Literary Quote of the Month

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies," said Jojen. "The man who never reads lives only one." - George R.R. Martin, A Dance With Dragons

Monday, May 22, 2023

Memoir Monday



Tell Me Everything by Minka Kelly... Fans know her as the spoiled, rich cheerleader Lyla Garrity on Friday Night Lights or as the affluent, mysterious Samantha on the HBO megahit Euphoria. But as revealed for the first time in these pages, Minka Kelly’s life has been anything but easy.

Raised by a single mother who worked as a stripper and struggled with addiction, Minka spent years waking up in strange apartments as she and her mom bounced around the country, relying on friends and relatives to take them in. At times they even lived in storage units. She reconnected with her father, Aerosmith’s Rick Dufay, and eventually made her way to Los Angeles, where she landed the role of a lifetime on Friday Night Lights.

Now an established actress and philanthropist, Minka takes this next step in her career as a writer. She has poured her soul into the pages of this book, which ultimately tells a story of triumph over adversity, and how resilience and love are all we have in the end.

I have not watched Friday Nite Lights, the TV series, and knew nothing really about Minka Kelly, but in a book review I happened to glance by, someone was raving about this book. There are many celebrities who have a lot to say, but I'm not really a celebrity watcher and most of those memoirs and biographies I have little interest in. Something struck me about this memoir. Maybe it's because I don't know Minka Kelly from the big screen or television. I just read about this incredibly resilient woman who came from growing up in strip clubs to become a successful woman on her own terms. We all have a history, but some are messier than others. But why write this memoir? I am always curious as to a celebrities reason, maybe more suspicious of a celebrities reason, but Minka's explains her reason in an article on TheCut.com By Monica Corcoran Harel...

Kelly also makes it abundantly clear in our conversation — and a follow-up phone call a couple weeks later — that she doesn’t see herself as a victim. She’s not seeking any sympathy either. “I decided to tell my story because the media has written a narrative of me, based on the men they have seen me with, whether I’ve dated them or not,” she says of a list of exes — which includes Derek Jeter, Chris Evans, and Trevor Noah — that prompts headlines that rarely respect her privacy and pushes an agenda that commends her for hooking up with boldface names. (Case in point: The Cut’s own recent callout, “Is Minka Kelly Dating the Imagine Dragons Guy?”) “If you’re going to have an opinion of me, you may as well have the whole picture,” she adds.

Published by Macmillan Publishers recently, this is on my wishlist. Follow the link to read an excerpt.

 

1 comment:

Harvee Lau said...

She gives a good reason for writing her memoir

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