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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
Fascinating story of an actress I've long admired. This volume touches on her career, her loves, and various situations that informed her character. I listened to the audiobook, red by the author. It includes an interview with Rosie O'Donnell that is both inspiring and entertaining.
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
I loved this book! I always admired Kate as an actress, but through this book I learned to love her as a person as well. I would love to know her in real life. She seems like an amazing woman all the way around!
Kate Mulgrew is entirely fascinating, as are her family and friends and lovers.
I had no idea Kate was such an established stage actress! I only knew her as Captain Katherine Janeway from Star Trek Voyager, and really loved her in that show, so when I saw the audiobook at my library, I decided to pick it up.
I'm really glad I did. She led an amazing life, and overcame so much. She is pretty blunt and to the point, (probably thanks to her Irish heritage) and didn't sugar coat any of the terrible things that happened to her.
She still maintained a great sense of humour, and I really enjoyed listening to her thoughts on the industry in the perspective of a woman.
And of course, I loved the Star Trek chapters, from meeting Sir Patrick Stewart, her disastrous first audition for the role of Janeway, and to the hilarious anecdote of her two sons trying to fire spit balls at the premier of the show.
I'm really glad I did. She led an amazing life, and overcame so much. She is pretty blunt and to the point, (probably thanks to her Irish heritage) and didn't sugar coat any of the terrible things that happened to her.
She still maintained a great sense of humour, and I really enjoyed listening to her thoughts on the industry in the perspective of a woman.
And of course, I loved the Star Trek chapters, from meeting Sir Patrick Stewart, her disastrous first audition for the role of Janeway, and to the hilarious anecdote of her two sons trying to fire spit balls at the premier of the show.
Some very minor spoilers ahead, I think.
I will start this review by saying that Captain Janeway has been one of my role models since I was a child, and I have always known on some level that Kate Mulgrew MUST share some personality traits with this character. This book did not disappoint me in that regard. There is so much of her personality and voice inserted into the stories of her life that she relates in the story that I can tell that yes, she and Janeway share quite a bit.
However, I was a little bit let down in what this book dwells on versus what it only devotes some short paragraphs to. I really wanted to learn more about what life was like on the set of Voyager, Mulgrew's relationships with the other actors, and her thoughts on some of the plotlines. She doesn't go into much detail on these things, but she goes into an immense amount of detail describing the major relationships of her life. These include familial, romantic, and important friendships. I think it's my own issue that I was simply not as interested in learning about her romantic life as much as I wanted to hear about her professional life and the book tends to portray the opposite dynamic in detail. It makes sense, though, because pretty much everyone would rather think more about their personal life than their work life!
All that being said, Mulgrew has a beautiful and impressive grasp of the conventions of writing. Her word choice is impeccable and descriptive. It was a pleasure to listen to her read this to me (especially when she said, "Engage!" a la Janeway). She gave me a lot to think about at different points in this story. I particularly liked her revelations about the differences between male and female artists. I also enjoyed the conversation between Kate Mulgrew Rosie O'Donnell that the audible book includes at the end.
After all is said and done, I learned a lot from this book, I got some great quotes, and I still think Mulgrew is an amazing person. I look forward to reading more from her (she has since published another memoir, about caring for her aging parents). In the aforementioned conversation with O'Donnell, she did say that she loves writing and wants to do more!
I will start this review by saying that Captain Janeway has been one of my role models since I was a child, and I have always known on some level that Kate Mulgrew MUST share some personality traits with this character. This book did not disappoint me in that regard. There is so much of her personality and voice inserted into the stories of her life that she relates in the story that I can tell that yes, she and Janeway share quite a bit.
However, I was a little bit let down in what this book dwells on versus what it only devotes some short paragraphs to. I really wanted to learn more about what life was like on the set of Voyager, Mulgrew's relationships with the other actors, and her thoughts on some of the plotlines. She doesn't go into much detail on these things, but she goes into an immense amount of detail describing the major relationships of her life. These include familial, romantic, and important friendships. I think it's my own issue that I was simply not as interested in learning about her romantic life as much as I wanted to hear about her professional life and the book tends to portray the opposite dynamic in detail. It makes sense, though, because pretty much everyone would rather think more about their personal life than their work life!
All that being said, Mulgrew has a beautiful and impressive grasp of the conventions of writing. Her word choice is impeccable and descriptive. It was a pleasure to listen to her read this to me (especially when she said, "Engage!" a la Janeway). She gave me a lot to think about at different points in this story. I particularly liked her revelations about the differences between male and female artists. I also enjoyed the conversation between Kate Mulgrew Rosie O'Donnell that the audible book includes at the end.
After all is said and done, I learned a lot from this book, I got some great quotes, and I still think Mulgrew is an amazing person. I look forward to reading more from her (she has since published another memoir, about caring for her aging parents). In the aforementioned conversation with O'Donnell, she did say that she loves writing and wants to do more!
I read this one for the 52 books in 52 weeks prompt: First chapter ends on an odd page number.
I loved the first 50-100 pages where she talks about her childhood, and the last 50 pages where she describes her time on the Voyager set and her daughter. The story in the middle was okay, but there just wasn't as much to engage me.
I loved the first 50-100 pages where she talks about her childhood, and the last 50 pages where she describes her time on the Voyager set and her daughter. The story in the middle was okay, but there just wasn't as much to engage me.
I love me some Kate Mulgrew, though I did wish there was more Star Trek stuff in there. It was mostly about her personal life which is still fascinating.
This was just "meh" to me. I don't feel like there was as much depth as I would have expected. I suppose I cared less about all the champagne she drank and her affairs she had. She spoke about how important "the craft" was to her but she really doesn't say where she learned it. She didn't finish acting school and apparently was popular the minute she dropped out. Like many of us, her words and her actions didn't always match. The ending seemed really abrupt.
I used to watch Voyager with my dad and liked the female captain. Years later she reappeared in a certain show about a women's prison. It was fascinating to listen to her story. Her struggle and the horrible things she went through made me feel for her. Throughout her life it was her work that kept her going and that really shines through this book.