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What are some words you’d use to describe Maci Bookout-McKinney? "Confident" and "self-assured" come to mind, as do "wise," "collected," and "fearless." Maci makes it look easy, but make no mistake — she had to learn how to be the assertive, self-sufficient, and unflappable woman that she is today. And she wants you to be just like her (although she can’t promise you’ll also have a fulfilling career in reality TV). Maci’s latest book, , out this week, is inspired by both the lessons she’s learned on her journey to becoming the superhero she is today as well as her desire to help her fans — many of whom believe she’s been strong since the beginning — become bulletproof themselves. It’s one part memoir, one part self-help guide. Here, the seven most compelling things you'll learn about Maci from the book:

1. Maci was terrified to tell her friends that she was pregnant (the first time).

In high school, Maci says, she was a good girl — her only “bad” quality being her grade in math (#relatable). When she got pregnant though, she had to struggle not only with the notion of what a “good girl” was and how useful such a label is, but also what might happen when she told her friends. Would they judge her and kick her out of their friend group? Or would they all drift apart when she left school to raise Bentley?

Fortunately, none of that happened. Not only were Maci’s friends supportive — she’s got pictures of each of them kissing her baby bump up in her house — but they’ve all remained friends since. Maci’s besties included her on trips while she was pregnant (and even stocked up on radishes, which Maci says she craved so badly she’d eat them by the fistful), visited her in the hospital, and Keelie (who you often see on i!) would come by regularly to stay up with baby Bentley so Maci could get some sleep — no questions asked! No wonder Maci refers to her ride-or-dies as 24k friends.

2. Maci is a firm believer in higher education.

Maci finished high school before Bentley was born — she attended an accelerated program she says should have been called “Second Chance High” — and went to college for an associate’s degree in media technology soon after she gave birth. And she’s not done yet! Could a Maci Goes to College spin-off be coming?

Maci’s parents — who we don’t see a lot on the show — are the inspiration for her obsession with knowledge. Her mom and dad were teen parents themselves, but that didn’t stop Maci’s mother from getting a GED and then a bachelor’s degree in business administration — all while working full-time and taking care of the kids. And she made the dean’s list. If her mom could do it, Maci thought, then she could too. According to her, education is one of the main ways of achieving independence.

3. Maci’s changed herself for other people before but she learned early on that it’s a losing game.

Maci writes that she was born wearing black nail polish but hasn’t always been as true to her edgy roots as she is now. In sixth grade, she was chosen to be on the cheerleading squad (one of the only two people in her year!) and had to rein in her look — no Converse! — in order to fit in and be popular. When she didn’t make the cheerleading squad the next year, she worried about what people might think but eventually decided that what she thought of herself was most important.

Maci went out for cheerleading again but she says that she was way more laid-back about the whole thing the second time around. She’d cheer her heart out at games and pep rallies, but never at the expense of who she was as a person. Not even when Maci’s coach benched her for half a game because she refused to give up her beloved black lacquer. Maci writes that she’d like to think she was put back in because her coach finally respected her decision but if she’s being honest, she thinks it was all about the formations being off.

Important lesson learned though: Never give up who you are for anyone!

4. Maci’s got waaaaay more tattoos than you’ve seen on the show.

Hardcore Teen Mom fans may already know that Maci’s back is a work of art, but unless you’re really paying attention, you’re not going to notice all the tattoos on her body. That’s not on accident: Maci says the tattoos are deeply personal and they’re not meant for anyone else. She doesn’t hide them (she considered it for her wedding), but her ink’s not out there as a conversation piece.

Maci’s first tattoo is the word “bulletproof.” It’s tattooed on the back of her right shoulder and is a reminder that life can fire away (fire awaaaay) as much as it wants, but she’ll just come out stronger. Since then, Maci’s had Bentley and Jayde’s names tattooed on her hips (Maverick’s coming!), the words “learn to feel” inked from below her left breast to the spine (one of the most painful places to have work done), and a #2 pencil inscribed on her forearm — it signifies her love of writing. She’s also got a pocket watch with her birth time on her right shoulder and, on her left shoulder, an anatomical heart, the meaning of which Maci has never shared with anyone.

On her back, Maci’s got a full-on notebook page, complete with scribbles, doodles, and several lines of a poem she wrote as a teen. Hope it didn’t hurt too much!

5. Maci used to have a boring corporate job — and she loved it!

How’d Maci get so good at marketing her clothing line? Well, she had a lot of practice. After getting her degree in media technology, Maci was recruited as a social and digital marketing specialist. You’d think that wild and free Maci would hate working 9 to 5 — she thought she would too — but she loved the cube life. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing, Maci writes, as long as you love it. And she wishes that all of us could stop pretending that money doesn’t matter. Yeah, there are things that are more important, she writes, but having your bills paid can give you so much peace of mind. After all, you never see anyone crying in a Porsche.

6. Maci’s a reformed mommy-shamer.

You know who we’re talking about — the moms who do everything, know everything, and want others to know that they’re the final authority on being a mom. It’s hard to think that Maci might have been one of those people but she admits that after her friends began giving birth, she started offering unsolicited advice of her own. They hated it, she hated how it made her feel, especially because she’s been on the receiving end of criticism about her parenting skills since she was 16, and now she’s just there to support instead of lecture.

That said, Maci’s really good at taking advice if you come correct. She says that an online commenter once questioned the way Maci and Taylor had put Jayde in her carseat. Because the commenter was kind, Maci actually looked up the info. Guess what? Turns out that she’d been buckling Jayde in wrong all along. And she wasn’t too proud to say thank you and make a change.

7. But she’s got some time to throw some shade …

Maci isn’t in love with social media. On one hand, it’s a great way to show friends and family what you’re doing, but on the other — especially if you’re famous — it’s an easy way to get dragged for anything you do, from having a beer once in a while to just breathing. Don’t delete your account or anything, but Maci says you should keep your opinions calm and respectful, especially if you’re talking about the president (who Maci believes deserves respect just by being in office).

That’s all good, but hidden in her rant about online etiquette is this line about how confusing some people’s sharing practices are: “At least once a day,” she writes, “I find myself wanting to ask people I encounter on social media ‘Is this really the image you want to project to the world?’”

She adds: “(there are even a few people I’d like to mention here by name, but ain’t nobody got time for that.)” Of course, Maci could be speaking about any number of people who are using Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram wrong, but considering her history with Farrah and Farrah’s history with social media, is it any wonder that this is immediately where my mind went?





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