Customer Reviews

Now

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"Now" isn't as fulfilling as was "By Myself" but is still a good short read for anyone interested in Lauren Bacall. The book covers the 15 years after her first publication "By Myself." If you're new to Lauren I would suggest reading "By Myself" first and if you would like to see a more personal side of the actress give this book a try.

Read Bacall's "By Myself" before this - she writes as if she assumes that you have. She actually rehashes a lot of what she wrote in that book: her work on Broadway, people in her life, etc. I didn't necessarily mind that - I read this one directly after the other so it complemented it. I would've found it very slight by itself, though. In this one she also talks about putting together her dream home and finding it lacking, and about her grown kids and their lives, some other topics too.

Bacall, Lauren.
Now
New York: Alfred A. Knopf
214 pp., $23.00. ISBN 0-394-57412-5
Publication Date September 1994

Lauren Bacall, is a screen legend, has been a star of movies, television, and theater for over sixty years and her book tells the story of how she feels about her work, her children,
her homes, her acting, her friends, and more.

The introduction of the book gives a glimpse into what her life was like between the ages of forty and sixty, how she has lived her life and the impact people she has met have had on her life. She views life at 70 as a survivor and considered herself lucky to still be acting at all.

Ms. Bacall does not know what she would do with herself if she did not work. She views working as a reason to get up out of bed, if your working you can pay the bills. The most important thing is that when you work in a movie, on television, or on stage you'll always be doing something you love to do.

She is grateful for being close to her daughter Leslie Bogart. She is more in love with her grandchildren from her sons Steve Bogart and Sam Robards then she ever thought possible.

She has realized late in life that she needs her children which surprises her. She examines all the fears that she went through in getting a country house in Amagansett. Once she had it then she spent years continually making as many changes to it as
possible. In the end when she sold it she realized she had spent more time living in other places than this house.

She recognizes that the older she gets the more difficult it is for her to be able to still get great roles, she realizes that work is much harder physically. She is human and points out body parts that have changed and is really comfortable with this.

She comes to terms with her own mortality and how hard it is to still be alive when so many of her friends are now gone. Her life has come full circle, her daughter Leslie got married.
Her son Steve is married with 3 wonderful kids. Her son Sam's marriage ended, but she knows he will find someone else.

In the end she is still alone and she is reconciled to the fact that she no longer wants that for herself anymore. She is always the eternal optimist and thinks that maybe there is someone out there for her. She is a strong woman who has done it her way and not followed all the rules of Hollywood.

She still considers Humphrey Bogart to have been the love of her life and will never get over his death.
Rachel D. Dvorkin
Elgin, Illinois

Lauren Betty Bacall writes a very interesting memior about life and love in Hollywood. She doen't merely name drop. In fact she focuses on her life and the people that revolved into it. She met quite a few interesting people, but doesn't seem to use that to make her book more exciting. It was very interesting to read how the relationship with Bogie happened and how she struggled through the relationship with Jason robards. The book was enlightening as to how a real person in a time of great stress deals with loss and the breakup of relationships. It is a must for true biography readers.