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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
This book was way more "literary" than I thought it would be in the sense that there's an extremely compelling central narrative thread/storyline and it's not just, like, gossip from the Star Trek set. As a longtime Voyager fan if anything I wish there had been a little more Star Trek, but I can appreciate the desire as an actor to differentiate yourself from the characters you play, which Kate Mulgrew mentioned at the reading I attended was one of the main motivations for writing this memoir. She tackles a lot of heavy subjects and focuses on her decision to give her daughter up for adoption at the beginning of her acting career, and how that decision affected her. She really doesn't hold back anything emotionally, and it's also beautifully written and evocative, especially when it comes to the descriptions of the Iowa countryside where she grew up (although I might be biased there as a native Iowan myself). During the reading Mulgrew also mentioned her desire to write another book following up this one (which ends well before her comeback on Orange is the New Black), and I've got my fingers crossed that she follows through soon!
I’ve always been a big fan of the Captain growing up. The first female Captain in the Star Trek franchise is strong and tough, but wise and compassionate. Her voice has always had this charisma that commands the room.
So when I found out this autobiography was narrated by Kate Mulgrew herself, I was overjoyed. It was a pleasant experience to hear about her journey and struggle in life through her own voice. Kate had such a flair with words, and her tone and phrasing enhanced the storytelling. You could hear her voice quiver in some places when the part became a bit emotional.
Kate went through a lot in her life. It was interesting to see her path before finding Voyager (I wish more chapters could be dedicated to her Voyager years!) which shaped her to be the person she was, as well as her view on her family, friends and romantic relationships, and what she had learnt from them.
Heart breaking, heartwarming, and everything in between.
So when I found out this autobiography was narrated by Kate Mulgrew herself, I was overjoyed. It was a pleasant experience to hear about her journey and struggle in life through her own voice. Kate had such a flair with words, and her tone and phrasing enhanced the storytelling. You could hear her voice quiver in some places when the part became a bit emotional.
Kate went through a lot in her life. It was interesting to see her path before finding Voyager (I wish more chapters could be dedicated to her Voyager years!) which shaped her to be the person she was, as well as her view on her family, friends and romantic relationships, and what she had learnt from them.
Heart breaking, heartwarming, and everything in between.
I Knew Kate Mulgrew as Captin Kathryn Janeway but I wasn't an avid viewer of the show. I'd have it on in the background on occasion but never followed the show. So I can't say I knew much at all about Mulgrew. I became interested when Booktuber/ professional book reviewer Steve Donoghue praised the writing in this book. He was so right about her beautiful prose. As an actor, she performed the audiobook authentically and movingly. I loved her spare lyrical language. The narrative was crisp and direct with no filler or sentimentality. It was however emotional and real as she addressed many hardships and trauma. In the book, she revealed that she'd aspired to be a poet. While I look forward to listening to her followup book How to Forget: a Daughter's Memoir I can't help but hope that she will someday publish some of her poetry. She's a marvelous writer and I'm sure she has poetry in her veins.
What a life. Impressive, intimate details. Gorgeous book. Kate's struggles are still the exact struggles of women (especially working women ) today. Her balance of motherhood, work, various relationships, and family events was so good to witnesses. Her honesty made me, and likely many others, feel less vulnerable and more understood in this world. Absolutely recommend to any young women who is struggling to find her place in life.
This was a one sit read and the pages flew by. I've had the benefit of listening to Kate Mulgrew read from this book so I very easily could hear her reading the book as I more or less devoured the thing. Even if you have never heard her speak or read before the prose has a particular poetry and drama to it that just makes it feel like it's being read to you instead of you just sitting there and reading it.
The Mulgrew family is an interesting and large one. Joan Mulgrew (Kate's mother) being a particular star in the whole thing. Of course Kate herself goes on to lead a dramatic life herself. My main experience with her work is as Captain Kathryn Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager so a look at some other work she has done, mostly in theatre, was really interesting. Star Trek is only addressed in the very end of the book so if you're not into Star Trek, don't worry. If you are into biographies about strong women overcoming obstacles and flourishing in spite of them - Mulgrew has had a fair amount of tragedy and pain in her life - then this is the book for you.
The Mulgrew family is an interesting and large one. Joan Mulgrew (Kate's mother) being a particular star in the whole thing. Of course Kate herself goes on to lead a dramatic life herself. My main experience with her work is as Captain Kathryn Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager so a look at some other work she has done, mostly in theatre, was really interesting. Star Trek is only addressed in the very end of the book so if you're not into Star Trek, don't worry. If you are into biographies about strong women overcoming obstacles and flourishing in spite of them - Mulgrew has had a fair amount of tragedy and pain in her life - then this is the book for you.
I have always been an enormous fan of Captain Janeway, and was thrilled when I found that Kate Mulgrew had written a memoir. The book turned out to be something rather different than I expected, but was still a lovely, intriguing look at the woman behind so many beloved characters. She has lived an enormously interesting life, and I was especially fascinated by her thoughts about balancing motherhood and a deep-seated passion for her work. I would have liked to hear more of her thoughts on her experience with Voyager, and sometimes felt that integral events were skipped over with a light hand, but I still very much enjoyed the journey she took me on. Kate Mulgrew is a beautiful writer, and she writes about her life with all the skill and drama of a truly classic actress. She draws together the various threads of her experiences deftly, and I was drawn in from the first page.
I find it kind of hard to rate someone's memoir. I didn't dislike this but the book was a bit too focused on the love interests in her life for my personal preference.
I really enjoyed this memoir. Kate Mulgrew is funny, sad and wonderful. I didn't want to put it down. She is as strong as Captain Janeway and Red, a woman who lives her life to the fullest.
It was certainly a book about Kate Mulgrew! Firstly, I'm not always as interested in books by actors as they don't always turn out to be great writers, but this was very well done on a technical level. Mulgrew has a real head for prose, and I enjoyed her writing for itself. Her life story up to the millennium was interesting, but not extraordinarily so, but the writing and presentation made it sparkle.
Being that it's me, I could have used a little more about Star Trek, and probably less about various boy friends and husbands, but I loved all her relationships with women. Her mother is such a guiding figure in this book, for good and ill, and then Mulgrew is constantly surrounded by blood-sworn female friends. Then of course the search for her lost daughter, which is the through line of the later two thirds of the book. I was a bit perplexed that so much of the story was a love letter to her second husband when she must have either just broken up with him or been in process thereof when she was writing it.
Mulgrew reads the audiobook herself, which I would recommend. She has an admirable amount of confidence and swagger.
Being that it's me, I could have used a little more about Star Trek, and probably less about various boy friends and husbands, but I loved all her relationships with women. Her mother is such a guiding figure in this book, for good and ill, and then Mulgrew is constantly surrounded by blood-sworn female friends. Then of course the search for her lost daughter, which is the through line of the later two thirds of the book. I was a bit perplexed that so much of the story was a love letter to her second husband when she must have either just broken up with him or been in process thereof when she was writing it.
Mulgrew reads the audiobook herself, which I would recommend. She has an admirable amount of confidence and swagger.
Gorgeous, wonderful writing about what it takes to be an actress, to be a mother, to be in love. It ends in a perfect place, but I so hope there will be another book that will take us up through her post Voyager career.