Eden Lipman is a social media influencer who has more than 16,000 Instagram followers who see a person who owns several designer bags, travels the world, eats at five-star restaurants and drives fancy cars.

However, as the saying goes, "You can't judge a book by its cover." Recently, Lipman decided to open up and show a different side of herself to her followers by self-publishing a book about her life, including her traumatic childhood, being a victim of sexual abuse, the death of her mother by suicide and her struggle with addiction.

The book, Ambitchious: The Broke Girl’s Guide to Leveling the F*ck Up, discusses her childhood, her relationships and how she’s able to live what she herself calls her "superficial" lifestyle, which she chronicles on her website of the same name. Lipman currently lives and works in New York as a model, influencer and entrepreneur, but she grew up in Sarasota, attending Sarasota Military Academy and spending her formative years here.

We caught up with her to talk about her work as an influencer, what inspired her to write her book and what she’s working on next. This interview has been edited for length and clarity; it also contains a discussion of suicide and addiction.

What inspired you to write a book?

“I have always had an affinity for writing and I've always known I was bound to write a book. I’ve had a sticky note on my front door that reads, ‘self-help/auto-bio' for years, and it's crossed state lines because I wrote it long before I moved to New York. I have a litany of other projects always spinning, but I always reverted back to writing for self-expression.

“I confirmed that I wanted to publish a self-help book in 2021, when I was on vacation with my then-boyfriend. We traveled a lot and writing was my hobby. Many people read books on the beach—well, I write them! I felt really distanced from my friends, as I spent many months abroad with my boyfriend and away from the social circles I'd cultivated in New York. There I was, staying in the most exclusive, luxurious places in the world, but I was lonely. So I took it all out on my Google Docs—and bottles of wine."

Did you tell your boyfriend what you'd been working on?

“I distinctly remember sitting at dinner while staying at the Amanera in the Dominican Republic. I shyly mentioned what I had been up to on my laptop for all those hours on the beach. I read my boyfriend a snippet over dinner, and he was in shock. His response was immensely positive.

“He said, 'You've talked about a lot of business ideas, but this is the first one I actually want equity in because this is actually worthy of the New York Times bestseller list.' He thought it was brilliant and told me many women would love to hear about life from my perspective. The book took several years to write—and six more months to gain the courage to tell the world my deepest, darkest secrets."

What was your childhood like?

“Look, my childhood was confusing. I was born on a farm in Utah, then moved to Sarasota and somehow we still lived on a farm. We lived on a bumpy dirt road close to what we now call UTC, but I remember when that whole area was nothing but pastures filled with cows.

“I didn’t have anyone to go to with tough questions [when I was young]. My dad wasn’t heavily involved in my life, and my mom killed herself when I was 15. I leaned on my best friend’s parents and my grandparents, but I really had to figure out life on my own from a very young age."

That's really difficult. 

“I wrote the book in hopes that maybe if I ripped my heart out and showed the world the real me, there might be people out there who had gone through something similar. I felt lonely my entire life, and wildly misunderstood—which is why I turned to drugs and alcohol. I felt that everyone always judged me because of my looks without knowing the depth of my life.

"So I just wrote about my experiences in hopes that they would make others feel like they weren’t alone in the many struggles I talk about. I write several times in the book, ‘I’m not telling you this to make you feel badly for me.’ I don’t want pity. I never wanted pity. I just wanted to show that if I can get through some of these issues, so can other people.

“Honestly, publishing the book felt like a big middle finger to everyone who categorized me as ‘just another pretty face.’ Like, 'Hold on guys, I've been through real life.'"

What was it like growing up and going through all of this in Sarasota?

“Sarasota is a beautiful place. There is a reason that so many wealthy people retire there. I used to call it 'God’s waiting room,' given the number of snowbirds that flocked to it. I didn’t get to see or enjoy the glamorous side of Sarasota until well into my teens. Of course, when you go through trauma, you find ways to express yourself and they’re not always healthy. I loved the idea that downtown Sarasota felt metropolitan, which is why I spent many nights hanging out in the same three restaurants that made me feel like I was in a big city: Clásico, Café Epicure and that old club on Main Street.”

Your Instagram is filled with gorgeous, glamorous photos of you and your life. Why do you feel it was important to tell your followers your true story?

