Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry 272 pages

 

It’s Saturday afternoon. I should be cleaning the house, but I want a break, so I turn on the television and about the only thing worth watching is “Friends.” First, I must say I am not in the series’ demographic. I was already middle-aged when it premiered. It’s an okay show, but after reading Perry’s story, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I might have a before I cracked the book’s cover.

 

Perry’s favorite movie was “Groundhog Day,” and it imitates an addict’s life to a tee. Trying to get the drugs/alcohol/sex/whatever puts a person on a never-ending loop. Addicts don’t think much pass the next hit. Also, it is the way this book is written. Perry has the same days over and over and over.

 

Unfortunately, due to his sudden death, most of us know Perry’s story. He successfully hid it, at least on television. But truthfully, I had no idea how bad it was. Heartbreaking to say the least.

Therefore, I don’t have the need to rehash his fears, anxieties, doubts and all the other negative emotions/thoughts here.

 

Instead, I’ll talk about some of the high (no pun intended) points. One, when he learned that God is real via the oceanic view from his home. Two, how he truly had gotten sober but couldn’t quite conquer all his demons. Three, his need to help others kick alcohol like he did. Four, how God helped him kick drugs/alcohol/cigarettes. (He craved cigarettes as much as, or more than, he craved opioids.) One day he couldn’t live without them, the next the cravings were gone---one bad habit at a time.

 

In the end, Perry sounded happy and hopeful, that he had truly turned his life around. I choose to believe that this is true, and his death was the unfortunate result of too many years of hard living. Everything caught up with him on the October night in 2023.

 

Therefore, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing gets 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

Being Henry: The Fonz...and Beyond

Being Henry: The Fonz …and Beyond by Henry Winkler   265 pages

Henry Winkler, a Yale School of Drama, was a struggling actor in New York when he decided to try Hollywood. It was there, in 1973, that he landed the role of a lifetime and became a television icon when he was cast as Arthur Fonzarelli on the TV series, Happy Days.  And he made it look easy.

Henry had a hard time at Yale and in New York, not because he didn’t land the roles he wanted, but because he suffered from severe dyslexia. It was that dyslexia that made his father, a wealthy man in the lumber business, think he was stupid and lazy. He always felt not good enough, and it wasn’t until his later years that he found help.

In fact, Henry had to work twice as hard and twice as long to learn his lines as other actors, but he persevered. The scenes where he tells the readers how “the Fonz” was born, was like peeking behind the curtain. In fact, this entire memoir is like that. I feel like I’ve this guy like a close cousin.

Now 78, Henry tells his stories of struggle and achievement in a memoir that sounds like he is sitting in your living room telling you his life story. I had no idea that after Happy Days, he struggled due to typecasting. When an audience looked at him, they saw “the Fonz.”  But when I thought about it, I wasn’t surprised. “The Fonz” is a legend.

I didn’t know that he went on to become a director to some hit movies, a producer and a co-author of more than thirty books for kids including Alien Superstar Trilogy and a twenty-eight-book series starring Hank Zipzer: The World’s Greatest Underachiever.”

I really like the structure of Being Henry.  It is tales of his days as “The Fonz” and Happy Days interspersed with tales of his forty-five, and counting, year marriage to Stacey, his kids, the other roles he has played, his famous friends. And yet through it all, he seems like a down-to-earth nice guy who doesn’t live in a billion-room mansion, but a nice house in Los Angeles.

I always like “the Fonz,” but now I have a deeper appreciation for Henry.

Being Henry: The Fonz …and Beyond get 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

Life at Hamilton: Sometimes You Throw Away Your Shot, Only to Find Your Story

Life at Hamilton: Sometimes You Throw Away Your Shot, Only to Find Your Story by Mike Anthony 296 pages

 

I am probably the only person in the United States who loves American history and musical theater but hasn’t seen Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway sensation, Hamilton. I just don’t think I’d like all that rapping. Of the few scenes I’ve seen on television, I can’t understand a word they are saying/singing. But maybe it’s just me. That, and I don’t want to pay $500 for a ticket just to be frustrated. That’s why I picked up this memoir from the bartender at the theater where Hamilton was/is playing. I thought it was a backstage look at the hottest ticket in town. And in ways it is.

 

The author, Mike Anthony, set out to be a Broadway actor. But like many wannabes, he had to pay his dues. So, he took a job as a bartender at Hamilton’s home, the Richard Rogers Theater until he could get a Broadway gig. I was never sure if Anthony kept a journal during his time at RRT, or if he set out to write a book about the people who stopped by or those he met.

