LIFE WISH: A Personal Story of Survival

by Jill Ireland ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 29, 1986

Beginning with the title, a takeoff on the title of her husband's (Charles Bronson) biggest film, this autobiographical account of actress Ireland's bout with breast cancer trashes its own good intentions under a barrage of undisciplined self-indulgence. Ireland lays the foundation of her traumatic tale by telling briefly of her life up to 1984, a whirlwind of professional success marred by frequent emotional and physical stress, including miscarriages. Then came the kicker: a malignant tumor in the right breast, with a mastectomy performed the day after biopsy. The operation's aftermath--the frightening, painful chemotherapy, the awareness of death's proximity, the pained relations with family and friends--constitutes the body of Ireland's narrative. All this she handles with admirable honesty, not concealing her self-pitying behavior nor Bronson's occasional inability to cope. Also detailed, and not without interest, are her forays into unconventional ways of dealing with her cancer, including visualizations, and reliance on astrology and the I Ching for guidance and comfort. But Ireland unwittingly pinpoints the underlying problem with this confessional tale when she writes that ""I intended the book to be helpful to others, but it soon became my companion, a means of self-discovery and personal growth."" While the author's grappling with cancer makes for a moderately dramatic story, hanging out to dry every self-absorbed detail of her ""personal growth"" does not; finally, one loses patience with this woman who insists on publicizing her every fear and wish, and, who, despite her suffering, remains so spoiled that the ""self. discovery"" of ""a simpler life-style"" means a house with ""fewer servants"" and ""four bathrooms instead of twelve."" Readers every-hungry for celebrity tidbits will swallow this whole; others not.

Pub Date: Jan. 29, 1986

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1986

Categories: NONFICTION