Publisher: Mariner Books / Harper Audio
Published: January 18, 2022
Source: Print – Hardcopy via Bibliolifestyle / Audio via Library
Summary:
Beloved actress and New York Times best-selling author Valerie Bertinelli returns with a heartfelt look at turning sixty, the futility of finding happiness in numbers on a scale, learning to love herself the way she is today, and tips for a healthier outlook on life.
Valerie Bertinelli shares an inspiring blueprint that offers women in midlife support and hope. She shares personal stories that many women will relate to from her past decade: hitting her fifties, taking care of her dying mother, the evolving relationship with her husband, a career change, her relationship with food, and the battle to believe in herself as she is.
Despite her success receiving Emmys for her Food Network show and critical praise for her books and cookbook, Bertinelli still judged herself harshly if she gained a pound or showed too many wrinkles. But after her mother died, she found an old recipe box with notes of the strong women that came before her, reminding her that she has to find out who she is and take care of herself. Saying, “enough already!” Bertinelli set out on a journey to love herself and see that perfection is not the goal; it’s the joy we can find every day in our lives, our loved ones, and the food we share. Recipes and advice will be sprinkled throughout the book.
My thoughts:
This is the third memoir/autobiography that Valerie Bertinelli has written and the second one I have read – somehow I missed the second one she wrote and will be adding that to my list to read/listen to ASAP. I cannot tell you how much I enjoy her honesty and candor…especially with this latest book.
This book really grabbed me because it reads unlike any other memoir I’ve read in the past. It was almost as if I was sitting down with Valerie and we were just having a conversation. She was so open about her struggles with her weight and I loved the message she was trying to convey here in this book – let’s stop focusing on that number on the scale and start learning to have a healthier, happier relationship with ourselves. Once we can do that, everything else will fall into place.
This book is part memoir, part self-help and part cookbook and I am so glad that I have a hard copy to keep for reference because there were so many little take aways that I have marked up in my book, including the list near the front of the book, entitled “Learning to Love Myself the Way I Am – My (Try) To-Do List.” I want to make a list like this for myself because while I’m not so much worried about the weight issues, I know there are definitely areas that I can work on to love myself a little more. And the recipes…I may not be much of a cook, but there were some recipes in here that had my mouth watering!
I love picking up memoirs every once in a while – I am always in awe of what I take away from them and that is certainly true here. This is such a readable, relatable book and I highly recommend it.
Audio thoughts:
I loved that Valerie narrated it herself. Hearing her tell her own story really made it hit home. I know this doesn’t always work out well, but here it definitely did, and Valerie was able to share this with just the right emotion in her voice. I particularly loved her little laugh here and there. I could tell that Valerie put her heart into this story and that came across loud and clear in her narration.
