Book Club Night Kit

This Is Me

Hayden Panettiere

Cozy night

Hayden Panettiere, the actress from Heroes and Nashville, looks back at growing up in the spotlight and what it took to find her way back to herself. It's an honest memoir that makes for tender, heartfelt conversation over something warm.

Come As You Are: A Cozy Night with This Is Me

Bring your comfiest socks and an open heart for warm biscuits, mulled cider and gentle conversation about Hayden Panettiere's honest memoir. No pressure, just good company.

Reading level: Easy

Best for: Clubs that like heartfelt memoirs, pop-culture nostalgia and real, supportive conversation on the couch

Discussion

Warm-up

1.Before you opened this book, what was your first memory of Hayden Panettiere on screen, and how did that picture of her feel next to the woman you met in these pages?
2.If you could curl up with one comforting thing from your own childhood (a show, a snack, a blanket, a song) while reading this, what would it be?

Digging in

1.She grew up with much of her life happening in public. Was there a moment that made you want to reach through the page and give her a hug?
2.Which parts of her story about mental health felt the most brave to you, and did any of them make you feel less alone in something you've carried?
3.Family, both the love and the complications, runs through this memoir. What stirred up feelings about your own family, and which of those feelings felt comforting?
4.The title is a statement of self-acceptance. Where in your own life have you had a 'this is me' moment, even a small one?

Going deep

1.Memoirs ask us to hold someone's hardest seasons with care. How did it feel to read about her struggles alongside the public version you knew, and did it change how gently you want to treat people whose lives you only see from the outside?
2.By the final pages, what did you most want for her, and what would you want someone to wish for you after reading the story of your own hard years?

On the table & to sip

To eat

Buttermilk Biscuits with Honey Butter

A nod to her years in Nashville. They're warm and homey, easy to bake from a simple recipe or a good store-bought dough, and made for passing around.

Skillet Baked Mac and Cheese

Childhood comfort food for a book about growing up too fast. It's golden and bubbly, it can be made ahead, and it asks everyone to slow down and share.

Banana Pudding in Little Jars

A classic Southern dessert that fits the book's Nashville chapter. The jars make each serving feel personal, like a small act of self-care.

To sip

Mulled Apple Cider (no alcohol)

Simmered with cinnamon sticks and orange slices so the house smells like a hug. The main, all-inclusive drink of the night.

Honey Lavender Steamer (no alcohol)

Warm milk (or oat milk) with honey and a little lavender. It's a calming, nurturing sip for a book about healing and taking care of yourself.

Tennessee Hot Toddy

A gentle optional nod to Nashville, with a splash of Tennessee whiskey, honey, lemon and hot water. Since the book deals with recovery, keep it low-key and give the alcohol-free drinks equal billing.