to every door, and insisted Crystal and his rotating roster of other girlfriends maintain their hair and weight (at one point, he taps Crystal’s hip and tells her it’s “time to tone”). The mogul, who comes across as narcissistic and obsessed with his legacy, insisted that his close contacts “only say good things” about him—when Crystal doesn’t, it lands as liberating rather than petty. This tell-all is surprisingly empowering. Agent: Lara Love Hardin, True Literary. (Jan.)