 

The book was interesting, but I didn’t care about Anthony’s memories and anecdotes. I didn’t care about the famous people who came to see the show (Opray, twenty-five times; Rosie O’Donnell more than forty) and his interaction with them. I was rather fascinated about how the Secret Service got then-President Obama and then-Vice President Pence in and out without that night’s audience even knowing they were there.

 

From what I understand, Anthony gave up his dream behind the footlights and settled into a swell job. I’m happy for him. He found satisfaction and joy in what he did, and really, that’s all we can hope for in a job.

 

Life at Hamilton: Sometimes You Throw Away Your Shot, Only to Find Your Story receives 2 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Dinner for One: How Cooking in Paris Saved Me

Dinner for One: How Cooking in Paris Saved Me by Sutanya Dacres 352 pages

I enjoy most foodie memoirs/biographies. If y’all haven’t read and of Ruth Reichl’s series of growing up and working around food, I highly recommend them.  They are simply wonderful, as is the one novel she wrote, “Delicious.”

I thought I was getting kind of the same things when I picked up “Dinner for One: How Cooking in Paris Saved Me.” Well, I read, and read, and read, and read, and read. Took me almost a month to finish this book. I was bound and determined to finish it and find that nugget that would have made it all worthwhile. The book contained almost one hundred pages of recipes, so I just knew that it would be unputdownable.

I was wrong. It starts out well enough, with Dacres meeting her husband, who is only referred to TFM (The French Man) through all 352 pages, in the New York.  They had a long distant relationship for three years before they married.  Dacres left everything and everybody she knew and loved to move to Paris.

The honeymoon didn’t seem to last long. Dacres knew no one in Paris, didn’t know her way around, and barely spoke the language. I would have thought that she would try to learn the basics before she moved to Paris, but she didn’t. French is not an easy language to learn, and Dacres didn’t seem that interested. TFM had his own set of friends, was a native Parisian, and a job. Dacres seemed alone most of the time.

Readers must watch Dacres and TFM’s marriage fall apart for more than two thirds of the book.  It got old after a while. Normally I would have bailed, but I was really waiting for the good part.  Mostly after Dacres and TFM separated we had to watch as she drank too much and had a series of one-night stands.

She does decide that she is spending too much of her time trashed and starts cooking, but it is too little too late. There isn’t much about cooking in this memoir and not a mention of the recipes that she includes.  I was extremely disappointed in this narrative, and equally as irritated at myself for hanging on to the very last word, especially since it put me seven books behind toward my Goodreads goal. Therefore “Dinner for One: How Cooking in Paris Save Me” receives 1 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. 

 

The Watchmakers: A Story of Brotherhood, Survival, and Hope Amid the Holocaust

The Watchmakers: A Story of Brotherhood, Survival and Hope Amid the Holocaust by Harry Lenga and Scott Lenga 352 pages

Scott Lenga interviewed his father, Harry, for countless hours before his death for more than a decade. Scott wanted to tell his father’s story, a story that cannot be made up or trivialized. It is the story of Harry and his two brothers escape from Hitler’s advancing armies and their survival through the Holocaust. This is not an easy read.

The first chapter gives readers some background from Harry’s birth in 1919 through his twenty-first birthday in 1930 in the Chassidic town of Kozhnitz (Poland). This chapter was slow reading for me as I struggled to keep all the members of the family straight, especially using their Polish/Jewish names.

In Chapter Two, the teenage years and learning to repair watches, the conversation is easier to follow.

As Hitler’s armies invade Poland, Harry and his two brothers know that as they ca stay together, everything will be all right. The men are sent to Warsaw and interred in the Ghetto. This is followed by the German Occupation, the Kozhnitz Ghetto, the Gorczycki Camp at Wolka, the Wolanow Slave Labor Camo, the Starachowice Slave Labor Camp, Auschwitz, the Death March, Mauthausen, Melk, Ebensee and finally, Liberation by the Americans.

Harry was the leader. They stayed alive by using their watchmaking skills to repair watches in the camps. But still life was hard. The bugs, the starvations, the beatings. Every time I think I have read every atrocity I think I can, I read of something much, much worse. It is amazing the brothers survived their ordeal.

