so c.i. e-mails me yesterday to ask if i'd known that folding star had reviewed jane fonda's my life so far? i had no idea.
we're both going to try to highlight it.
folding star's book chats come late (for me anyway) saturdays. usually i'm either finishing a 'date' or else already helping the third estate sunday review with their latest edition in any way i can.
after an all nighter with that, i don't even turn on the computer on sunday unless i get on to blog.
when it's time to check up on what i've missed it's usually late monday night or early tuesday morning. and i don't usually go backwards unless i've got an e-mail asking me what i thought about something written.
so honestly, i often miss folding star's book chats. i love them. if they posted earlier on saturday, i'd read them all the time.
but i missed the review of jane fonda's book. so here it is:
The other great book I read since my last Book Chat was Jane Fonda's autobiography, My Life So Far.
I got so caught up in this book that hours would slip by unnoticed. I had several nights of little sleep because I'd pick it up to read in bed, just for a little while, and the next thing I'd know it would be close to four a.m.!
It's the most incredibly forthright autobiography I've ever read. Fonda opens herself up to the reader in very honest ways, exploring her difficult relationship with her father, her reaction to her mother's suicide, her three marriages, her film career, her struggles with bulima and low self esteem, and her actions during the Vietnam War in intimate detail.
The ultimate portrait is one of a human being who's made plenty of mistakes but who has come to know herself and believe in herself at last, not to mention someone who has the courage of her convictions and works to make this world a better place.
I picked up the book feeling I knew Fonda well enough. I'd liked her from the time I was a small kid, when 9 to 5 was one of my favorite movies. I didn't consciously get the very powerful message of the film at the time, of course, but I couldn't get enough of the movie itself. The humor of the movie appealed to me, even though, looking back, I realize how much of it was over my young head.
But after reading the book, I realized how little I'd known about this amazing woman, about her commitments to making a difference in the world, about her own personal struggles to know and love herself that are all too relatable to many of us and that I never would have imagined that someone like Jane Fonda had to deal with.
Every aspect of her story is told to help those who may be dealing with similar feelings and circumstances. Even in the telling of her life story, Fonda is reaching out to others, trying to help.
Her chapters on the Vietnam war and in particular the US Government's actions against her during that time are not to be missed, either, for anyone who may not be aware of that part of our country's history. It will also read as all too familiar a picture when compared to the current situation our country finds itself in.
I honestly think that, whatever your feelings for Fonda may be, if you give this book a chance you'll be shocked at what you take away from it.
that's from folding star who does the blog a winding road.
for those who don't know, jane fonda's book has been number 1 on the new york times book list 2 weeks in a row now. if you haven't checked it out yet, you should.
also, for those who don't know, folding star's had some bad news all around. the attacks on c.i.
came at the wrong time and fs really isn't into blogging of late. i know we all handled it in our own way and i'm hopeful that folding star and betty (thomas friedman is a great man) will both begin blogging again soon.
