Bristol's Book: Levi is 'the gnat' & a self-involved slacker

Johnston cashed in on his newfound fame in ways she found appalling.
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Bristol Palin's new book, Not Afraid of Life: My Journey So Far tells a story of "deception and disappointment," according to AP television writer Frazier Moore's article in the entertainment section of the Washington Examiner. But the book also chronicles how the 20-year old single mother learned how to face those challenges "head-on with courage and grace," says HarperCollins.

The memoir, co-written with Nancy French, is scheduled for publication by William Morrow next week. The Associated Press purchased a copy Friday.

Palin's book covers growing up with her family, which she portrays affectionately, and the excitement of her mother's political life as governor and then, in 2008, as the GOP vice presidential candidate. But the main theme is her on-and-off-again relationship with Johnston, with whom she had a child and was briefly engaged while caught in a media spotlight.

She blasts him as "the gnat named Levi Johnston constantly spreading false accusations against our family" and calls him a self-involved slacker "who cheated on me about as frequently as he sharpened his hockey skates."

But Palin, self-described as a good girl and straight-A student, had been drawn to him and his bad-boy manner from the time they met in seventh grade.

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Only by the eighth home pregnancy test, she writes, was she convinced of the positive results.

When she told her parents, they were accepting, not condemning, she writes, and focused on the future, particularly her continuing education.

Johnston's reaction wasn't so reassuring: "Better be a (bleeping) boy," he declared.

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Wow, what a stand up guy! Not exactly the poster boy for Father's Day...

Once Bristol accepted the fact that Johnston could not be relied upon to be a faithful husband and responsible father to their son, she dumped him and started concentrating on building a life for herself and Tripp. Once an assistant in a dentist's office in Anchorage, she went on to become a Candies Foundation teen ambassador, a motivational speaker, and a contestant on "Dancing With The Stars." She made a good real estate investment which should soon provide her with rental income, and she's set to co-star in a new television series on the Bio channel. Bristol Palin has come a long way, baby, and she's discover that not only is there life after Levi, but it beats life with Levi hands down.

- JP