In Pieces by Sally Field – a #BookReview

Title: In Pieces by Sally Field

Genre: Mid Atlantic S. Biographies, Television Performer Biographies

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

• ISBN-10:1538763028
• ISBN-13:978-1538763025
• ASIN: B079L57W1M

      Print Length: 416 pages

Publication Date: September 18, 2018

Source: New Books from the Library

Title Link: In Pieces

Book Blurb:

In this intimate, haunting literary memoir and New York Times Notable Book of the year, an American icon tells her own story for the first time — about a challenging and lonely childhood, the craft that helped her find her voice, and a powerful emotional legacy that shaped her journey as a daughter and a mother.

One of the most celebrated, beloved, and enduring actors of our time, Sally Field has an infectious charm that has captivated the nation for more than five decades, beginning with her first TV role at the age of seventeen. From Gidget’s sweet-faced “girl next door” to the dazzling complexity of Sybil to the Academy Award-worthy ferocity and depth of Norma Rae and Mary Todd Lincoln, Field has stunned audiences time and time again with her artistic range and emotional acuity. Yet there is one character who always remained hidden: the shy and anxious little girl within.

With raw honesty and the fresh, pitch-perfect prose of a natural-born writer, and with all the humility and authenticity her fans have come to expect, Field brings readers behind-the-scenes for not only the highs and lows of her star-studded early career in Hollywood, but deep into the truth of her lifelong relationships–including her complicated love for her own mother. Powerful and unforgettable, In Pieces is an inspiring and important account of life as a woman in the second half of the twentieth century.

My Review:

It’s called a memoir. Perhaps more honestly, an exposé. But certainly not what you’d expect. If you are looking for the inside scoop about Tom Hanks or Robin Williams, you won’t get it here. This is pure Sally at age 72 (born in 1946), raw, open, vulnerable, naive, and damaged. She is a product of sexual abuse, a beautiful mother fighting deniability, torn, and numbing her own culpability with alcohol. In spite of the family back story, her step-father introduces her into the world of acting. On stage, she can be outside herself. The problem is off stage.

You may be too young to remember Gidget, it only lasted a year, or The Flying Nun, which she did NOT want to do and ended up saddled with the silly persona that took years to overcome. Beginning in 1977, however, she accumulated a long list of awards. But you should remember that she was a two time Academy Award winner.  Norma Rae in 1980 and Places in the Heart in 1985 wherein receipt of her Oscar often resulted in misquotes of her famous “you love me” acceptance speech. Additional works ranging from serious to comedy included Sybil, Steel Magnolias, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Forrest Gump.

Still, this memoir has little to expand on the movies and all to do with how she got there and the ongoing conflict with family, particularly her mother and step-father. Sally expands on her commitment to be a serious actress, working with the Actors Studio and many very talented people. She painfully speaks of an abortion and reveals the circumstances of her marriages as well as the birth of her three boys.

Profoundly personal, open, and many times humiliating, she discusses her life, warts and all. She is alternately sad, even bitter, but relates all in beautifully written prose, describing scenes that put you in the middle. Necessary to scrutinize the details of her life in the effort to find reconciliation with all that she struggled, the seven years it took to write her memoir has possibly given her peace.

“Nothing has a stronger influence psychologically on their environment and especially on their children than the unlived life of the parent.”

The narrative examines her sexuality, or the insecurity thereof, and the timbre of the times regarding sexual harassment. Fortunately, much of that behavior has changed. Field doggedly pursues her acting goal and manages to succeed. I was not totally surprised by the Hollywood couch mentality–that seems to have been a recurring story. Still, talk about dedication!

Hubby brought home this large print (thank you!) hardcover “new” library book and I couldn’t wait for him to finish. This is a novel written for herself as much as for us, articulate, profound, and I think you’ll find it hard to put down. I sincerely appreciated her candid and genuine story. Wholeheartedly recommended.

Rosepoint Publishing:  Four point Five of Five Stars

The Author: Sally Field is a two-time Academy Award and three-time Emmy Award-winning actor who has portrayed dozens of iconic roles on both the large and small screens. In 2012, she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 2015 she was honored by President Obama with the National Medal of Arts. She has served on the Board of Directors of Vital Voices since 2002 and also served on the Board of The Sundance Institute from 1994 to 2010. She has three sons and five grandchildren.

©2019 V Williams