Unsinkable: A Memoir

Debbie Reynolds is a strong woman with a weakness for morally bankrupt men. I admire her efforts for trying to preserve Hollywood memorabilia from the golden age of movies, especially from big studio musicals. I really wish for her, and for all of us, that it did become a reality. She had some amazing artifacts. There is no doubt she did try very hard to establish the museum, but due to her poor choices in her last two husbands, who basically robbed her blind, she eventually had to auction off nearly all of her memorabilia collection putting an end to that dream. This made me very sad because it seemed she did not learn any lessons from her second marriage, and her poor choices with her third marriage, in my opinion, bordered on show more self-sabotage against her own life and happiness. The cliched saying..."Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me" came to mind several moments as I read of her train wreck of a third marriage. Although, I viewed her third husband as despicable, it sickened me that Ms. Reynolds was so complacent and enabling of the whole situation. Even after she suspected her husband contemplated murdering her, she still harbored faint hopes it might work out. What?! It often amazed me as I was reading the book how strong her son Todd was to always be there to support his mother and scramble to fix the messes that she had a major role in creating. Not to mention the unnamed friends she had to borrow money and services from. This being said, I do admire her work ethic, sense of humor, and love for her children, parents, and brother. I enjoyed the memories she shared of the films she has done over the years. The fact that she has lived to such a ripe old age and still working so hard lives up to her memoir title "Unsinkable", yet it's plain to me she repeatedly and needlessly fired the torpedo on herself. show less

Debbie Reynolds is a strong woman with a weakness for morally bankrupt men. I admire her efforts for trying to preserve Hollywood memorabilia from the golden age of movies, especially from big studio musicals. I really wish for her, and for all of us, that it did become a reality. She had some amazing artifacts. There is no doubt she did try very hard to establish the museum, but due to her poor choices in her last two husbands, who basically robbed her blind, she eventually had to auction off nearly all of her memorabilia collection putting an end to that dream. This made me very sad because it seemed she did not learn any lessons from her second marriage, and her poor choices with her third marriage, in my opinion, bordered on show more self-sabotage against her own life and happiness. The cliched saying..."Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me" came to mind several moments as I read of her train wreck of a third marriage. Although, I viewed her third husband as despicable, it sickened me that Ms. Reynolds was so complacent and enabling of the whole situation. Even after she suspected her husband contemplated murdering her, she still harbored faint hopes it might work out. What?! It often amazed me as I was reading the book how strong her son Todd was to always be there to support his mother and scramble to fix the messes that she had a major role in creating. Not to mention the unnamed friends she had to borrow money and services from. This being said, I do admire her work ethic, sense of humor, and love for her children, parents, and brother. I enjoyed the memories she shared of the films she has done over the years. The fact that she has lived to such a ripe old age and still working so hard lives up to her memoir title "Unsinkable", yet it's plain to me she repeatedly and needlessly fired the torpedo on herself. show less

I tore right through this book, and loved it, but the number of times I found myself mentally shaking my head while saying "oh, honey" was ridiculous. Clearly, she lived an interesting and eventful life, and she seems to have retained a trust in humanity long after most would have lost it. I have read Carrie Fisher's autobiographies, and I'd been meaning to read more about Debbie Reynolds for quite a while now. Her memories of working on some of my favorite old Hollywood films were my favorite part of this book.

Unsinkable is the definitive memoir written by film legend and Hollywood icon Debbie Reynolds. This book offers a deeply personal perspective on Hollywood and its elite - from the glory days of MGM to the present. It shines a spotlight on this resilient woman whose talent and passion for her work have endured for more than six decades. Debbie Reynolds - legendary actress, comedienne, singer, dancer and performer - offers readers an intimate glimpse into her extraordinary life, spanning Hollywood's Golden Age to today.

In her engaging, down-to-earth voice, Debbie shares private details about her various troubles; both with money and the type of men with whom she chose to spend her life. She invites readers into the close-knit circle of show more her family, speaking with deep affection and great honesty about her relationships with her children, Carrie and Todd Fisher. She looks back at her life as an actress working during the Golden Age of Hollywood - chronicling the highs and lows of her professional career.

