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*Starred Review* Sally Field loved Gidget's other side of the glass world because her early 1960s TV character had a kind and reliable father, the stark opposite of Field's sexually predatory stepfather. In her first book, a memoir as soulful, wryly witty, and lyrical as it is candid and courageous, Field recounts the prolonged abuse she survived by creating a safe place where I could toss all the feelings I didn't understand. Field's stoicism was rooted in her love for her mother (who was always glowing like honey in a glass jar), and it was her mother's death that inspired this eye-opening and deeply affecting chronicle. As Field vividly shares behind-the-scene tales about her Academy Award-winning role in Norma Rae (If I could play her, I could be me), her Emmy-winning performance in Sybil (which opened a national dialogue about child abuse and mental illness), and her indelible performance as Mary Todd Lincoln in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, among many other performances, she reveals the damaging relationships and unending demands she endured, her battle to free herself from the typecasting her early sitcom success bestowed, and her revelations at the Actors Studio, where All the pieces, the voice, the parts of me came together. Arresting in its dark disclosures, vitality, humor, and grace, Field's deeply felt and beautifully written memoir illuminates the experiences and emotions on which she draws as an exceptionally charismatic, empathic, and powerful artist. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Sally Field is beloved, which is pull enough, but the struggles she reveals, especially in light of the #MeToo movement, are galvanizing and will be avidly discussed on every form of media.--Donna Seaman Copyright 2018 Booklist

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Talented and versatile Academy- and Emmy Award-winning actor Field's credits range from Gidget and Sybil to Norma Rae and Places in the Heart, among many others. Now she reveals the personal side of her story, along with her rise to fame. Reverberating throughout these pages is the impact of sexual abuse by her stepfather and her struggles to work through her relationship with her beloved mother. Field addresses these issues frankly, as she does the complex facets of her marriages and other associations (including her much-publicized relationship with actor Burt Reynolds), as well as various episodes in her behind-the-scenes professional life. Her discussion of building a vibrantly enduring acting career in the midst of turbulence is especially fascinating. There are vivid anecdotes from on and off the set, well-drawn accounts of priceless tutelage by famed Lee Strasberg, and powerful descriptions of how Field crafted major dramatic roles from deep within her emotional reservoir. It is all here and in Field's inimitable words, enhanced by thoughtfully chosen photographs. VERDICT Especially relevant in light of the growing awareness of rape and sexual assault, this engrossing, well-written work will appeal to fans and those previously unfamiliar with Field's work.-Carol J. Binkowski, Bloomfield, NJ © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.