Customer Reviews

One More Time: A Memoir (Encore Nonfiction Modern Classics)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you're a Carol Burnett fan, you'll acquire a deeper appreciation for her after reading this autobiographical account of her early years. Her parents were divorced alcoholics who died young. She was reared by a grandmother with her own checkered past, sharing a one-room, flophouse apartment with her until she finally moved out to try to make it as an actress. Their story was one of constant struggle and seemingly relentless poverty. Yet Burnett is living proof that, though we are all products of our past, we should never abandon hope. Despite her personal tragedies, she has become someone we all associate with laughter and love. She, like her personal story, is simply inspirational and amazing. A worthwhile read that you won't ever forget!

Carol Burnett hit the bullseye with the re-telling of her now familiar life story. The pacing is gentle and flowing while the anecdotes and stories are vivid and well written. Reading this, one can really appreciate "destiny" because the truth is that someone who had her experiences should never have even had the gumption to get herself into UCLA -- let alone take the rest of her journey.

Yet she did it all, with both verve and aplomb and for those of us who are fans, we're grateful that she was able to share her natural gifts with us. Singer, comedienne, actress, entertainer -- she's all of them and more -- and how she got there is a wonderful reminder to everyone that you can't ever stop believing in the power you have to imagine your own life and destiny.

I enjoyed this autobiography so much. I'm not American, and cannot even remember ever seeing Carol Burnett on TV, but reading the auto I felt I was really sharing her life. I got to know her family so well. They came to life for me.
Just after I finished CB's book, I started reading one about Jackie Onassis. JO's life seemed so empty, worthless, and dull by comparison.
I also know that CB was telling the truth. I could feel it. I once read Shelley Winter's autobiographies, and I sensed that there were incidents that she either made up or distorted, so I wasn't surprised when people came forward and said SW hadn't been, to put in mildly, accurate in some of her accounts.

Carol Burnett is probably best known for her television show where she performed in various skits with a talented cast. One might not realize just how shy she was as a kid, or that she never dreamed of being a movie star until college. However, it is all here in this autobiography, a charming and personal account of a life filled with entertaining characters. We learn about Nanny, the woman who raised Carol and her younger sister Chrissy. We find out about Carol's alcoholic parents Jody and Louise, very different people and different influences on Burnett's life. There are many stories of growing up, school, various jobs, and family, each incredibly relatable and great fun to read. It is hard to put this book down. It is written to constantly leave the reader wanting more and never disappointing.

It is obvious that Burnett has a great love for her childhood although she wasn't always the most popular or the richest. She is an ordinary woman with a life that anyone can latch onto. The only disappointment is that it is so short. Burnett skips talking about her famous tv show as well as the marriage that brought her the three children she wrote the book for. It leaves the reader wanting more. Perhaps there will be a sequel one day; it will no doubt be as good as the first.

Although written over 15 years ago, Carol Burnett's
autobio is an amazing one. It covers just about all
(or seemingly so) of her early years in Texas,
her move to California, and at age 21, her move
to New York where she hit the 'big time'.

Carol obviously didn't have it easy. Her family
was impoverished and her mother and father were
absentee parents. Only because of her grandmother,
Nanny, did Carol pull through. Although neither
of Carol's parents survived to see her success,
Nanny did...and for that I'm sure she'll eternally
be grateful.

Unbeknownst to me before reading the book, her mother had
an illegitimate baby girl, Chrissy, which she kept...and this
was back in the 40's when such things were
scorned mercilessly. Luckily, just before
her mother died prematurely, Carol was able to take Chrissy
back to New York where she finished her formative years.

The coverage stops all too soon...Carol's narrative
is especially inviting. I was hoping that a few
bits about "The Carol Burnett Show" and Harvey, Tim,
Vicki, and Lyle would be included, but it's easy
to see why that element was left out.
Although the structure doesn't really take the
form of a letter, the book claims to be a letter
written for her three daughters. A unique format.

A must-read for any Carol fan. Definitely among
the best bios I've ever read or will read.

I'm about 90% through this book. But I can tell you that Miss Burnett has written a terrific autobiography, full of tears & hardship as well as laughs. In a childhood filled with despair & battling desperate odds, she grew up to be one of the greatest actress-comediennes of our time. If you look at the popular "family" sketches she did on her own show, and then compare it with her life story, you can see the parallels of dysfunctional love & yearnings to be something more.
The book seemingly skips over "The Carol Burnett Show" years (since so much has been discussed about that show anyway) & covers the childhood/early career years. The book has been updated to include how she dealt with the recent death of her daughter, Carrie Hamilton.
Filled with rare photos, letters & funny stories in between the pathos, this book gives the reader a deeper respect for someone who really deserved the enormous success heaped upon her.

