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A review by janine1122
The Rainbow Comes and Goes: A Mother and Son on Life, Love, and Loss by Anderson Cooper
3.0
I enjoyed this book, and learned an awful lot about Gloria Vanderbilt from it! I listened to the audiobook version, narrated by Cooper and Vanderbilt themselves, and I think I got a lot more out of that experience than I would have reading the physical book. I loved hearing the back and forth between them.
I will be honest, though -- I came into this drawn in more by Anderson Cooper than anything else. There is far less of him here, though, than there is his mother. I understand why -- she has lead a very full and interesting life, full of ups and downs. And, from Cooper's perspective, there was SO much she shared that he seemed to never have known. I get why he would take a backseat to the stories she had to tell. It makes sense. It just made things feel a bit uneven.
I didn't know much about Gloria Vanderbilt prior to listening to this audiobook. Now, though, I feel like I really know her. It's amazing the vitality and spunk she has at the age of 92. I was really struck by her positive outlook, especially considering all of the hardships she has faced in her life. She's really been through a lot. Both good and bad, though some of the bad was really, really terrible. The fact that she's made it to the point she's at today, and still feels she has so much more to give, and can keep such a positive outlook is really pretty amazing. As is the contrast between her worldview and her son's. Granted, Cooper himself has been through some pretty tough stuff in his life, losing his father at a young age, having a fairly unpredictable mother, and then losing his older brother to suicide. It was just really interesting to look at some of the parallels between his life and his mother's, and how they both reacted to things in very different ways.
I really enjoyed this portrait of mother and son -- the honesty, emotion, and connection that they shared over the course of exchanging e-mails to tell this story. It really was heartwarming, and the love that Vanderbilt has for her son was really apparent and sweet. This was a nice change of pace for me, and a worthwhile listen.
I will be honest, though -- I came into this drawn in more by Anderson Cooper than anything else. There is far less of him here, though, than there is his mother. I understand why -- she has lead a very full and interesting life, full of ups and downs. And, from Cooper's perspective, there was SO much she shared that he seemed to never have known. I get why he would take a backseat to the stories she had to tell. It makes sense. It just made things feel a bit uneven.
I didn't know much about Gloria Vanderbilt prior to listening to this audiobook. Now, though, I feel like I really know her. It's amazing the vitality and spunk she has at the age of 92. I was really struck by her positive outlook, especially considering all of the hardships she has faced in her life. She's really been through a lot. Both good and bad, though some of the bad was really, really terrible. The fact that she's made it to the point she's at today, and still feels she has so much more to give, and can keep such a positive outlook is really pretty amazing. As is the contrast between her worldview and her son's. Granted, Cooper himself has been through some pretty tough stuff in his life, losing his father at a young age, having a fairly unpredictable mother, and then losing his older brother to suicide. It was just really interesting to look at some of the parallels between his life and his mother's, and how they both reacted to things in very different ways.
I really enjoyed this portrait of mother and son -- the honesty, emotion, and connection that they shared over the course of exchanging e-mails to tell this story. It really was heartwarming, and the love that Vanderbilt has for her son was really apparent and sweet. This was a nice change of pace for me, and a worthwhile listen.