Might As Well Laugh About It Now [Hardcover]

Marie Osmond (Author), Marcia Wilkie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2009

Recollections, wisdom, and advice from the beloved entertainer, American icon, mother of eight children, and New York Times bestselling author.

When the Donny and Marie show ended its award-winning run on ABC in 1979, 19-year-old Marie was ready to leave the stage lights for a secretary’s life—she had prepared to say “goodbye” to fleeting fame by studying shorthand and typing! Clearly, life took a different turn.

Now, decades later and still a beloved superstar, Marie opens the door to her thoughts on many of her milestones and missteps, both the public and the personal. In a life brimming with a mixture of charm and chaos, blessings and hilarious bungles, victory and vulnerability, Marie recounts for her “family of fans” her greatest successes as well as her most crushing disappointments, career pressures and expectations, marriage and divorce, depression, weight issues, tough choices, honors and awards, and the incredible joys and challenges of raising children. Through it all, Marie has bounced back time and again with unstoppable enthusiasm, resilience, and an unbeatably healthy and positive outlook on life.

In Might as Well Laugh About It Now, she imparts her insights on surviving all of life’s roadblocks and detours in a collection of friendly musings and heartening advice about learning to survive— and moving forward—with humor and optimism.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Marie Osmond endeared herself to an entire generation as the star of numerous award-winning television shows and specials, as a multi-million selling recording artist, and as a New York Times bestselling author.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: NAL Hardcover; 1 edition (April 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451226380
• ISBN-13: 978-0451226389
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (73 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #577,596 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good read, April 18, 2009

By 

Tina "Tina" (Montreal, Quebec) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Might As Well Laugh About It Now (Hardcover)

In full disclosure mode, I have to say that I have been a fan of Marie Omsond since I was 12. That certainly does not make me unique, but I wanted to put it out there.

I will start off by saying that I was thrilled to find out that Marie had finally written a 'memoir'. While this is her second book, her first one dealt mainly with Postpartum Depression and was aimed at this audience more than at a main audience.

I really enjoyed reading Might as Well Laugh.... Marie has a great way of telling a story and her humour is obvious throughout the book. I found myself laughing at some many of the stories and I have to say that Marie shared some fun, touching and never heard stories before which was a treat for any Osmond fan. She also included one black and white picture at the beginning of each chapter (most of which I had never seen printed anywhere before) so this was a double treat.

Marie was also honest about some of the more difficult things she has endured throughout her life - there is even a picture of her house while on fire - which she then used as a Christmas Card!

Also, some great little tidbits about how she feels about her brothers, her she felt just before doing Dancing with the Stars and quite alot is said about how much she loves and misses her parents.

The storyline is well written and it kept me interested. I finished this book in 1 day.

Now, for the things that I did not like so much.

First of all the cover - It just did not grab me at all. Marie's head is cut off at the top and there is so much writing on the cover that it is distracting from the photo.

I have a theory about anyone writing a memoir. If they are writing a memoir, I am assuming that they are willing to "tell it like it is". I mean, it is their choice to actually write a memoir about their lives. What I found extremely frustrating about this book is that Marie would start telling us something touching and personal and then, poof! after a few sentences - all of a sudden she sees the "positive" side of the situation and ends up saying a variation of "its going to be okay and I see the way now". I found this sooooo annoying. Not, that she sees the bright side of the situation, but more that she always gives me the impression that she will tell us something, but only a tiny little bit, she gives us a few sentences then that's it. I ALWAYS get the feeling when listening to Marie or reading this book that there is so much more going on inside of her - but she is so busy showing us that she is fine, that her world is fine that she comes across a little fake. Two obvious examples in this book are about her house fire and her separation from her husband.

Again, Marie if you make the choice of writing a memoir, then you need to be a little more forthcoming with the information.

The other thing that bothered me about this book, and I have to say that I felt the same when I read Donny's book, is the almost over the top adoration she has for her parents. Marie and Donny both kept repeating the same things in their books...."our parents were strict, but..." Everytime I read about the Osmond parents, I get a creepy feeling in the back of my neck!!!!! Obviously, I did not know them, but I have to say, some of the stuff written in both books was kind of scary to me. Yet, Marie must have stated at least 10 times how much she loved her parents and that they were "the best". I kept thinking "Marie, I think you protest too much!!!"

Still, I rated this book a 4, because it is very well written, Marie gets her point across well - whatever happens to you, keep smiling. I like Marie's humour and it was obvious that this book was written with love for all her fans.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Felt like I was reading a tabloid!, May 8, 2009

By 

Frana Maria Smith "Dulcinia" (Saint Petersburg, Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Might as Well Laugh About it Now (Kindle Edition)

I bought Ms. Osmond's book because I am going thru a very difficult time as many of us are and I thought I would find some inspiration in it. Instead there were repeated stories about her Dancing with the Stars weeks...Marie...we already know and saw it all, do I now have to pay to read about it yet again. The stories about her childhood were few and far between and again I did not find one bit of "tid-bits" of how to make it through. Perhaps I was just kidding myself by thinking this book would inspire some laughter which I've always thought was the best medicine. Sadly, I was very mistaken and disappointed. Sorry Marie!

25 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, April 20, 2009

By 

C. Roy (Centerville, Louisiana United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Might As Well Laugh About It Now (Hardcover)

I am an Osmond fan. The Osmonds are in the news rather often and nothing Marie had to say in her book was what I really wanted to hear -- she only wrote what you could pick up on the news. The word Divorce was mentioned, her weight gain/loss was mentioned and losing her parents was mentioned -- all very public information. I respect that she protects her children and their privacy but this book did not give any insite into anything other than what the general public already knows. She never mentioned that her brother has MS, one of her children had been in drug rehab, etc. I guess she just kept up the clean Osmond image and didn't really let the world into her private life. It was not worth the cost of the book. Also, in the "thank you's" she mentioned her brother Jimmy -- what about Donny and the other 6? My advice, no matter how much you like Marie this book is not worth the money.