Gilda Radner (1946–1989)

Overall, a very bad book. I truly loved Gilda Radner but she came across in this book as very flighty, whiny and needy. And the picture she portrayed of Gene Wilder was not really attractive -- she was almost an apologist at times when some of his actions struck me as pretty hurtful. She didn't do him any favors. However, the whole book was worth reading for a story on the last two pages, of a pregnant dog that lost her two rear legs. Not only did she survive and learn how to walk, her show more puppies walked just like her -- to me showing how spirit and will can help us get through our trials. show less

RIP Gilda. What a bittersweet read. She writes honestly about her battle with ovarian cancer and right up to the last word never admits defeat. I admired her standing up to doctors that only saw her as a disease not as a person. But she doesn’t paint herself as a saint, she admits when she is crabby or jealous of healthy people or afraid. Her ongoing revelation of the power of taking control of your own recovery is inspirational.

I like Gilda Radner a lot. It is not a bad memoir, its just I wanted to know more about her, her life, her career, SNL, etc. This is almost solely about her relationship with Gene Wilder and her cancer. Its not un-interesting, but I didn't want to read about cancer. She had some fabulous insights on life and is a good writer. One part in particular I really loved:

"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear show more beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next.
Delicious Ambiguity." show less

comedian battle w/ cancer
Excellent - week is came out - she died

This is Gilda, with whom we laughed on Saturday Night Live: warm, big-hearted, outrageous, and real. This is Gilda's last gift to us: the magnificent final performance of an incomparable entertainer whose life, though tragically brief, enriched our own lives beyond measure.