The star of the reality show "Kendra" shares the story of her life from her childhood in San Diego and years with Playboy to her rise to celebrity on "The Girls Next Door" and marriage to NFL player Hank Baskett.

Autorentext

Kendra Wilkinson was a dental assistant in her hometown of San Diego before she was discovered by Hugh Hefner and became a star of the The Girls Next Door, which premiered in 2005. In 2009 Kendra left the Mansion and began starring in Kendra, a reality show that follows her as she embarks on her new life with husband Hank Baskett, who plays for the Philadelphia Eagles, and prepares for motherhood.

Klappentext

The former The Girls Next Door favorite and the current star of the E! hit series Kendra bares all in this funny, fresh, fish-out-of-water memoir that captures the spirit of one of the most beloved Playboy cover models in history. KENDRA BARES ALL Fans of the E! smash hit series The Girls Next Door fell in love with sporty Playboy beauty Kendra Wilkinson's care- free spirit, infectious laugh, and down-to-earth nature. Now that she's moved out of the world's most famous bachelor pad and into her own delightfully chaotic world on Kendra as wife to NFL star Hank Baskett and mother to their newborn son, we've watched her hilarious antics as she adjusts to domestic life. But how much do we really know about the fun-loving star? In this humorous and optimistic, sometimes heartbreaking, but always unfailingly honest memoir, Kendra reveals the highs and lows of her extraordinary journey. She wasn't always the quintessential girl next door. Before she was a reality television superstar, Hugh Hefner's girlfriend, or one of the most popular Playboy cover models ever, Kendra was an athletic tomboy whose father walked out on her family when she was a little girl. She grew into a rebellious teenager with a serious drug habit before she quit cold turkey and beat the odds to graduate from a high school that almost didn't give her a second (or third, or fourth) chance. Following her rocky teenage years, an out-of-the- blue phone call from Hugh Hefner changed everything. Kendra dishes candidly about life in the Playboy Mansion: the sex, the parties, the show, and even her relationships with her Girls Next Door costars--Hef, Holly, and Bridget. She tells the true story about how she and Hank met and built a relationship in secret while she was still Hef's girl- friend and a public face of Playboy. Finally, she reflects on the slew of unexpected changes in the short space of a year that have brought her sliding into home from Playboy party girl to wife and mother with a blooming Hollywood career. If you think you've seen all of Kendra, think again. She's only warming up. . . .

Zusammenfassung
A light, fun memoir, Sliding into Home will cover Kendra Wilkinson's childhood as a tomboy, her Playboy years (including her life with magazine mogul Hugh Hefner at the Mansion), her rise to fame on E!'s hit series' The Girls Next Doorand Kendra, and her new life with NFL-player husband Hank Baskett and a baby on the way.

While Kendra is known for her fun-loving nature and her autobiography is upbeat, she describes the darker aspects of her life in the book as well. Sliding into home is primarily a light hearted, fish-out-of-water story filled with fun anecdotes about the Mansion, her new marriage--including how she's adjusting to her conservative in-laws--and preparing for motherhood.

Leseprobe
**CHAPTER 1
**
A Tale of Two Kendras

“So you’ll be naked?”

“Well, I’ll be painted,” I corrected Zack, my live-in boyfriend.

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t know, but I’m sure it will be fine.”

I wasn’t sure spending an evening as a painted girl at Hugh Hefner’s seventy-eighth birthday party would actually be fine, but I was hoping it would turn out to be. At the very least, I would make a couple hundred dollars, meet some cool people, and get a chance to check out the Playboy Mansion. How could I turn that down?

And besides, it was Zack who had initiated the whole thing. He’d taken me to the car show where a photographer had said he wanted to set up a photo shoot with me, and at the time Zack was all for it. So it seemed totally logical that when the photographer posted the photos on One Model Place—a sort of MySpace for models—if any work came from it, Zack would support me.

Well, the photographer posted the photos, and that same day a guy named Mark called from Playboy and asked about me.

The truth is, I wasn’t exactly sure what the Playboy Mansion was—or who Hugh Hefner was, for that matter. I knew about the bunny; I had an uncle who worked at the Playboy Club in Atlantic City, and he would send my brother and me T-shirts and sweatshirts with the bunny on them when we were kids. I’d wear them to school and all the kids would tease me and say Playboy was gross, but I thought it was cool.

Beyond that, I didn’t know much about Playboy. But I knew enough to know that getting a phone call from someone who worked there could be the beginning of something big.

Mark’s first call wasn’t guaranteed to lead to anything. He mentioned that he was looking for girls to work at Hef’s upcoming birthday party. I figured Playboy had a lot of models to choose from for the party, and it was a long shot. But a couple of days later Mark called back.

“Mr. Hefner saw a photo of you and wants to call you personally,” he told me. “I gave him your number, so expect a call.”

I was stunned. “What are you talking about? Expect a call? Why?” I was weirded out by the whole thing. Why would he want to call me?

“Listen,” Mark said. “He only likes girls in college, so tell him you go to college.”

I said okay and hung up, confused.

The next day I was in the shower when the phone rang. I hopped out and saw that the call was from a 310 number. That’s L.A. I was eighteen years old and lived in San Diego. Who did I know in L.A.?

“Hello?” I answered.

“Hello, is this Kendra?”

“Who is this?”

“This is Hugh Hefner.”

“Yeah, right,” I said, thinking it was a prank call. “Shut the fuck up.”

It wasn’t a prank.

“I look forward to seeing you at my birthday,” he said. “Also, I’d like you to consider being my girlfriend.”

Still dripping wet from the shower, I stood there in shock. I didn’t know how to respond. After all, I had just told Hugh Hefner to shut the fuck up. That probably wasn’t the reaction he’d expected. I brushed off the girlfriend thing, since I had no idea what that even meant. When I finally collected my thoughts, I told him I would see him at his birthday party.

Just as I was wrapping up the conversation, Zack walked into the bathroom to find out who I was talking to. After I filled him in, he was as shocked as I was, and clearly a little worried.

“I want to drive you up there,” he said protectively.

When the big day arrived, I was kind of nervous. During the car ride Zack questioned me about how I was going to handle being invited to be Hef’s girlfriend, but I didn’t have an answer for him. Even though I googled Hef after we spoke on the phone, I couldn’t really imagine what it might mean to be his girlfriend.

After a two-hour drive, Zack and I arrived at the gates of the Playboy Mansion in Bel Air. We buzzed security, who let us inside, and Zack pulled the car right up to the side entrance of the Mansion.

“Be good,” he said as I opened the car door.

“Whatever,” I mumbled back, barely even paying…