Maci Bookout somehow found some time between schlepping leather-pocket T-shirts, wrangling kids and avoiding Ryan Edwards to write a book — the third for the Teen Mom OG star.
Maci shared the big news on social media Wednesday, revealing it’s something she’s always wanted to do.
“I have experienced SO MANY emotions writing this book and bringing it to life,” Maci wrote on Instagram. “Years of putting pencil to paper, trying to make sense of life and myself. ”
Maci opened up about how nervous she is about releasing her personal poems.
“Truth be told, releasing this book scares the hell out of me – but if I have ever wanted anything, it was for my poetry to be published. The time has come,” she wrote.
The poetry book, entitled The Battle Upstairs, is being put out by Post Hill Press, the same company that published Maci’s first book Bulletproof, as well as many of the other ‘Teen Mom’ stars’ books.
Simon and Schuster describes The Battle Upstairs as an “authentic collection of poems” that explore Maci’s “inner life as a young mother, wife and woman.”
“In this eclectic collection of free verse, Maci Bookout lays bare the pain of past heartbreak, while revealing the strength of womanhood and the power to found in the truth,” the description continues. “Taking cues from the style of Rupi Kaur and Charly Cox, Maci’s poetry tells a picturesque tale that weaves through her life thus far, from the emotional collapse of past relationships to the serenity and fortitude she found within herself.”
While The Battle Upstairs is Maci’s first book of poetry, she’s no stranger to the publishing world. In addition to Bulletproof, Maci and her husband Taylor McKinney also released an adult coloring book of their wedding photos back in 2017 (as you do).
Maci’s new book, The Battle Upstairs, is available for pre-order through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Maci shared the pre-order links on Twitter, asking that her followers “be open, be gentle, and read between the lines one in a while.”
https://twitter.com/MaciBookout/status/1253027081358921729?s=20
Maci’s book isn’t the only ‘Teen Mom’ book making its way to bookshelves this spring. Leah Messer‘s upcoming book, Hope, Grace & Faith, is also being released in May.
(Photos: Instagram; Simon & Schuster; Twitter)
26 Responses
Wait what, Maci has PCOS, I never heard that before.
stay lit
These Women must be Terrible with money.. need more money, let me write a book. I predict when the show ends they will all be looking for a get rich quick scheme to avoid a hard days pay… Cate and Tyler will be the first to invest in an Alpaca farm!
100%! Cate and Ty will probably be filing for bankruptcy soon because they owe more than 800k to the man. They have no concept of the dollar or really life in general because their parents (minus Ty’s mom) didn’t teach them anything about life and once they were out on their own the had piles and piles of money dumped in their laps, also everyone around them uses them as a bank with no regard. I think Chelsea is the only one out of the franchise that will be able to maintain a pretty similar lifestyle after the show, Maci won’t go broke, but they’ll certainly be downsizing, the rest are doomed.
@ coryandtrevor.. Agreed! They may file for bankruptcy for owing money elsewhere , not against their taxes though. I’m sure they probably owe money for the company that seemed to fold among other things..if they don’t think it’s important to pay taxes they probably never paid a medical bill. As far as owing Uncle Sam, they will pay every dime of that even if it means the government taking everything from them, I’m surprised they’re mtv checks haven’t been garnished yet.
You’re right about Chelsea, but Cole goes to work everyday , unlike the most of them that both stay home and do nothing for all that money.
Stay safe ?
Rhines out to get me
Mackenzie is too
I drink a lot of beer,
now I have to poo.
And I also think one of her poems will start with either “I heard that you were feeling ill…” a la Ferris Bueller, or “there once was a man from Nantucket”
My Life
By Maci Bookout
I have PCOS,
Rhine’s still a jackass.
I have too many children,
But Rhine’s my biggest burden.
Oopsie babies are my life,
That’s how I became a wife.
Drinking beer like a sailor
In a TTM shirt with Taylor
My days go by like this
Buy my books please.
