Gloria Feldt

I loved that this book was like sitting down and dishing with a slightly naught y woman who thinks a lot of herself. I thought Kathleen Turner's descriptions of her struggles with rheumatoid arthritis were very moving. I watched my mother struggle with this disease and would have said I had a good u nderstanding of the pain she had. I clearly didn't. Ms turner brought me to tears when I thought of my Mom. This was a very enjoyable read, breezy and touching and very honest. She's to be show more commended for doing such a great job of opening this reader's eyes about RA. show less

Note: This review is of an early release version in the Early Reviewer program.

I liked Kathleen Turner a whole lot more before I read her autobiography. Turner was powerful in “Body Heat.” She was amazing in John Waters’ “Serial Mom,” and I loved her performance in “Romancing the Stone.” However, “Send Yourself Roses” portrays Turner as arrogant and egocentric, which colors the entire story.

Turner’s autobiography should have been entertaining and interesting due to her show more varied experiences and famous friends and acquaintances. Instead, it became boring due to overuse of “I,” as in I’m so sexy, I’m so attractive, I’m so talented, I’m so funny, ad nauseam.

Turner complains of the burden of starting her career “as a younger beautiful woman known for sexuality” that creates “an inherent dismissal of her as an individual.” Chapter 3 has the subheadings: “Finding My Talent Early,” “Awakening to My Passions,” and “I Owned the World.”

“Send Yourself Roses” has lots of interesting substantive content. Unfortunately, its “in your face” attitude detracts from the actual story. The foul language feels out of place and unnecessary. The book opens with: “I am f****** exhausted. Wonderfully, joyfully exhausted, and filled with such extraordinary happiness and gratitude.” Turner refers to the reader as “babe,” “honey,” and “baby,” which simply feels offensive.

Turner’s autobiography compares unfavorably to “My Life So Far,” by Jane Fonda, and “Me, Stories of My Life,” by Katherine Hepburn. Fonda and Hepburn demonstrate that it is possible for an actress to write a literate, interesting autobiography without the overriding egotism that mars “Send Yourself Roses.” Perhaps this major flaw is attributable to Gloria Feldt, coauthor of the book, but Turner certainly would have approved the text prior to publication.

In short, the Kathleen Turner movies are far more enjoyable than her unfortunate book.

Note: the first thing I noticed about this book was the cheap, thin, paper used by the publisher. A minor matter, yes, but it just reduces my enjoyment of the reading experience. show less

Send Yourself Roses:Thoughts on my Life, Live and Leading Roles
by Kathleen Turner & Gloria Feldt
2007
Springboard
4.0/5.0

Courageous and witty, Kathlern Turners' memoir follows her acting career from her film debut in 'Body Heat' to her stage role as Martha in ' Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'.

Sharing her childhood, living in many countries around the world and her great sense of loss after her father's sudden death. Her marriage and separation from Jay, and stories of her daughter. Rachel, are show more so heart felt, and honest. She also shares Kathleen's diagnosis and treatment of Rhumatoid Arthritis, something that changed her life, but not her spirit. She is a spokeswoman for RI, now.

Some of the best parts of this memoir, to me, were when Kathleen shared how playing certain roles has shaped how so many people see her, as if the role was her actual life, not a part she played. And how her sultry voice has been so recognizable and pivotal in her career.

I have always admired her as a woman, and enjoyed her wild spirit, humor and her guts. Her film roles are always engaging, and I hope she will share another memoir, soon. show less

I really like Kathleen Turner. I like the movie roles she’s chosen, I LOVED “War of the Roses” (especially that last scene – it was perfect!), and I loved it when she played Chandler’s father on Friends. So I wanted to like her biography…but…

I remember taking a writing class after college and having the instructor tell us, “Don’t TELL me how the characters feel, SHOW me how they feel.” Her point was that writing the words “She was sad” is weak and doesn’t have show more nearly the same impact as a scene showing how sad the character was…with her thoughts and actions.

In “Send Yourself Roses”, Kathleen Turner tells us again and again how she felt and why she made the decisions she did in her life – but there is very little showing. Which made the story, her story, weaker for me, and at times, I wanted to go back to just the Kathleen Turner that I had experiences before.

Given that she is an actress and not a writer, I am throwing the onus on her editor here. The style of the book is very rambling and many themes and events are repeated over and over. An incident in her life that has impact the first time you read it has much less strength after you read about it for the third time. There are some powerful stories in this book but they risk being drowned out by all the noise.

This memory, however, was gripping. Turner’s father was in the Foreign Service and he and his family lived all over the world. While Kathleen was in grade school, they lived in Cuba, and she recalls a time right after Castro took power.

“One day I came home from school and said to Mother, “Mom, Castro gave me candy.” She said, “What are you talking about? I said, “The teacher told us to close our eyes and pray to God for candy. We did. She said, “Open your eyes.” There was no candy. Then she said, “Close your eyes and pray to Castro for candy.” We did and when we opened our eyes again, there was candy. The teacher asked, “Who loves you, God or Castro?”

Living the life she has, experiencing events like that one, I expected Kathleen Turner’s story to be fascinating. And I think that it probably is…but not the way it’s told here.

I’ve been thinking about this for a few days since I finished this book…and I think I know what would have drastically changed my perspective on this book.

One of the central themes Turner addresses is that of voice. Women’s voices, people’s voices…and of course, her own voice. Her very distinctive, unmistakable (my words here) wonderful, amazing voice.

“In…aspects of voice, authenticity is the key to effectiveness. You must speak in your own voice or no one will hear you. And your unique voice is a special gift that no one else can give to the world.”

If I had listened to this book, told in Kathleen’s Turner’s unique voice, I think it would have been a far more authentic experience. Hearing her words with her inflections, the emphases she chose…it would have been more showing than telling.

And it turns out, she agrees with me. “I take the idea of voice quite literally because I truly believe the sound of my voice is terribly important to my overall presentation and how I will be received by others.” show less