NEVER SAY NEVER

Actress, talk-show host and documentary film producer Lake is returning to television. Is there a better way to crank up the excitement level for a new talk show than with a tell-all memoir for your fans?

The author begins with a discussion of her abuse as a 7-year-old by the handyman in the family’s basement while her mother sat upstairs. Her parents’ lack of response to her trauma laid the groundwork for her emotional problems, manifested in Lake’s overeating habits. “To this day,” she writes, “I believe that it was my parents’ silence in the wake of the abuse—even more than the abuse itself—that wounded me so badly.” After seeing a Broadway production of Annie with her grandmother, Lake was determined to pursue her dream of becoming an actor. During her freshman year at college, Lake landed a starring role as Tracy Turnblad, a “fat girl who can really dance,” in John Waters’ Hairspray. From then on, the author’s life became a series of professional and personal successes followed by calamities and weight gain. At one time Lake weighed 260 pounds, but she landed a gig as the host of a provocative talk show, which aired for 11 years. She married and had two children, but her marriage ended in a nasty divorce. The births of her children changed Lake’s life, and she became a passionate advocate for the birthing rights movement, resulting in her documentary, The Business of Being Born. Following numerous failed relationships, author found a man who gives her “truly unconditional love.” For readers who revel in the vicissitudes of the lives of media personalities, Lake’s narrative will be a treat.

A sometimes-humorous, self-reflective chronicle of a triumphant journey through a troublesome childhood, chaotic young adulthood and fulfilled middle age.