Poetry isn’t a popular cup of tea in general. I think it’s very brave to share something so personal with the world, especially knowing it’s a niche market.
She included some snippets of poetry in her other books. It wasn’t bad.
I don’t think she’s emotionless or uncommunicative like others said, but even if she was, a lot of people who don’t express their feelings verbally do so artistically (ie Poetry).
But I think my biggest pet peeve is all the snark toward her accomplishments or lack of mention of them at all. She got a degree and used it to create a marketing company, which is never mentioned in connection with Teen Mom because, as she put it, she wanted to know that she built it off of her own abilities and not mtvs opportunities. That’s her full time job. She assists her husband with his clothing line (his full time job). And it seems like she always has passion projects in the works. I don’t understand the jealousy and hatred. It’s like people want her to be a perpetual failure because she had a baby at 16. Like they think without mtv she’d have accomplished nothing. Not realistic.
End rant.
Side note: I never knew about the adult coloring book. ?
I love poetry, but not into reading any literature from anyone in this franchise. I’m not dissing Maci for releasing poetry though.
Think it is too late for her to get this one in? She can use it and she doesn’t even have to give me credit:
ordinary day
what should be do go to work?
no just beer and shirts
This might not be what I want to read, but i think this is a good project. It comes from HER,SHE wrote it. She did’nt just put her name on it like with all the other TM-books.
That book cover is so cringeworthy. How very early 2000’s deviantart of her. She talks about SO MANY emotions, but she is one of the most emotionless people on that show. Her personality is hard to come by.
Mmmmm, pass.
I’d turn to this one for poetry as much as I would Michelle Duggar for advice on effective birth control.
I’m quarantined, have watched all the shows on my DVR, started watching new shows, surfed YouTube at all hours, read tons of books, created tons of music yet I’m bored out of my mind…but not bored enough to pre-order this poetry masterpiece!??
Ooh, crisis meeting in the Baltierra house. At least three women required to listen to Ty the poet nag and shit talk on Maci.
Jack of all trades, Master of none
99 bottles of beer on the wall…
Roses are red
Violets are blue
How many copies will she sell?
I reckon about 2
So now she’s a clothing designer, wilderness survival, an activist and a poet?! Hard pass, hmmm, I wonder how she is afforded all these opportunities.. Real question, are Rhine’s eyes like that because of the drugs, because they don’t really look red to me? What kind of dope makes you look that way?
He was just really sleepy when they shot that scene! MTV producer said he was.
Right, kind of like how he was “sleepy” when driving to he and Mac’s wedding. It’s disgusting how mtv makes all these excuses for so much digusting Anti-Christ behavior because it makes for good tv. It wasn’t even a good excuse, usually when a person is tired, they have a hard time keeping their eyes open, not the other way around.
Bulging eyes were always a clue to me that my jackass, very Rhine-like ex was using opioids again. Thank God my step-mom talked me out of accepting that dude’s marriage proposal. I have a friend who gets wide eyed on pot but i highly doubt that’s what Rhine is on. A lot of people who are addicted to opiates don’t like smoking pot because it brings them down off of their opioid high because one is a downer and the other an upper. Yes, i used to be an addict (almost 12 years clean now). That’s why i know this stuff. My parents are so proud. ?
Good on you for getting clean!
I smoke weed to bring myself down. I have really bad anxiety and some days I feel like I’m running a mile a minute. And a lot of my friends smoke too, and I don’t think any of them have gotten wide eyed while smoking.
I’ve seen so many opiate addicts (myself included, 8 years clean), I never noticed buggin’ eyes (actually the opposite), but they’re voices (especially my ex) were tip-offs. That guttural “I need to clear my throat” sound. Keefer and Jenelle (mainly her) had the sound when they were nodding on the couch.
Oh my… I know, I know and I know, I’m a little late on commenting after the fact but I just had to ask.. are you being sarcastic? Because last time I checked (addict for 12 years also) opiates and pot are both definitely downers..,
Yeah, she lasted exactly 5 minutes on Naked and Afraid.