Loveable Amber Rae

Biography founder Linda Thompson and Amber Rae were introduced by a mutual friend for a potential collaboration. When we heard her story—leaving her marriage for someone she believed was her soulmate, then writing about it—we knew our readers would want to know what's behind the kimono.

The Truth Teller

The thing about memoirist Amber Rae is she greets you like an old friend—wavy hair tumbling, eyes lit up, making candor feel contagious. She left her marriage, married a man who she believed was her soulmate instead, and wrote a book about it called Loveable.

Since the book came out on August 5th, women have been approaching her at readings with a confession: they're in the exact same situation. Married, but having met someone who feels like their actual person. "I didn't expect that level of specificity," Rae says. "So many women said they found themselves in almost the exact position I was in."

She and her now husband have a son named August. She's currently touring the country talking about what it means to choose yourself, carrying both versions of August with her—the public book tour and the private baby.

What Living Free Actually Costs

At Zibby's Bookshop in Santa Monica, where her book tour kicked off on August 14th, the conversations aren't typical book event small talk. "I want to talk about what it really means to live free," Rae says. "Not just the big decision of leaving a marriage that looked good on paper, but the everyday courage of telling the truth, setting boundaries, and choosing yourself. I want those rooms to feel like circles of permission, where women can say out loud what they've been whispering only to themselves."

Ask about the practical fallout of her choice and she keeps it philosophical. She talks about retiring beliefs, not losing friendships or family relationships. The specifics stay private. "Writing this book meant disappointing people I love, and trusting that honesty was the greater act of love—for them and for me."

This approach—radical honesty with boundaries—shapes everything. The encounter that stayed with her most was with a woman in her seventies who, after her husband died, realized much of her life had been lived for him. "Hearing my story reminded her that she only has one life, and fear had kept her from choosing herself sooner. Now, even at this stage of life, she's beginning that work of reclaiming herself."

Present Tense

Being a new mother while launching a book means Rae's routines have gotten more fundamental and practical. "It's feeling my feet on the ground as I walk, breathing in the salty air, noticing the sky. It's counting my blessings in the middle of the chaos."

Her daily routine includes Biography's Golden Ray Glow face oil—"it feels especially fitting since my mom named me Amber, after a ray of golden light"—and Petty Grudges. "I smile when I press it into my skin and think about what little resentment I can let go of from the day."

She approaches products the same way she approaches difficult conversations: "I want it to feel like a love letter to my body—not clinical, not another thing on the to-do list."

Biography founder Linda Thompson says your face is the soundtrack of your life. Rae's would include Andrew Bird, Big Thief, Cat Power, and lately, the "Choo Choo" song she sings with August. "I listen to music to feel deeply. If someone I love heard that soundtrack, they'd understand how much feeling lives inside of me."

For those ready to take their own leap, her prescription is direct: "Tell a truth you've been afraid to say out loud—to yourself, or to someone else."

The work is the work, no matter the fear. There's an evolution in her conviction as she moves from bookstore to bookstore—more sure of what deserves her voice, more sure she belongs. Having August changed everything. "Becoming a mother cracked me open in ways that writing never could," she says. If radical honesty takes courage, motherhood gave her more of it.