Former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst Releases New Book Two Years After Death
Cheslie Kryst appeared to have it all. Beauty, brains, and a fantastic platform. What no one knew is that the beauty queen attorney was suffering from depression, which ultimately led to her suicide on January 20, 2023.
Now, the former Miss USA will continue to help others after her untimely death through the publication of her first book, thanks to her mother, April Simpkins.
According to an exclusive interview with Extra, where she once worked as an on-air correspondent, Kryst’s first book, “By the Time You Read This: The Space Between Cheslie’s Smile and Mental Illness,” will be available on April 23. Published by Forefront Books, Kryst proudly exclaimed in a video clip shortly before her death that she had just completed her first book.
“It’s so wild, like, I wrote a book!” she told Extra at the time. “I have words on the page. There are words on this page! My words that I wrote,” she said.
Now, her mother has made that dream a reality.
“This means everything to me,” Simpkins told Extra. “Fulfilling her final wishes feels like I still get to be in mommy mode with her. And it has been a work of love.”
“By the Time You Read This: The Space Between Cheslie’s Smile and Mental Illness” (currently available to preorder) is said to be written in two parts. The first half is written by Kryst and features her personal reflections on becoming an attorney, Miss USA, and reaching the levels of success that she experienced, but also the lows of betrayal and heartbreak.
The second half is written by her mother and starts with the moment of Kryst's suicide. Simpkin hopes it will help anyone who is navigating the trials of daily life while suffering from mental illness and provide a beacon of hope and promise. Proceeds from the book will go to the Cheslie C. Kryst Foundation.
“I do feel like the book stands right between that place of what people saw in her smile and her private battle with depression,” said Simpkin.
Kryst gained notoriety as part of a historic quad of Black pageant title winners in 2019, which also included Miss Teen USA Kaliegh Garris, Miss America Nia Imani Franklin, and Miss Universe Zoziibini Tunzi.
