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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
3.5⭐️ rounded down.
I greatly admire her advocacy work to equalize opportunities and expectations for women and girls in the entertainment industry. While she was brought up to bend over backwards and be the "perfect", docile woman that was the ideal from another generation, she still managed to march to her own drum. It was completely unintentional, unlike how she perceived Susan Sarandon's confidence. I picked up on something quite early on in her memoir that she operated differently and later when she reveals she was diagnosed with ADD, it all made a lot of sense.
I'm not sure if Davis simplified her experiences for the sake of communicating her story to her audience and/or to preserve some of the more private feelings and experiences she had, but it felt a little like her life just fell into place in an unrealistically easy way. Who am I to question her life experience, but part of me was a little skeptical. We do see that she was not always treated the best, her experience of being yelled at to test her with Bill Murray sticking out in particular. It seems like Hollywood was a different culture in the 80's and 90's in certain ways, i.e. taking meetings in hotel rooms. Davis acknowledges that that would never happen post #MeToo.
I did learn a lot about her, like that she's fluent in Swedish from spending a year abroad; she has suffered from intense shame and anxiety because she was told it's shameful to talk about very normal things, like bodily fluids. The story about how she learns that sperm can live outside the human body for a while and when she slept in her parents bed when her dad was away, she'd put down a sheet because she was afraid her dad's sperm would swim into her body from the sheets was amusing, but also made me feel so bad for her. A more alarming story was when she was sexually assaulted and completely oblivious to it because she was never properly educated on sex and appropriate touching vs inappropriate touching. I was very annoyed at her mother's reaction; not the banning Geena from going over to that guy's house again, but that she never explained that the guy was in the wrong, not Geena so she's left with feeling like she did something wrong and feeling ashamed. This attitude about bodily fluids and sex was extremely familiar to me because my mom was brought up in a similar way. She and Davis are from the same generation.
I found Davis' story funny and entertaining. Is it a memoir I'll remember without this summary? Probably not, but who knows. I do plan on watching the movies she best known for and that might help keep some of her story fresh. Non-film achievements I was very impressed by were her pursuit in archery, her pumpkin carving skills (shown in the pictures in the book), and her advocacy work. She had some ingenious ideas on how to include more people of color and women in movies/TV in the background. Now, the industry needs to focus on centering stories around POC and women. Geena's can-do attitude and unflinching resolve are admirable. While suffering from self-image and self-confidence problems, she didn't let that compromise her drive or her aspirations. On that note, I was surprised to hear herself describe herself as "not conventionally attractive enough" a few times; I always thought she was beautiful: she's tall, thin, white, beautiful enough to model. The Swedish found her very attractive. Her smile is really pretty.
I really enjoyed listening to her narrate her own story and if anyone were in the market for a light, inspiring read, I'd recommend this.
Spoiler
The first and only movie I've seen Geena Davis in was Stuart Little. I remember my mom telling me who she was when I was a kid, but honestly had no idea what a pioneer woman she was, or that she was an academy award winner. She's had quite a prolific career. I think her movies came out before my time; I think I would've enjoyed this more if I had been more familiar with her early movies before reading. That being said, I want to watch the movies she starred in in the 80's and 90's.I greatly admire her advocacy work to equalize opportunities and expectations for women and girls in the entertainment industry. While she was brought up to bend over backwards and be the "perfect", docile woman that was the ideal from another generation, she still managed to march to her own drum. It was completely unintentional, unlike how she perceived Susan Sarandon's confidence. I picked up on something quite early on in her memoir that she operated differently and later when she reveals she was diagnosed with ADD, it all made a lot of sense.
I'm not sure if Davis simplified her experiences for the sake of communicating her story to her audience and/or to preserve some of the more private feelings and experiences she had, but it felt a little like her life just fell into place in an unrealistically easy way. Who am I to question her life experience, but part of me was a little skeptical. We do see that she was not always treated the best, her experience of being yelled at to test her with Bill Murray sticking out in particular. It seems like Hollywood was a different culture in the 80's and 90's in certain ways, i.e. taking meetings in hotel rooms. Davis acknowledges that that would never happen post #MeToo.
I did learn a lot about her, like that she's fluent in Swedish from spending a year abroad; she has suffered from intense shame and anxiety because she was told it's shameful to talk about very normal things, like bodily fluids. The story about how she learns that sperm can live outside the human body for a while and when she slept in her parents bed when her dad was away, she'd put down a sheet because she was afraid her dad's sperm would swim into her body from the sheets was amusing, but also made me feel so bad for her. A more alarming story was when she was sexually assaulted and completely oblivious to it because she was never properly educated on sex and appropriate touching vs inappropriate touching. I was very annoyed at her mother's reaction; not the banning Geena from going over to that guy's house again, but that she never explained that the guy was in the wrong, not Geena so she's left with feeling like she did something wrong and feeling ashamed. This attitude about bodily fluids and sex was extremely familiar to me because my mom was brought up in a similar way. She and Davis are from the same generation.
I found Davis' story funny and entertaining. Is it a memoir I'll remember without this summary? Probably not, but who knows. I do plan on watching the movies she best known for and that might help keep some of her story fresh. Non-film achievements I was very impressed by were her pursuit in archery, her pumpkin carving skills (shown in the pictures in the book), and her advocacy work. She had some ingenious ideas on how to include more people of color and women in movies/TV in the background. Now, the industry needs to focus on centering stories around POC and women. Geena's can-do attitude and unflinching resolve are admirable. While suffering from self-image and self-confidence problems, she didn't let that compromise her drive or her aspirations. On that note, I was surprised to hear herself describe herself as "not conventionally attractive enough" a few times; I always thought she was beautiful: she's tall, thin, white, beautiful enough to model. The Swedish found her very attractive. Her smile is really pretty.
I really enjoyed listening to her narrate her own story and if anyone were in the market for a light, inspiring read, I'd recommend this.
Read this in one sitting. She’s a terrific storyteller.
i had seen a couple of her movies growing up, but i became an instant fan after watching earth girls are easy and the fly. then thelma & louise took my breath away. then just recently i watched a league of their own and said (through sobs), alright i’ll read geena’s memoir!! she seems like a downright lovely person. the chapter about making thelma & louise was so touching, i didn’t want it to end. she was so perfectly cast for that movie with susan sarandon. also fuck hollywood for not casting geena in certain roles because she “wasn’t hot enough” like hello??? are you BLIND
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
I didn’t know what to expect but between her incredible history in Hollywood and her infectious up-beat outlook on everything this memoir was just a delight. I wish it was longer, but she did a fantastic job. So much so that now I want to go watch all the movies and TV shows she was in. Highly recommend!
I've listened to quite a few celebrity memoirs this year and this has been my favorite by far! Geena Davis is a feminist force! It was so interesting to learn about her journey from acting to archery to funding research about girls' representation in media, all through the lens of her witty and dry sense of humor. I particularly appreciated the undercurrent of finding her voice and moving beyond people pleasing tendencies that ran parallel through the book. Highly recommend (especially the audiobook to hear it in her own words)!
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced