In Pieces by Sally Field

I read this only because it was a book club pick. I do enjoy almost all memoirs; and this did have a good narrative arc, watching Field’s acting career progress in “seriousness”. But I never would have picked this book on my own, mainly because, I really just don’t care about actors. I don’t find acting interesting as an art, and I don’t find actors intrinsically interesting as people. And I had a hard time nailing down who exactly Sally Field was. Funny true story – when we were considering doing this book, someone in book club said that Sally Field was “so good in ‘All in the Family.'” After some puzzlement, we all protested, “That was Sally Struthers!” Then someone added, “Yes, Sally Field was Coal Miner’s Daughter.” Then we all protested, “No, that was Sissy Spacek!” And I’m really embarrassed that I went home chuckling at this, and then read the book the whole time waiting for her to get to her big break playing Major Houlihan in the movie version of M*A*S*H. That, of course was, Sally Kellerman!

But seriously, I think I’ve at least got straight now who Sally Field is and was. She was Gidget, then the Flying Nun. She enjoyed being Gidget but hated every moment of the Flying Nun, and longed to be seen as a serious actor. The book climaxes effectively with her winning the Academy Award for ‘Norma Rae’.

Of course, there’s abuse along the way. Field’s childhood was dominated by sexual abuse by her slimy stepfather while her drunk mother looked the other way. I’m glad she seems to have achieved some degree of closure on those issues by book’s end. ( )

Life Would Be Perfect If I Lived in That House by Meghan Daum

I continue to love Meghan. This is Daum #3 for me, and while I feel it’s a bit weaker, and definitely less weighty, than THE UNSPEAKABLE or THE PROBLEM WITH EVERYTHING, it’s still worthwhile. One part about her boyfriend’s attachment to a couch that is too big for her house which he’s about to move into was so funny I read it out loud to my husband. He cracked up, and said that if you just threw in a few references to European philosophers, it could have been Woody Allen. I hope she’d take that as a compliment.

I feel I share Meghan’s real estate fetish, although she’s taken it to lengths I would never have dared. The sentence in the book that gave me that “Meghan has hijacked my brain again” feeling was:

“[W]ith a few exceptions, I think it’s fair to say that I’ve never visited a place without imagining myself permanently or at least semipermanently installed there.”

I never knew if this was something that everyone feels to some extent, or if it was just me. Maybe it’s just me & Meghan.

I KNOW I share her fixation on “Little House” and all things farmy and prairie. I rage with jealousy that she actually did move to a farm in Nebraska for a period of time. Just hearing her mention the words “Lincoln, Nebraska” fills me with longing. I think only she would understand. ( )