I enjoy reading books written by celebrities. It helps you understand who they really are and whether they are genuine or not. Carol Burnett definitely is. This book is about her life from when she was a child to when she got her break. She had a very rough childhood but she also had love. Her mother was definitely dysfunctional. Her Dad was not in the picture due to her parents divorce, his illness and booze. But when she did see him, he was very sweet to her. Her mother had her own demons. Pregnant with Carol's sister Chrissy by a married man (Tony), she had the baby and kept it. Carol's mom also dealt with alcoholism. Nanny was the root of her childhood memories. She came off as weak and elderly but she really was the rock that held the family together. She did everything she could to keep food on the table and a roof over their head when Carol's parents couldn't. Nowadays, if someone grew up in this type of situation, they would probably end up dysfunctional themselves. Not Carol. Carol, no matter how bad her childhood was, she played by the rules. She received money from an unnamed elite in Holllywood to go to New York and have a shot at Broadway and she appreciated it. She wrote letters to this person to let him know how she was doing and when she finally earned enough money, she paid him back. She rescued her sister Chrissy when things got tough at home and raised her from her teenage years. I admire Carol for her success but more importantly for how she has handled her fame. She sets a great example for people who have become famous. Especially for those who have started from nothing. I am so glad I read this book. I'm now off to find the TVLand schedule to see if there are any Carol Burnette Show re-runs to watch.

I was traveling without a book when I saw "One More Time" by Carol Burnett in a book store and decided to give it a try. Except for some editing and spelling mistakes, I wasn't disappointed. In fact, after reading her memoir, I have developed a great respect for this woman who grew up in a highly dysfunctional family and survived with little visible battle wounds. From the chaos of her childhood, Carol blossomed into a beautiful human being any parent would be proud of, yet both her mother and father could not claim bragging rights. Nanny, the grandmother, as peculiar as she was and I mean that in a good way, was the strong oak branch that Carol held on to before she jumped to safety. The first part of the book that describes her awkward childhood and teen years--no matter how hard she tried, absolutely nothing worked in her favor--I felt she was telling my story. In truth, maybe this is everyone's story. Her self-deprecating manner was endearing and I fell deeply in like with her.

Then, one day, everything changed. Timing and good fortune interceded on her behalf. This girl, who just couldn't seem to get it right, stepped onto the path of her destiny and she didn't even know it. Bam! Bam! Bam! Carol Burnett, who had so much to offer if only someone would just look her way, was on a roll. A part in a play...a crowd pleaser...a part in a musical...Wow! Everyone is noticing now. "She is good," they are saying to themselves and out loud. THAT CAROL BURNETT IS REALLY GOOD! Then came the gift from a total stranger and...well...you'll just have to read the book to find out more.

I highly recommend this book.

So many stars' biographies describe painful recollection and induce sadness and pity. Not Carol's! Carol's childhood was not an easy one, but she describes it poignantly, lovingly, and truthfully, without a trace of bitterness or sadness. I highly recommend the audio version, because the author herself reads it beautifully and affectionately. It is an unforgettable experience.

I've owned this book for the last 20 plus years or so and up until recently I had read it twice. Upon my third reading I not only got more out of it than ever before but it has left a lasting impression on me this third time around. As you mature with age a lot more of the struggles in life one can understand. And in Carol's story I found myself relating to all of it as I hit the half century mark.

Young Carol grew up right in the heart of downtown Hollywood, an area I've been familiar with all my life yet decades later. Reading about her living with a mother and grandmother who practically hated each other, and in the great detail that Miss Burnett writes, made for a book you could really curl up with. So much of it was touching, like when Carol's mother loses her daughter in her late forties. Underneath all that fighting and screaming, Nanny did love Carol's mother, a valuable lesson we all need to learn. Thanks to Carol I feel all the wiser.

If you want to break into show business, whether it be as an actor or singer, Carol's struggle to pursue her dream is a great inspiration. You get to live what Carol went through as she tried to make a career for herself never knowing if she would make it or not.

In reading about Carol's childhood living in the one room apartment with her grandmother, and her mother and younger sister living down the hall, I "got" Carol's wonderful sense of humor. I found myself laughing out loud just about every few minutes, something I hadn't done before in my previous reads. Since reading the book I've shared one of my favorite stories from the book with friends about the time she and her grandmother would go to the old Thrifty Drug and Discount stores Los Angeles used to have, where they would sit at the counter and have dinner. Carol tells the story of how when nobody was looking Nanny would strategically open her big black purse and in would go forks, knives, spoons and in Carol's words, "Sometimes salt and pepper shakers, too." I laughed for quite a good while.

Humor aside there are the times Carol shares her emotional pain over her two alcoholic parents who never even made it into their fifties. I applaud Miss Burnett for being brave enough to share with us how she hit her own father when she couldn't take his drinking any longer and he had ruined his health for what appeared to be the last time.

Upon this third reading of the book I fell in love with the entire family. I felt their struggles, their pain, and their love for each other, no matter how bad things got. I am surprised this has not been made into a movie and if it ever were I wouldn't be surprised if Miss Burnett could pull it off playing her grandmother. If so, I think there'd be Oscar buzz.

If you're reading this review, Miss Burnett, thank you, thank you for writing it. I know I will be reading it a fourth, fifth and sixth time as times goes on.