 “The Watchmakers: A Story of Brotherhood, Survival and Hope Amid the Holocaust” receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Forever Boy: A Mother's Memoir of Autism and Finding Joy

Forever Boy: A Mother’s Memoir of Autism and Finding Joy by Kate Swenson 288 pages

Expectant mothers and fathers never dream of a special needs child. It makes it even more difficult when a complete diagnosis cannot be given until their child is at least two years old.

When author Kate Swenson gave birth to her first child, Cooper, she knew something was wrong. He made little noise, and as he never reached the milestones that other children did. Although she was convinced that something was horribly wrong, what she read on the internet did not align with what she knew.

Loving Cooper was easy. He was a sweet little boy, no trouble, with a head of golden hair. He did communicate, in his way.

Cooper was finally diagnosed with severe, non-verbal autism. Kate and her husband were immediately relived and scared. Relieved that they weren’t making things up. Now that they knew, they could work toward making Cooper’s life as fulfilling as possible. It just wouldn’t be in the ways they imagined during their pregnancy.

At first, I thought this might be a hard book to read, and in some ways it was. But as Karen “found joy,” in her son, she let go of all the negativity that she experienced. Turns out, having a child with severe special needs can be a blessing. A parent might have to look for it, look really, really, hard, but it can be found.

I found Karen and Cooper’s story uplifting. “Forever Boy: A Mother’s Memoir of Autism and Finding Joy” receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

Finding ArJay: Memoirs of an Ordinary Man

“Finding ArJay: Memoirs of an Ordinary Man” by Ron Scott 197 pages 

I’ve known Ron Scott for a couple of decades, at least. I don’t remember how we met, probably through a fiction writing class I was teaching somewhere along the way. We were even in the same writing group for a while. I can’t say we were close, but we’ve stayed in touch over the years. I’ve always felt like I knew him thanks to his writings, which have always been wonderful. And I’ve often thought he was pretty cool. 

When he asked me to review this book, I jumped at the chance. Heck, I’ll read anything by Ron. I think he’s a wonderful writer.  And this book is no exception.

His memoir spans his life, from childhood to old age. It gets down to the gritty that illuminates what makes this man tick. Some of it was very difficult to read.  

From his earliest days, it’s been a tough life. His mother married his stepfather when he was four years old. His biological father abandoned him and his mom. He was spent most of his time with his grandparents on an isolated family farm. I did find it hard to keep the players straight; I got confused with all the names. Those early years were fraught with anxiety and a neediness to please. Something that I had not seen in my friend.  But reading his memories, they followed him as silently and as closely as his shadow.  

Some of Ron’s life, I’m almost ashamed to know…like his affairs. Ron? A womanizer? Well, not really, but the opportunities arose. His first wife was Marlene, and his second and current wife is Marilyn. I had a hard time keeping them straight. If this was a novel, I’d tell him to change one of the names. 

Readers get an opportunity to watch Ron seemingly drift from job to job, from preacher to parole officer, teaching college until he landed in private practice as a psychotherapist.  

I found Ron’s story quite revelatory, and it touched me deeply. The anecdotes were well structured without overtelling or trying to explain. His writing explores a lot of the dark issues that man of his fellow readers will understand. He gives voice to feelings that most of us can’t even articulate.  

I do have one beef,  however. There are four stories at the end that are labeled “Short Stories.” Short stories are fiction and those are not. They are more like personal essays the elaborate on some the events that happened in the book. Therefore,  “Finding ArJay: Memoirs of an Ordinary Man” receives 4 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

 

Love, Jack

Love, Jack by Gunilla Von Post 158 pages

I’m just old enough to remember that “’brief, shining moment’ before Camelot, before an assassin's bullets shattered the hopes of a nation.”  Yeah, I’ve read another book about JFK.

This one is a memoir published in 1997. The author, a Swedish aristocrat, waited until after Jackie’s death to share her romance with a handsome, wealthy young Senator from Massachusetts. She was trying to be sensitive to the president’s memory.

In 1953, Jack Kennedy was trying to evade an Italian countess who was hell bent on catching him when he accidentally met Gunilla Von Post on the Rivera. It was love at first sight. But it was a love that was not meant to be…or in better words, a love that was not allowed to blossom. 

Jack hoped to get the nod as vice president in the upcoming election, knew that a bid for the U. S. Presidency was in his future, was engaged to marry Jacqueline Bouvier, and was under the complete control of his father, Joe Kennedy, Sr. Although Jack tried to get Joe, Sr. to let him back out of his engagement, and even his marriage, Joe would have none of it.  If he left Jackie, his change to become the most powerful man in the world was at jeopardy, and he would probably lose. 

