And Other Tall Tales
Ali Wentworth
Harper Collins (February 7, 2012)
Hardcover 272 pages, Kindle 5 KB
ARC provided by publisher. No remuneration exchanged, all opinions are my own unless otherwise noted.
ARC provided by publisher. No remuneration exchanged, all opinions are my own unless otherwise noted.
Sorry, Sorry, Had to do it....
Confession time: I requested this book from my Harper email because Ali Wentworth is married to George Stephanopolous, Bill Clinton's early press secretary and now journalist. As I am half-Greek (Ethnically Greek from Turkey via diaspora), I am required by law to know things about him.
To spin it back to genre: there have been so many books recently riffing off the classic fantasy tale, Alice in Wonderland. This is one of the better ones.
From Harper Collins:
What this memoir tells me is that George lied to his family and the couple hid Ai's past from his father a priest and his mother, a Presbytera. Before I started hanging out with WASPS I used to say that my was more conservative than WASPS, now that "some of my best friends are WASPS" I know that WASPS are often politically conservative but in personal life liberal with Mulligans on lifestyle.
This book sure as all get out proves it. While essentially substance-free, Ali's pre-George life was filled with partying and men, depression and a jet-setting lifestyle, proving drugs are not necessary for being all messed up. A lifetime of careless parenting, boarding school and gentility as well as a clinical depression, left Ali screwed up. It was, apparently meeting George S. that brought her to a place where she could get it together.
If her life has been strange, it has also been filled with an opportunity to look back and laugh (as in, "Some day we'll look back on this and laugh."). Her writing is how I think I sound. Since I think I am really funny, and that you should be laughing right now, that is a compliment.
For example, in describing her "big, fat WASP, Greek wedding," Wentworth says:
Here is a sample of her video work from Jay Leo 2009 via Youtube:
She complains about her body, post-baby in the book, but she looks great!
Confession time: I requested this book from my Harper email because Ali Wentworth is married to George Stephanopolous, Bill Clinton's early press secretary and now journalist. As I am half-Greek (Ethnically Greek from Turkey via diaspora), I am required by law to know things about him.
To spin it back to genre: there have been so many books recently riffing off the classic fantasy tale, Alice in Wonderland. This is one of the better ones.
From Harper Collins:
Growing up in a family of political journalists—and daughter of President Reagan’s White House social secretary—Ali Wentworth rebelled against her blue-blood upbringing, embracing Hollywood, motorcycles, even a few wildly inappropriate marriage proposals. Today she is an acclaimed comedic actress and writer, former Oprah regular, wife of political and media star George Stephanopoulos, and a mother who lets her two girls eat cotton candy before bed. Though she’s settled down, her rebellious nature thrives in her comedy and her view of her crazy world.
In this addictively funny and warm memoir, she takes us through the looking glass and into the wonderland of her life, from a childhood among Washington’s elite to a stint in the psych ward they called a New England prep school; days doing L.A. sketch comedy (with then-aspiring artists Will Ferrell and Lisa Kudrow) to a series of spectacularly failed loves (that eventually led her to Mr. Right). Constant throughout is her mother, Muffie—a flawlessly elegant yet firm, no-nonsense force of nature and pure WASP convictions.
As charming and off-the-wall as Ali herself, Ali in Wonderland is an entertaining look at life that is both intimate and hilarious.
www.harpercollins.com
What this memoir tells me is that George lied to his family and the couple hid Ai's past from his father a priest and his mother, a Presbytera. Before I started hanging out with WASPS I used to say that my was more conservative than WASPS, now that "some of my best friends are WASPS" I know that WASPS are often politically conservative but in personal life liberal with Mulligans on lifestyle.
This book sure as all get out proves it. While essentially substance-free, Ali's pre-George life was filled with partying and men, depression and a jet-setting lifestyle, proving drugs are not necessary for being all messed up. A lifetime of careless parenting, boarding school and gentility as well as a clinical depression, left Ali screwed up. It was, apparently meeting George S. that brought her to a place where she could get it together.
If her life has been strange, it has also been filled with an opportunity to look back and laugh (as in, "Some day we'll look back on this and laugh."). Her writing is how I think I sound. Since I think I am really funny, and that you should be laughing right now, that is a compliment.
For example, in describing her "big, fat WASP, Greek wedding," Wentworth says:
My favorite moment was watching my relatives try to Greek dance. It was like watching a group of old people auditioning for Lord of the Dance. Then mercifully they were swept up by George's family to snake around the room, screaming "Opa" at inappropriate moments.Unfortunately, like me she has a a tendency to be long-winded, just a little too much about repeat episodes of depression. But very funny stuff. If you happen to have a WASP friend dating a Greek man, get this book for them. It is a fun read, with short chapters, so you can be amused while distracted.
from the uncorrected proof, p. 187
Here is a sample of her video work from Jay Leo 2009 via Youtube:
She complains about her body, post-baby in the book, but she looks great!
