By Myself

I found this book to be really heartbreaking, for more than one reason. It begins with the details of her early life, then how she broke into the Hollywood scene (playing into that whole "being discovered" thing that just doesn't seem to happen anymore), and meeting Humphrey Bogart. The description of Bogie's illness and death was truly heart wrenching. As Bacall only passed away recently, it must have been really difficult to live through all the changes in cancer treatment.

I think, though, that what saddened me the most about this book was how she genuinely seemed unable to be happy by or with herself and on her own. Granted, this first part of her memoirs was published in the late 1970s, but Bogie had been dead for over 20 years by show more that point, and she still connected her ultimate happiness to being in a relationship. I just found that...sad. Or perhaps poignant is a better way of looking at it. I realize I'm reading this almost 40 years after its original publication date, but I stand by my impression. For being such a strong woman, she didn't seem to believe in herself very much.

And of course the whole book seemed like an exercise in narcissism, but that's probably unavoidable given the topic (actress) and the format (autobiography). It was immensely readable, however, almost like reading her journals. There is (was?) a lot to admire about her as a person and an actress.

I also found out as I was reading this that Bacall was my grandmother's favorite actress, so it was especially bittersweet for me. show less

Lauren Bacall comes across as a tedious woman, and has an unpleasant name dropping habit. She also seems to have no remorse about her habit of dating married men. She writes about Bogart as if he had been a saint, although her actual description of his actions seem to reflect those of an alcoholic going through a midlife crisis. Not a great book, and I kept thinking I would stop reading it. But I stuck it out, so there must have been some redeeming qualities.

A real good autobiography, focused on her life w/Bogart. I doubt I'll ever forget her image of seeing the bigger-than-life man carried in a small bag out of their home after his death...

I've always like Lauren Bacall, and who wouldn't want to read about Bogie and Bacall? But, she desparately needed an editor with a heavy hand. She would start a story, go off on a tangent and never return to the original story. Also annoying was mentioning a person, not bringing them up for 100 or so pages, and then dropping them back in the story without any re-introduction, sometimes not even a last name, to help refresh the reader's memory.

She was very candid about her own faults - being naive and impatient when young, being involved with Humphrey Bogart while he was still married - which was refreshing. Witnessing Bogart's death through her eyes was heartbreaking. I found myself openly weeping in public while reading.

The writing is not stellar, but the view on the events through her life was interesting enough for me to finish it. I won't be keeping it, and I would only recommend it to die hard movie fans. Maybe a bit harsh, but after all, I had to wade through 506 pages to finish, and yes, it was a wade. Perhaps a mean editor could have helped. As it is, the writing of the minute details of her life ran on like, "This happened, then this happened, then this happened." I will say that there were a couple of lines I underlined as being wise, and the movie watchlist I gained will entertain me for some time. Okay, now I'm rambling, it must be catching.

This book was published in 1979, after Lauren Bacall had been widowed, then divorced, had three children, and had reached the height of a successful career on Broadway. It is a very honest portrait of the life of a young actress, mother, daughter and how her life evolves. I'm not a movie fan -- I thought Ms. Bacall had been in "African Queen" -- but her book told an interesting story of a life with both everyday struggles and the special struggles of life as an actress.

It is a stunning biography from an intensively multi-faceted woman. Bacall's story has much to offer. If you want to achieve something badly enough, go for it!