Between 1953 and 1959, Jack and Gunilla carried on a love affair. But I’m not sure that I would call it a love affair. They seldom saw each other and rarely spoke. Gunilla had letters that proved his desire and need for her, but I have to wonder. Knowing what a womanizer Jack turned out to be, after reading this book, I’m convinced that, while Jack might have been smitten with Gunilla, he was truly only interested in the chase. But then, maybe I’m wrong. The world will never know. 

“Love, Jack” receives 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

Broken (in the Best Possible Way)

 Broken (in the Best Possible Way) by Jenny Lawson 285 pages

Summary from Goodreads:  As Jenny Lawson’s hundreds of thousands of fans know, she suffers from depression. In Broken, Jenny brings readers along on her mental and physical health journey, offering heartbreaking and hilarious anecdotes along the way.

With people experiencing anxiety and depression now more than ever, Jenny humanizes what we all face in an all-too-real way, reassuring us that we’re not alone and making us laugh while doing it. From the business ideas that she wants to pitch to Shark Tank to the reason why Jenny can never go back to the post office, Broken leaves nothing to the imagination in the most satisfying way. And of course, Jenny’s long-suffering husband Victor―the Ricky to Jenny’s Lucille Ball―is present throughout.

And here's what I thought: Typical for her books, Jenny Lawson makes me laugh until I'm crying and then with the next chapter, makes me get choked up. Mostly, I laugh until I'm ready to cry - which is why I cannot read her books when I'm in bed before I go to sleep . . . I get way too punchy and laugh too much.  She's a little like Allie Brosh -- I can't relate to all of her stories, but I can relate to some of them. And that's what makes Jenny Lawson pretty awesome --- she's not afraid to bare it all, even if it's something ugly or sad. And she's there for the journey and takes you along with her.

By the way - I also cannot listen to her audiobooks in the car. I tried her first book on audio and was laughing so hard I had tears running down my face . . . which I could tell alarmed the person stuck next to me in traffic.

Finding Freedom: A Cook's Story; Remaking a Life from Scratch

Finding Freedom: A Cook’s Story; Remaking a Life from Scratch by Erin French 304 pages

Approximately forty-two miles southwest of Bangor, Maine, is the small town of Freedom, home to one of the most desired restaurants in the world: The Lost Kitchen. Reservations at the small restaurant open every year on April 1, and within a couple of days, the entire season is booked.  You can’t call; you have to send in a postcard or a letter that is then placed in a lottery. Hopefuls from all the fifty states and twenty-two countries vie for a seat at the table.

The Lost Kitchen is the dream/restaurant of Erin French, a Mainer born and bred. She has not been to culinary school or studied under great chefs. She relies on instinct and simple foods. The menu changes daily and is based on what local foods are available that day.

Erin French didn’t start out to open a world-renown restaurant. Growing up in Freedom, she dreamed of becoming a doctor. Those plans were waylaid when at twenty-one, French found herself pregnant and alone. She left college and went back home. There she worked with her father in his diner and lived with her parents. She discovered that cooking soothed her soul, and she was good at it. Even the sixteen to eighteen hours a day, six days a week, didn’t dampen her enthusiasm.

Eventually she and her son, Jaim, moved to a cottage on her parent’s property. During the off-season (winter), the diner was closed and she found work in other restaurants. Life was hard. French turned to pills to get her up in the morning, keep her calm during the day and to help her sleep at night.

Soon French met someone and married him. But as soon as the ring went on her finger, her new husband, Tom, began to berate her, control her every move, and, on occasion, threaten her life with physical violence.

 French shares her highs and lows with her reader, without pulling any punches.  Sometime this book is hard to read as French battles for her life and sanity. From multiple tries in rehab to a custody/divorce battle, French’s story is a classic American tale of grabbing yourself by your bootstraps and picking yourself up, time and time again.

I do wish that French had given us a recipe or two. That would have pushed this book into a 6 star category. However, Finding Freedom: A Cook’s Story; Remaking a Life from Scratch receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. 

