A pleasing combination of cheer, diversion, and incisiveness.
A comic writer offers a collection of merriment.
Former New York Times columnist, essayist, comedian, and writer for the Joan Rivers Show, Pedersen gathers a series of short essays, some autobiographical, some cultural commentary, some philosophical, and all entertaining. In a section on “Quadrupeds,” she expounds on the vagaries of dogs (and occasionally cats); “Bipeds” recalls growing up in Buffalo, New York, in the 1970s; “Estrogen-Americans” considers the plight and power of women (“Does God Have a Woman Problem?” she slyly asks); “Human Kind” takes on overarching questions about art, lying, morality, and the good life. Although Pedersen grew up in a region where “Catholicism seeped into the warp and woof of everyone’s daily life,” she and her family were Unitarian Universalists, which she characterizes as not quite a religion: “we celebrate the two big Christian holidays along with hosting a Passover Seder,” she explains. “The Easter sermon tends to view the resurrection more through the lens of spring and battling greenhouse gasses.” Among a list of very funny Unitarian haiku is this one: “What is the question / to which war is the answer? / Make bumper stickers.” When the author lived in Manhattan (“I spent a number of years on Wall Street valuing things,” she writes about working on the Stock Exchange), she noted that subway delays were so prevalent “that straphangers now share a credo with Unitarian Universalists: Your guess is as good as mine.” Besides skewering consumerism (“Enough Is Enough”), discrimination against women in fields from science to comedy writing, and pretension in general, Pedersen offers a lovely homage to her father, who “possessed a magic power to make humans happy,” and some insightful reflections on community, responsibility, and art. Art’s message, she writes, “is no different from that of a good religion, that lives other than our own have value.”
A pleasing combination of cheer, diversion, and incisiveness.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-63152-737-1
Page Count: 320
Publisher: She Writes Press
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2020
The heartbreaking story of an emotionally battered child delivered with captivating candor and grace.
The former iCarly star reflects on her difficult childhood.
In her debut memoir, titled after her 2020 one-woman show, singer and actor McCurdy (b. 1992) reveals the raw details of what she describes as years of emotional abuse at the hands of her demanding, emotionally unstable stage mom, Debra. Born in Los Angeles, the author, along with three older brothers, grew up in a home controlled by her mother. When McCurdy was 3, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Though she initially survived, the disease’s recurrence would ultimately take her life when the author was 21. McCurdy candidly reconstructs those in-between years, showing how “my mom emotionally, mentally, and physically abused me in ways that will forever impact me.” Insistent on molding her only daughter into “Mommy’s little actress,” Debra shuffled her to auditions beginning at age 6. As she matured and starting booking acting gigs, McCurdy remained “desperate to impress Mom,” while Debra became increasingly obsessive about her daughter’s physical appearance. She tinted her daughter’s eyelashes, whitened her teeth, enforced a tightly monitored regimen of “calorie restriction,” and performed regular genital exams on her as a teenager. Eventually, the author grew understandably resentful and tried to distance herself from her mother. As a young celebrity, however, McCurdy became vulnerable to eating disorders, alcohol addiction, self-loathing, and unstable relationships. Throughout the book, she honestly portrays Debra’s cruel perfectionist personality and abusive behavior patterns, showing a woman who could get enraged by everything from crooked eyeliner to spilled milk. At the same time, McCurdy exhibits compassion for her deeply flawed mother. Late in the book, she shares a crushing secret her father revealed to her as an adult. While McCurdy didn’t emerge from her childhood unscathed, she’s managed to spin her harrowing experience into a sold-out stage act and achieve a form of catharsis that puts her mind, body, and acting career at peace.
The heartbreaking story of an emotionally battered child delivered with captivating candor and grace.Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-982185-82-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2022
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
A sharp, entertaining view of the news media from one of its star players.
The veteran newscaster reflects on her triumphs and hardships, both professional and private.
In this eagerly anticipated memoir, Couric (b. 1957) transforms the events of her long, illustrious career into an immensely readable story—a legacy-preserving exercise, for sure, yet judiciously polished and insightful, several notches above the fray of typical celebrity memoirs. The narrative unfolds through a series of lean chapters as she recounts the many career ascendency steps that led to her massively successful run on the Today Show and comparably disappointing stints as CBS Evening News anchor, talk show host, and Yahoo’s Global News Anchor. On the personal front, the author is candid in her recollections about her midlife adventures in the dating scene and deeply sorrowful and affecting regarding the experience of losing her husband to colon cancer as well as the deaths of other beloved family members, including her sister and parents. Throughout, Couric maintains a sharp yet cool-headed perspective on the broadcast news industry and its many outsized personalities and even how her celebrated role has diminished in recent years. “It’s AN ADJUSTMENT when the white-hot spotlight moves on,” she writes. “The ego gratification of being the It girl is intoxicating (toxic being the root of the word). When that starts to fade, it takes some getting used to—at least it did for me.” Readers who can recall when network news coverage and morning shows were not only relevant, but powerfully influential forces will be particularly drawn to Couric’s insights as she tracks how the media has evolved over recent decades and reflects on the negative effects of the increasing shift away from reliable sources of informed news coverage. The author also discusses recent important cultural and social revolutions, casting light on issues of race and sexual orientation, sexism, and the predatory behavior that led to the #MeToo movement. In that vein, she expresses her disillusionment with former co-host and friend Matt Lauer.
A sharp, entertaining view of the news media from one of its star players.Pub Date: Oct. 26, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-316-53586-1
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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