Scan barcode
A review by appletonkelli
All That Is Bitter and Sweet: A Memoir by Maryanne Vollers, Nicholas D. Kristof, Ashley Judd
2.0
This book is actually two books in one. I don't mean for that to sound as complimentary as it comes across, by the way. When i say that this is two books in one I mean that this is one book that tells a good story and one book that should have remained in Ashley Judd's head, or at least in her therapist's head.
I could not figure out what this book was supposed to be. It's kind of like "My mom is a famous superstar but as a mom she is awful. I like kittens. My entire family is dysfunctional. I like puppies too."
But I learned that there was an actual rhythm to the book. You just have to figure it out.
Some chapters are all about the naval gazing. You can skim or skip those. I mean really. Dysfunctional families? Who does not have one? If everyone whose family is less than stellar wrote a book there would be no trees left. Make peace with your past. Or don't. But don't subject the rest of us to it. That's a pretty bad punishment for the innocent act of picking your book up from the library, isn't it?
Some chapters are about a rising star, a gifted actress with fame and fortune in front of her, who sets all that glitter aside to chase what is gold by joining an NGO and spends months at a time in ghettos. This story of this woman who learns to respect and even glean from the teachings of other faiths and yet never wavers in her commitment to the Way, the Truth and Life of Jesus Christ and takes the Light into dark places without ever having to utter a word of Scripture. She just lives it. And it radiates from her into the lives of prostitutes and orphans and even pimps and johns.
I don't read celebrity memoirs. Often I don't know who the celebrities are. To me, actors and actresses are just "Oh she looks familiar, wasn't she in that movie we watched that one time?". I don't care about celebrities. But I like Ashley Judd and I have actually wondered why she was not in more movies. Now I know why, she has more important things to do.
I could not figure out what this book was supposed to be. It's kind of like "My mom is a famous superstar but as a mom she is awful. I like kittens. My entire family is dysfunctional. I like puppies too."
But I learned that there was an actual rhythm to the book. You just have to figure it out.
Some chapters are all about the naval gazing. You can skim or skip those. I mean really. Dysfunctional families? Who does not have one? If everyone whose family is less than stellar wrote a book there would be no trees left. Make peace with your past. Or don't. But don't subject the rest of us to it. That's a pretty bad punishment for the innocent act of picking your book up from the library, isn't it?
Some chapters are about a rising star, a gifted actress with fame and fortune in front of her, who sets all that glitter aside to chase what is gold by joining an NGO and spends months at a time in ghettos. This story of this woman who learns to respect and even glean from the teachings of other faiths and yet never wavers in her commitment to the Way, the Truth and Life of Jesus Christ and takes the Light into dark places without ever having to utter a word of Scripture. She just lives it. And it radiates from her into the lives of prostitutes and orphans and even pimps and johns.
I don't read celebrity memoirs. Often I don't know who the celebrities are. To me, actors and actresses are just "Oh she looks familiar, wasn't she in that movie we watched that one time?". I don't care about celebrities. But I like Ashley Judd and I have actually wondered why she was not in more movies. Now I know why, she has more important things to do.