 

Between the World and Me

 Between the World and Me by Ta-Naihisi Coates   152 pages

From Goodreads: Coates shares with his son—and readers—the story of his awakening to the truth about his place in the world through a series of revelatory experiences, from Howard University to Civil War battlefields, from the South Side of Chicago to Paris, from his childhood home to the living rooms of mothers whose children’s lives were taken as American plunder. Beautifully woven from personal narrative, reimagined history, and fresh, emotionally charged reportage, Between the World and Me clearly illuminates the past, bracingly confronts our present, and offers a transcendent vision for a way forward.

_______________________

I re-read this book for a book group discussion and found it was just as thought-provoking as the last time I had read it. There is a poetic quality to Coates' writing, and although this is a short book, there are a lot of powerful things here to think about. 

Educated: A Memoir

Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover    334 pages  

The author grew up in a survivalist family and developed many mental issues of her own that she continues to come to liveable terms with.   So continues over the years to keep returning home and keeps going around her brother who has often tried to kill her stopping just short yet, she forgives him and continues to doubt her own recollections in the face of denial of other family members.   Tara managed to escape though she continues to return every chance she gets,

She talks about how bad things were, how evil the mindsets are of her parents but what lies underneath all that?   How did she manage to keep her status at Cambridge when nights she was running down the streets screaming and raving like a lunatic?    I do not recommend this book  I found it hard to reconcile her words and lack of action with her honors and accolades something just doesn't mesh here.

 - Shirley J.

When Harry Met Minnie

When Harry Met Minnie: A true story of love and friendship by Martha Teichner 256 pages

Get ready to fall in love with this true, heartbreaking and heartwarming story of two women and their bull terriers. It won’t be a bad idea to have a box of tissues handy either.

 “CBS Sunday Morning” correspondent and multi-Emmy Award winner Martha Teichner tells the story of her enchantment with the bull terrier breed. In the past she has been best friends with Piggy, Goose, and now, Minnie. Martha and Minnie loved to walk around New York City, especially the Chelsea Piers and the Union Square Farmer’s Market. All the vendors at the market knew Minnie and had a treat waiting for her. Her favorite? Mangos!

It was at the market, on July 23, 2016, that Martha and Minnie ran into an old acquaintance, quite by chance. It had been a couple of years since she had seen him and his dog, but there they were. Weirdly, Martha didn’t know much about him, not even his name, but they bonded over their dogs. When Martha’s old friend learned that Goose had died six months earlier, he had an idea.

He had another friend, Carol, who was looking for a new home for her bull terrier, Harry. Carol had developed cancer from the 9/11 toxins as her apartment building was near Ground Zero. After thinking about, Martha agreed to let Harry and Minnie meet. This started a nearly two year adventure of slowly introducing the dogs as bull terriers can be quite territorial and aggressive.

Harry and Minnie immediately hit it off! There were multiple dates, overnights and walks around the city. Readers will get to know their individual idiosyncrasies and their breed’s stubbornness and watch them bond. Harry had several medical issues also; quite a few as Martha soon learned. But that wasn’t an issue---Minnie loved Harry, and Harry loved Minnie.

A deep friendship also formed between Martha, Carol, and Martha’s acquaintance, who was named Stephen. What fun it was to be a voyeuristic part of their group! Martha still had not committed to taking Harry as late as Fall 2017. However, as Carol deteriorated, it became a matter of fact that Martha would take Harry and love him all the rest of his days.

This story reminded me a bit of Elizabeth Berg’s novel, “Talk Before Sleep.” I was attracted to the cover---Harry and Minnie’s adorable faces staring at me. I feel now as if I knew them.  

When Harry Met Minnie: A true story of love and friendship receive 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

 

I'll Be Seeing You

 

I’ll Be Seeing You by Elizabeth Berg  224 Pages

I read Elizabeth Berg books. I usually don’t care what they are about. With the exception of two or three (out of 30), I’ve always loved her books.  I did not even notice “A Memoir,” on this book’s cover.  And she has never written a book that has hit so close to home as this one did: aging parents.

In my case, it’s Momma. Until the Coronavirus pandemic hit, my 88-year-old mother was living alone, taking care of herself, and still driving (only to the beauty parlor and the grocery store). But as the weeks and months started to drag by, I could tell that something was wrong---even 500 miles away and over the phone.  Long story short…in the last month she has had to go into a nursing home…and that has almost shattered me. But on the positive side, I can at least call her five or six times a day as I have since Daddy passed twelve years ago.

Reading this book, I would swear that Berg looked into my mind and my heart, as we have been going through some of the same things: guilt that we out of state, trying to get used to a new home, dementia, and the aches and pains of growing old.

