Gypsy Rose Blanchard Explains Meaning Behind Memoir Title ‘My Time To Stand’

Gypsy Rose Blanchardhas revealed the cover of her new memoir and the meaning behind the title, 'My Time To Stand.'

As The Blast previously reported, the Missouri woman spent eight and a half years behind bars for plotting to murder her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard. She was released on parole in December 2023.

Now, she is ready to tell her story from her own point of view in her upcoming memoir.

The now 32-year-old is believed to be a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a mental health disorder in which a caregiver fabricates one to have an illness or injury in someone under their care, typically a child.

In this case, Dee Dee intentionally created symptoms that caused harm to Gypsy to gain attention or sympathy for herself. She sought medical help, convincing doctors to prescribe medications and perform surgeries on Gypsy that she did not need.

Eventually, Gypsy caught on and realized she was not as ill as her mother claimed her to be, and so she felt the only way out was to murder her mom, which she carried out with the help of her then-boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn.

Dee Dee Blanchard was found stabbed to death in her home in June 2015. Nicholas was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Gypsy was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but after serving 85% of her sentence, she was released on parole.

After serving her time behind bars for her involvement in her mother's murder, she is now in her comeback era, ready to tell her story in her own words for the first time in her memoir, 'My Time to Stand.'

"I am in love with the title of my book not only because it addresses the question I get most, but because in our pain and struggle we can find what it is that we want to stand for," Gypsy told PEOPLE. "That inside our stories, if we dare to sit in the stillness of them, our purpose can be revealed."

"And we all have a purpose. That’s what I hope people will take away from my book," she added.

'My Time To Stand' has a special meaning as she was forced to use a wheelchair even though she could walk as her mother convinced her and her doctors that Gypsy had muscular dystrophy.

“The first time I stood up on my own two feet was my first failed attempt to leave my mother," she told PEOPLE. "I had the legs of a chick struggling to find a way out of the cracks. Who hasn’t felt unsturdy like that in their own life?"

She added, "The second time I stood up, I walked down a path I’ll regret forever. Again, too many people feel this way about their choices."

Her memoir will introduce readers to her childhood, her journey to overcoming her past, and how she has gotten the help she needs to move forward.

"The third time I stood up, I did so as an incarcerated girl-woman who had so much to learn about independence, self-forgiveness, and resilience," she told the outlet. "Only because I did the work, did my time to stand finally come. Now, I can stand with other victims as they take steps toward doing whatever work is necessary to stand for themselves."

"'My Time to Stand' is about reclaiming my footing so others can be inspired to walk a life of purpose and meaning and build a future sturdy enough so others can stand for something, too," she concluded.

Her story was previously told in the HBO documentary 'Mommy Dead & Dearest,' but it mainly focused on her "journey to parole," Gypsy explained. "It is very much outward-facing."

"But as a survivor desperate to figure out ways to inspire others to find hope, it’s necessary to face inward—to question, to be introspective," she added. "In processing and retelling my memories, so much more truth has been revealed to me, including the victimization of the other people in my family and community."

The 32-year-old continued, "I hope to engage readers by describing my journey, instead of explaining it. In that way, others might see themselves in my story, too, and relate."

'My Time to Stand: A Memoir' will come out in January 2025 and is available for preorder now.