Debbie reveals anecdotes about her lifelong friendship with the legendary Elizabeth Taylor - as well as speaking of the period of years-long estrangement between them. She also shares stories about her experiences as the foremost collector of Hollywood memorabilia, intimate details of her three marriages and family life with her children. Here, too, are memorable stories about numerous celebrities, such as Ava Gardner, Clark Gable, Frank Sinatra, Mick Jagger, Gene Kelly, and many more.

Debbie also takes the reader on a delightful guided tour through her movies, sharing poignant, whimsical, often hilarious behind-the-scenes anecdotes. Written with a frankness and a forthright honesty that has always been her trademark style, the woman known as "America's Sweetheart" - the remarkable Debbie Reynolds - writes a story of heartbreak, hope and survival; her own story. Picking up from where Debbie: My Life left off, Unsinkable: A Memoir features dozens of previously unseen photos from Debbie's personal collection. This is a revealing portrait of a woman whose determination is an inspiration.

To be perfectly honest, I really didn't know all that much about Debbie Reynolds before I read this book. Oh, I probably knew the basics about her; Hollywood actress, had a public feud with Elizabeth Taylor over Eddie Fisher, mother of Carrie Fisher - but that was all just basically what I gleaned from reading tabloid press headlines as I went through the grocery store. What actually made me want to read her latest autobiography was hearing about the death of Elizabeth Taylor in March of 2011. I also have a copy of Debbie: My Life sitting somewhere on my bookshelf but I haven't located it yet.

This was such an amazing book for me to read; I really felt for Ms. Reynolds and what she went through. In my opinion, despite being a Hollywood celebrity in her own right, Ms. Reynolds still lived a tremendously difficult life. She went through so much in her personal life - so much of what she experienced would probably have 'sunk' a weaker person - but not Debbie Reynolds!

She has always come back stronger than before and her resilience is definitely something to be admired. I would give this book five stars. In my opinion, it deserves an A+! show less

This is the story of a survivor. Everyone knows how Eddie Fisher left Debbie for Elizabeth Taylor and how her second husband, Harry Karl, gambled away her money. This book picks up when Debbie wed third husband, Richard Hamlett, when she was in her 50's, and how he also took all her money and left her debt due to loans that he signed. He even told her he only married her for her money and at one point Debbie thought he might be planning to push her off the balcony of her Vegas apartment. The book was certainly exciting and I could not put it down, reading it in two evenings. The book also details Debbie's four-decade attempt to get a museum built to house her collection of Hollywood costumes. Having seen Debbie entertain at her Vegas show more showroom - it is hard to imagine what she was going through at that time. And having seen a small portion of the costumes on display in Vegas, I think it is a shame that no one in Hollywood ever supported this project. The book details her attempts to get others interested in establishing a museum and the heartbreak when loan after loan came due and potential backers continued to turn her down. Her heartbreaking decision to auction the collection is described as well as the auction itself - which has left her financially secure. The book ends with Debbie providing a small story about each of the films she was in. This was certainly a good book and Debbie has proven herself to be "unsinkable". show less

Let me start by saying I love Debbie Reynolds. I've seen "Singin' in the Rain" and "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" countless times. I wanted to love this book but I think it really fell short.

I think Debbie had two reasons for writing this book - 1) to talk about her awful experience with her 3rd husband, who deserves every word she wrote about him and 2) to talk about her failed attempts at building her Hollywood Museum and all of the problems and headaches that came with that.

I did not dislike this book but I think her best stories were told in the first book. My interest in her museum was just not there and I really wasn't interested in reading dozens of pages about it.

Not a bad book but I wish I'd given it a miss.

This autobiography is in three parts, the first beginning with the end of her third marriage and thus starting with the end end of her previous memoir. This period of her life is marked by multi-year tragedies of divorcing her vicious and criminal husband and vainly trying to setup a Hollywood memorabilia museum until the painful auction of her collection proves to be her financial salvation. This is a period of crisis and betrayal, all taking her resolved and resourcefulness to survive making the "unsinkable" title apt. After the auction, where the recollection could end, the memoir limps on for a few discursive chapters about her earlier starlet life as an MGM contract player in a forgettable middle act. After this is a complete show more filmography of everything Reynolds was in - I mean, everything including 30-second background appearances. She offers a paragraph or more on what she remembers -or doesn't- on every role, cameo, and narration.

This is running up to 2013 with the final listing being the portrayal of Liberacci's mother in "Beyond the Candelabra". The book includes an index and additional listing of her films without commentary. show less