Dos

I am off to a slow start when it comes to my book count this year, but I think my momentum is picking up. I just finished:
My Life So Far by Jane Fonda (4/5)

I've read a lot of autobiographies over the years, and I was impressed by the level of structuring present to support the telling of her intricate story. Many a Hollywood memoir is full of gaps and non-sequiturs, but this is not one of them. The book contains lots of photos, but at near 600 pages, she has not relied on them for filler.

She writes forthrightly about her family relationships, husbands, her bulimia, and her struggle to find her own voice. It took her a long time to come into her own, and I find that reassuring: it's never too late if you want to change, it just might take a while. She embarked on this quest of change and discovery when she turned 60 and is still on it. That's inspiring to me, moving, when I consider how my own mother, also in her 60s, is so reluctant to change, so unwilling to take responsibility for her life and any regrets she may have; it's too late in her mind.

My Life So Far also contains humor, courage, sex, activism, travel, and of course, life in the movies. For the sci-fi inclined, she even uses the word, grok.

A complex life, and a compelling read.

tags: Jane+Fonda, My+Life+So+Far, autobiography, memoirs, life+changes