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Aviva Drescher Dishes on New Book, Next 'RHONY' Season

"You're going to definitely see different sides of me and it's surprising," she says.

By Camille Beckles Sep 23, 2013, 2:47 PM ET

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Real Housewives of New York star Aviva Drescher has plenty of career bonafides. The Manhattan-born and -bred ‘Wife earned her Bachelors from Vassar College, a Masters in French from New York University, and a law degree from The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Now, she's adding author to her already impressive resume and next year, she'll publish her memoir Leggy Blonde, in which she opens up about her "wackadoo" childhood, marriages, divorces, struggles with family addiction and more. She also discusses the traumatic childhood accident that left her with a prosthetic leg (hence the book's tongue-in-cheek title). The Dish caught up with her to talk about the memoir—and also get the scoop on the next season of RHONY.

Why did you decide to write the memoir? Was there any event that spurred you to write it?

I’ve always wanted to write a book about how it is to navigate life with a prosthetic leg and I also wanted to share my life experiences, of which there are many crazy ones, and also delightful ones. And I have a knack for writing, a little one, because in high school my college essay was published in a book called 500 Best Essays Ever Written and that was when I was 17. And a couple years ago I had an opportunity to write an essay for Chicken Soup for the Soul, and it got published. So I just really wanted to share the story of not only my accident but also my crazy childhood, and a lot of tumultuous and blessed events that I’ve had throughout my lifetime.

You cover a lot of personal topics in the book. Were you nervous or worried about opening up like that in such a personal way?

I was nervous and I still am nervous, and I'll probably be nervous the rest of my life. But you know what? I think that sharing personal experiences can often be a way to help others and it can be also very cathartic for the self. I think everybody has funny or scary or difficult or wonderful personal experiences and I just chose to share mine because I believe that life is short and what do you really have to lose? You know, the worst thing that could happen is that I’m gonna embarrass my children, but I do it all the time anyway!

What was the hardest thing for you to open up about?

The hardest thing for me to open up about, but which has been a big part of my life, is my divorce with my ex-husband. And I was really torn about whether to share those stories or not, because of the children. But I felt that it was my truth and that it would be relatable. There were so many times I edited those sections. I thought about leaving it out but then I thought that would be doing a disservice to the truth.

The title of the memoir is Leggy Blonde. Did you feel weird making light of your painful childhood accident?

I'm missing a leg. I have a lot of prosthetic legs in my closet. And my legs are very long. And I also don't take myself particularly seriously on any level. So I felt Leggy Blonde was the right title. Also, being blonde and having long legs, sometimes people think that you're ditzy. So it's kind of a nod to my own sense of humor and not taking myself so seriously.

The Best and Worst of the Season

Shifting gears a little bit, can you tease the upcoming season of Real Housewives of New York? Are there any surprises? What can viewers expect?

A lot of the alliances change. Every single thing that happens is a huge surprise. And there's a lot of craziness. New York is usually more civilized and this season I feel like there are characters who seemed very subdued before who go absolutely nuts. I feel like this season is really over-the-top dramatic. I think we’re gonna give The Real Housewives of Atlanta and The Real Housewives of New Jersey maybe a little run for their money. As far as my [role is] concerned, you're going to definitely see different sides of me and it's surprising.

Are you excited for Aviva Drescher's memoir? And what are you hoping to see happen on next season of RHONY? Tell us in the comments.