Once I started this book, I was afraid that I would be devastating to read.  And it is, in some ways. But as humans live longer, more and more people will have to live the realities that Berg describes.  She comes across as handling is rather nobly; I cannot say the same. But I’m sure that she has spent as much time crying as I have.

Thanks, Ms. Berg! This really helped!

I’ll Be Seeing You receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

 

Failure is an Option

Failure is an Option by H. Jon Benjamin; 245 pages

H. Jon Benjamin is best-known as the voice behind the animated series "Archer" and "Bob's Burgers". And yes, in the book he admits he does not make Archer and Bob sound different in any way even though they are two very different characters.

This was light and funny. The premise, as the title suggests, is that failures aren't the worst thing that can happen and that sometimes it's okay to shoot for a failure. In these wacky times, I kind of get it. The chapters were short and funny. I would say that I didn't "learn" much but that wasn't why I picked it up. He told some funny stories from his youth to adulthood and it was a fun, quick read. I was impressed by his writing and his humor and I think Benjamin is a pretty smart guy. I was glad I read this on an e-reader because he used words difficult enough that I had to look them up in the e-reader's dictionary. 

And I did pretty much read the entire book with his Archer/Bob voice narrating it in my head. 

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris

 Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris  257 pages

David Sedaris is one of my most favorite authors.   His take on life is the  stuff behind the closed door in your house with all that junk hiding that he throws open the door and tells everything about with such wit and truth.   He could make the telling of anything funny and does it with such joie de vivre.   He can find a funny way of sharing anything and often does so with his family as his topics, or his lover, or basically anyone and anything including being the butt of his own jokes in such a hilarious way, I hate to come to the end of his books.   He is fabulous!  No matter what he is talking about the story comes out in such a way that you will find yourself laughing out  loud.   Be it tales of his younger brother, Paul, who out of all the siblings turned out to be a redneck but may just have the most normal family life of them all.   From giving directions to a Norwegian group of seniors while at the same time trying to eradicate a mouse, to the fellow who while David was cleaning his house insisted on David letting him take his blood sugar to so many other stories.  David lifts up the rug to show all the stuff that has accumulated there then stops to discuss the stories attached to each,, all of which are worthy of a stand-up routine on Comedy Central.   Bravo, David Sedaris for another wonderful book.   Yes, I recommend this book to middle-schoolers on up.   Even the iffy parts are funny and not as bad as you might think.  Another best seller for David Sedaris.

 - Shirley J.

So Close to Being the Sh*t, Y'all Don't Even Know

 So Close to Being the Sh*t, Y'all Don't Even Know by Retta    272 pages

Retta is full on fire in this book telling tales of her life growing up and as an adult with two African born parents, the tiny apartment the family shared, the onslaught of cousins moving in from time to time and how she had planned to be a doctor, had gone through school planning to become a doctor so far as to get to the point of taking her board exam only to turn aside from her previously planned life to do a complete flip flop in the other direction and started doing stand-up comedy.   She was hooked with the first audience applause going from doing stand-up to extra work on t.v. and film.    She was afraid of her parent's reaction but they turned out to be very supportive as long as she was happy and able to make a living.   She was.  She talks about the t.v. show Parks & Recreation where she spent 7 seasons and built familial bonds with the other actors on the show that continue to this day as they call each other every week.   She talks about being the first black woman to love ice hockey and how she brought the L.A. Kings hockey team luck in 2017 and how her supreme fandom took them all the way to the Stanley Cup and all for free on comped tickets she was able to cop.   Her personality has got her this far and she is planning on coasting on it through life.   She is so fun everyone is immediately taken with her and I think she willl be able to reach any dream she seeks.   She ain't just close to it, Retta IS the Sh8t!    Fun read.   Language not for the very young, but, certainly a manual to all for how to go about getting what you want out of life.   Good read..

 - Shirley J

The Answer Is...Reflections of My Life

The Answer Is…Reflections on My Life by Alex Trebek 304 pages

For thirty-six years, “Jeopardy!” game show host Alex Trebeck has been coming into our family rooms every weekday night.  He seems like a great guy. In all those years, Trebeck didn’t reveal too much about his personal life.

Every once in a while, he would throw in little bits of information during the contestant section, where Trebeck spent about a minute per contestant asking them about their lives.  He didn’t want the show to be about him.  The focus was on the contestants and the game. 