“I felt misunderstood, misplaced, misjudged, always the outsider looking in—in New York, by old friends, everyone. I spent a lot of my life resenting my upbringing and who I was as a person. I kept things private for so long, because, quite frankly, even I couldn’t handle the truth. I’ve finally reached a point where I don’t care anymore. I've healed. It’s my life, it’s real, it happened and I can’t change that. I was sick of feeling ashamed, honestly. Every time I would meet someone outside of social media, I would be met with the same response: 'You’re so much different than what I expected through your Instagram.'"

What did that feel like?

“I think I branded myself as someone who came from wealth because I wished it were true. Obviously, it’s not the case. My Instagram and social media came off as cold, detached and too cool to care, and I’m not that way at all. I’m a complete softie, a big baby.

"I get to live out my childhood in my adult life, finally, because my inner child is safe now. That little girl who I condemned and reprimanded for all those years deserves to be seen for who she really is. Sure, I love clothes, and I enjoy nice bags and dripping in designers because those are things I never had growing up, but ultimately, I wanted to be myself. And guess what? Some people probably still won’t like that, but I’m free. I get to be me for the first time in my life.”

Has your family read the book? 

“My family has read it. I haven’t heard much from them. My oldest brother called to tell me he was proud of me. His wife said it felt like reading a psychological thriller. My sister texted me saying, ‘The first few chapters were hard to read,' to which my response was, ‘I’m sure they were hard to read. They were hard to live, too.' One reader sent me a response that made me absolutely bawl: 'I hope you never downplay the hardship of overcoming addiction and an unstable childhood. So many people succumb to that. You turned yours into a survival guide.' I cried because that was my hope. I just wanted to help other people.

"And the reality is, yeah, we all had a tough childhood. At least I’m smart enough to capitalize on it."

Talk more about that.

"I have fought my way into the lifestyle of my dreams. And yes it did come with help from boyfriends—through mentorship. It’s all about human capital, who you surround yourself with, and making sure those people believe in you.

"Ultimately, I built this life with the mentality of a man, having to push through tough things in life with a ‘suck it up, be a man’ mentality. I want to share a mindset and ways of thinking that can help women and girls in the real world. I wrote the book for girls and women, but who are we kidding? Men are reading it, too, because they want insight into a woman’s mind. Although they’re probably skipping straight to chapter seven: 'Sex/Love/Money.'"

What advice do you have for young girls who follow you?

“No one is going to like you if you don’t love yourself first. I really struggled with self-image and self-worth. I thought that I was ‘less than’ for most of my life because of the things I went through. You’re worthy of everything you want, and if you think you’re capable of doing something, just do it.

“If nothing else, remember to be grateful for every day, and take a second to thank God, or whoever it is you pray to, that you’ve lived to see another day. It’s not promised. Every day I wake up and say three things: 'Thank you, God, for another beautiful day on this earth. Thank you, New York, for making my dreams come true. And today is going to be the best day of my life.'

"What you speak is law. Remember that.”

What are you working on now?

“I have several other books waiting to be published. The next one is called WTF Do Men Want?! In chapter seven of Ambitchious, I talk about sex, relationships and how to position yourself as a high-value woman, even if you had an upbringing like mine. WTF Do Men Want?! will be a further elucidation on my ‘research and development’—aka., the 1,000 dates I’ve been on since moving to New York.

“I’m also launching a mentorship program called 'Adulting: The Good, Bad & Realities of Entrepreneurialism and Success' here in New York. I started it because I'm passionate about philanthropy and making a difference in other people's lives. I volunteered in Cambodia, teaching English to underprivileged kids in rural areas. I've always known I was meant to be an advocate for underprivileged kids like me. 'Adulting' is a platform where teenagers can shadow someone in their preferred professional field to see the glamorous sides—the huge paychecks, being your own boss—but also, the harrowing realities, like having to be your own customer service rep, like I discuss in chapter five, which is called 'Business/Ballsy Bitches.'

“And I started a podcast called Can’t Do Stupid, which is to revel in all the stupid decisions I’ve made in love, money and business so that other people don’t make the same mistakes. And much to the joy of my 7-year-old self, my modeling career has skyrocketed, and I have several rather exciting cover shoots. I can’t tell you which magazines yet, but you’ll find out very soon.”