Paris: The Memoir

Paris: The Memoir is the celebrity memoir of Paris Hilton, socialite, philanthropist, business person, DJ, and performance artist. The book was published in 2023. Hilton focuses a substantial portion of the book on her experiences in emotional support boarding schools. She goes on to tell about the advocacy work she does to try to stop the abuse that happens at some of these facilities. In addition to this cause and the associated stories, Hilton addresses familial relationships and her well known “dumb blonde” persona. She discusses many of her notable public sightings and experiences, as well as other personal anecdotes that have helped shape her into the person she is today.

The page numbers in this guide reference the 2023 HarperCollins Kindle version of the book.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide include references to alcohol and drug use, as well as sexual, physical, verbal, and emotional abuse, including the sexual abuse of minors by adults. The book references post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Mentions of suicide, possible attempted suicides, and self-harm and self-medication are also included.

Summary

Hilton has attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, and she believes that this diagnosis explains much of her behavior both now and when she was younger. This is because, due to her ADHD, she craves stimulation, novelty, and fun, and she gets bored easily. Here and throughout the memoir, Paris discusses The Blessings and Hardships of ADHD. In addition to this diagnosis, Paris addresses her family name. While she acknowledges that she was born into wealth and privilege, Hilton also works hard. She maintains that her financial success is due to that hard work bolstered by the privileges that come with her name and the socioeconomic status of her parents.

Hilton enjoys the party scene as a teenager although she does not drink, do drugs, or have sex. She sneaks out of her family home to go to clubs because the music and lights make her feel good. One year, her family and others go to Las Vegas. She and her friend, Nicole Richie, leave their room to meet boys, and they end up walking the Las Vegas strip. When they cannot find a cab to take them back to the hotel, they ask a police officer for help. Due to their age, the police officer calls their parents. Hilton is not allowed to call Richie any longer, but the two still manage to talk from their balconies at home.

Hilton is a survivor of a pedophile during her younger years. Despite only being in junior high, Paris was pursued by a teacher. One night, when he finds out that her parents are not home, the teacher tells her that he is outside, and she goes in his car to meet him. He kisses her, but her parents pull in and see them. He quickly drives away with Hilton still in the car, blaming her for what happened. Eventually, he drives her back home. At the time, she does not understand pedophilia, but now she blames the grown man for his actions and knows that what happened was inappropriate. This anecdote represents one instance in which Paris discusses The Importance of Placing Blame Where It Is Deserved.

Eventually Hilton is sent to Palm Springs to live with her grandmother, Gram Cracker. While Hilton feels the pain of being separated from her family, she loves her grandmother, and the two have a good time together. She has more freedom at her grandmother’s house. Still, Gram Cracker has expectations, and Hilton faces repercussions when she does not live up to them.

Hilton is soon sent to three different residential schools for troubled youth. She calls these emotional growth boarding schools, but she says she received no real education at these schools. She is first sent to Charles E. Dederich University (CEDU). She survives emotional abuse at the school, in large part because of their “Raps.” During Raps, students are expected to verbally assault each other, using students’ weaknesses and fears against them. All students are expected to participate. After Raps, students are required to participate in “Smoosh,” where they are forced to cuddle with each other and staff. Despite being repulsed by Smoosh, Hilton is forced to take part. The first time Hilton escapes, she manages to make it to a pay phone. She calls her Aunt Kyle to come help her, but her aunt turns her in, and staff from the school come to bring her back.

The next residential facility Hilton is sent to is Ascent. She is taken by transporters to the new school, and while at the airport, she manages to convince one of the transporters to let her go to the bathroom. Hilton kicks the stall door open and runs away through the airport. Eventually, she manages to call her mother, but her mother has had their phone tapped, and the authorities come to take Hilton to Ascent. Ascent is described in more militaristic terms than CEDU. Again, Hilton escapes with another girl who she calls Tess. They make it to a mobile home, and the woman in the home helps them. The two are eventually caught and sent back. Hilton calls the final challenge at Ascent “Track/Trek.” This requires a days-long hike through mountains. At the end, the children are supposed to be reunited with their parents. Hilton is under the impression that she will go home after the challenge, but because she is under 18 years old, she is told she is being sent to another program instead. While her parents transport her to this new program, she again escapes but is found on a Greyhound bus and is sent to Cascade, her third program.

At Cascade, she meets a girl she calls Mouse who asks Hilton to take her along should she try to escape. Feeling obligated to the girl, Hilton does take her along. The two make it to the home of a friend of Hilton’s, and Hilton enjoys some freedom. Ultimately, she realizes she must leave town and cannot bring Mouse with her, so she gives the girl all her money and sneaks out of a Denny’s, leaving Mouse. As an adult, Hilton understands that she left the girl to the wolves and apologizes to her in her book. Again, Hilton is caught, and this time she is sent to Provo Canyon School in Provo, Utah, reported to be the worst of all the residential programs. Hilton experiences sexual, physical, and emotional abuse at the school before she is finally released shortly before her 18th birthday. While she addresses the abuse and poor treatment she experienced as a result of her parents sending her away, she also acknowledges that her parents believed they were doing what was best and remained ignorant to the horrors at the schools. Paris believes in Taking Responsibility for One’s Actions and understands that she put her parents in a difficult position.

In the years after leaving the schools, Hilton creates a persona for herself as a “dumb blonde bimbo.” She portrays this character in the reality show she shares with Nicole Richie entitled, The Simple Life. Hilton spends many nights partying. People want to be with her because she can get into the good clubs, and eventually she realizes she can monetize her partying. The early years of her young adulthood occur before it was common to carry cell phones at all times, and she remembers those clubbing years fondly because she believes people were freer then. One boyfriend convinces her to have sex with him on video, and while she does not want to do this, she agrees. Years later, the man releases the sex tape without her consent.

Over the years, Hilton builds many different brands and amasses a large amount of wealth on her own. She spends much time learning how to be a DJ, for which she becomes highly paid and sought after. During the filming of an autobiographical documentary, Hilton tells the story of her abuse at the residential facilities. She had not shared this information with anybody before. She goes on to become an advocate for reform in the industry, and she considers these advocacy successes to be the greatest successes of her career. As her memoir ends, she and husband, Carter Reum, are expecting their first child.