However, that changed in 2019, when Trebek announced to the world that he was suffering from Stage IV pancreatic cancer.  The world responded with an outpouring of love and support that humbled this already humble man.

The publishing industry had been after Trebek for years to pen a memoir. The time never seemed right.  The now-80 year old knows that no matter what, his time is limited. And he says, if the cancer and the chemo don’t get him first, well, he’s 80 years old and he can’t have that much longer…although he wishes it.

This is not a tell-all, sensationalism memoir.  It’s about a simple guy, from simple beginning, who became one of America’s most beloved personalities. The chapters are short. Readers get to learn about his growing up in Canada and his move to America. He’s not party-goer or hangs out with the “It” crowd.  He likes to work around the house, spend time with his family, donate his time and money to worthy causes and travel. He gets excited when he has an idea for a clue, and the clue writers accept it.

Trebek also takes readers behind the scenes of “Jeopardy!” The show is taped twice a week, where he spends 11-12 hours a day at the studio.

I read “The Answer Is…Reflections on My Life” in two evenings…and he seems to be the kind of man I always thought he was. Therefore, “The Answer Is…Reflections on My Life” gets 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

 

 

In the Pink: How I Met the Perfect (Younger) Man, Survived Breast Cancer, and Found True Happiness After Forty by Susan McBride 128 pages

I’ve known Susan McBride since her first book, “And Then She Was Gone,” was published in 2000. She is one of the sweetest, smartest and funniest people I know. Not to mention one of my favorite authors. She’s talented too. She can write in a variety of genres: police procedurals, young adult, cozy mysteries, magical realism, mysteries and nonfiction.

In this short memoir, she takes the readers on a journey, like she does in all her books, through some of the best times, and worst times, of her life.  (That can be the title of this review, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”  I don’t think Dickens will mind.) I remember when she met her husband, Ed, celebrated with them when they married, cried when she was diagnosed with  breast cancer, and attended almost every book signing when she published a new book. How she was able to write while undergoing cancer treatments still amazes me to this today.

Reading her words to describe those times was like reliving them all over again. She remembered them the same way I did. That’s one of the reasons I waited so long to read her memoir. 

Busy lives have gotten in the way, and I don’t see her very often. Thank goodness for Facebook and Christmas poems so I can stay on abreast of her busy life with writing, Ed, and their beautiful daughter, Emily, born in 2012. Where has the time gone?

I found her story uplifting and her attitude courageous.  I hope anyone who reads “In the Pink: How I Met the Perfect (Younger) Man, Survived Breast Cancer, and Found True Happiness After Forty” will find the same courage to forge ahead as Susan had done.  “In the Pink” receives 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Save Me the Plums

 Save Me the Plums: My “Gourmet” Memoir by Ruth Reichl 304 pages

You know you have too many books when you snag an Advanced Readers Copy of one of your favorite writers; it makes its way into your reading space, and then gets lost among the books.  Drat it, welcome to my world! If you understand this, then you know how excited I was when, in adding more books to the bottom of a pile, I discovered this little gem!

If you have never read of Ruth Reichl’s other memoirs, you’ve missed out.  I was hooked by her style and voice the minute I finished reading the first page of “Tender at the Bone.” I laughed and laughed, but the sad part, like all of her books, is that these are true stories.

Reading Reichl’s books is like getting to know a person from the time she was a child (ten years old--- I think was the first time we meet her in “Tender’) until she’s an adult.

This volume opens with Reichl discovering “Gourmet” magazine when she was eight years old and hanging out with her father.  And in this volume, Conde Nast has offered Reichl the job of a lifetime: Editor-in-Chief of her all-time favorite magazine.

She turns it down, citing that she is a writer, not some corporate paper-pusher. Of course there wouldn’t be a book if Reichl hadn’t eventually given in and joined the team.  At that time, 1999, the magazine was on its last legs.

Reichl was given carte blanche to recreate the magazine, but resistance from staff was overwhelming.  Eventually she managed to turn the magazine’s voice from hoity-toity to setting the world on fire as the articles became in-depth pieces and recipes more accessible.

Readers will feel as if they are in the board room, in the ‘Gourmet’ kitchens, in the hallways of 4 Times Square, where the magazine was located. A fast read, fun and exciting and includes a few recipes that I just have to try. “Save Me the Plums: My ‘Gourmet’ Memoir” receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.