A disquieting, edgy, and engrossing embrace of the rewards of sobriety.
Alcoholism and mental illness roil a Wisconsin clan in this memoir about childhood abuse, family dysfunction, and the rocky road to recovery.
Branson begins her book with a dramatic event. She was a nurse engaged in a casual sexual encounter with “Dr. Joe” when her boyfriend, Michael, unexpectedly arrived at her apartment. Violence ensued, and the police were called. By the end of the chapter, readers learn the author and Michael reconciled and eventually married. Now, back to the beginning: Branson, her parents’ second child, was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, in July 1959. Her father was the superintendent of schools. Her young, sociable parents threw many parties at their house, with attendees usually being faculty members. One teacher, Jeffry, left Branson, still a young child, with a permanent psychological scar. According to the author, he assaulted her sexually in her bedroom during one of the parties. The incident was never discussed in the family, although Branson began drawing sexually explicit pictures (for which she was reprimanded). She acerbically describes the life lessons she learned from her family: “If someone behaves inappropriately, pretend it never happened; Bury emotions; do not attempt to communicate them; Be sneaky—it pays off; No matter what happens, act like everything is fine; When in emotional pain, drink alcohol.” Later, the author added the occasional line of cocaine. Genetically predisposed to alcoholism, she had an additional challenge: “I was born with a significant brain disorder. The mesolimbic pathway in my brain was not formed correctly at birth. This is the area of my brain that has to do with pleasure and mood regulation.” Branson does not make clear how or when she was diagnosed, but she personified this disorder by giving it a name: “Glinda.” Her articulate memoir is the disturbing tale of how she served Glinda by behaving recklessly and how she was sometimes able to keep her at bay. Readers will likely breathe a sigh of relief when the author recounts that she finally acknowledged her alcoholism (in 2003) and took new responsibility for her own life, including the mistakes and victories.
A disquieting, edgy, and engrossing embrace of the rewards of sobriety.Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5255-0866-0
Page Count: 228
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A fascinating and funny look at the life of a famous actor who found further fulfillment through giving back.
The actor discusses his career on the stage and in film, and his life focusing on the value of art and public service.
Now 66, Stern, perhaps best known for his roles in Home Alone and City Slickers, is no longer "the precocious teenager who moved to New York as a seventeen-year-old, at least ten years younger than all of my friends, the youngest dad at all my kids’ school events.” As he discusses his childhood in Maryland, his introduction to the theater, and writing a musical version of Lord of the Flies, the author's love of the work shows through on every page—as does his family’s legacy of a strong work ethic (his mother told him, “I don’t care what you do but you are out of this house when you turn eighteen”). Realizing that “academics were not going to get me anywhere,” he committed to acting. After some early stage work, he began working in films, appearing in a number of critically successful projects in the late 1970s and early ’80s, including Breaking Away and Diner. Stern analyzes key moments in the development of his craft, as well as the twists and turns of a very public life, which included work with the USO and the experience of being sued for $25 million over a TV show. Although readers may pick up the book to learn more about Hollywood, his focus on his work-life balance brings some of the most memorable passages, from his narration and directing work in the TV series The Wonder Years (which included no on-screen billing), which helped him overcome his childhood dyslexia, to his experience working with the Boys & Girls Club and his lifelong focus on public service.
A fascinating and funny look at the life of a famous actor who found further fulfillment through giving back.Pub Date: May 21, 2024
ISBN: 9781632280930
Page Count: 300
Publisher: Viva Editions
Review Posted Online: Jan. 30, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
Smart, engaging sportswriting—good reading for organization builders as well as Pats fans.
Prolific writer Benedict has long blended two interests—sports and business—and the Patriots are emblematic of both. Founded in 1959 as the Boston Patriots, the team built a strategic home field between that city and Providence. When original owner Billy Sullivan sold the flailing team in 1988, it was $126 million in the hole, a condition so dire that “Sullivan had to beg the NFL to release emergency funds so he could pay his players.” Victor Kiam, the razor magnate, bought the long since renamed New England Patriots, but rival Robert Kraft bought first the parking lots and then the stadium—and “it rankled Kiam that he bore all the risk as the owner of the team but virtually all of the revenue that the team generated went to Kraft.” Check and mate. Kraft finally took over the team in 1994. Kraft inherited coach Bill Parcells, who in turn brought in star quarterback Drew Bledsoe, “the Patriots’ most prized player.” However, as the book’s nimbly constructed opening recounts, in 2001, Bledsoe got smeared in a hit “so violent that players along the Patriots sideline compared the sound of the collision to a car crash.” After that, it was backup Tom Brady’s team. Gridiron nerds will debate whether Brady is the greatest QB and Bill Belichick the greatest coach the game has ever known, but certainly they’ve had their share of controversy. The infamous “Deflategate” incident of 2015 takes up plenty of space in the late pages of the narrative, and depending on how you read between the lines, Brady was either an accomplice or an unwitting beneficiary. Still, as the author writes, by that point Brady “had started in 223 straight regular-season games,” an enviable record on a team that itself has racked up impressive stats.
Smart, engaging sportswriting—good reading for organization builders as well as Pats fans.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-982134-10-5
Page Count: 592
Publisher: Avid Reader Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
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