I went into Unsweetened somewhat blind. I knew Jodie Sweetin had struggled with substance abuse, but outside of the occasional tabloid headline at a supermarket checkout, I’d never paid much attention to her personal life. It just wasn’t on my radar. I did, however, grow up loving Full House. No matter how saccharine sweet it got, I always enjoyed the episodes, and I especially liked reading some of the behind-the-scenes stories in If You Would Have Told Me by John Stamos. Naturally, I was expecting more Full House stories here too.

The book, however, is light on nostalgic TV anecdotes and instead focuses on Sweetin’s long, painful battle with addiction and her path to recovery. Though it wasn’t what I expected, that doesn’t make it a bad book. She comes across as honest and self-aware about her struggles, expressing a clear intellectual understanding of the need to break free from addiction — even as she describes the powerful pull drugs and alcohol still had on her.

What stood out most to me was her refusal to use her Hollywood childhood as an excuse. She explains how her drinking began at a young age as a way to fit in with people she wanted to be friends with — something many of us can relate to on some level. I was particularly struck by how apologetic she was about touring universities and giving lectures on recovery while secretly relapsing, sometimes hard. She writes about it with sincerity and a sense of genuine remorse.

So while the book wasn’t what I thought it would be, it was still worth my time. It’s an honest, cautionary memoir from someone who was simply trying to piece her life back together.