Customer Reviews

Today I Am A Ma'am

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

 

 

Who wouldn't remember Valerie Harper, television's sweetheart who played Rhoda on the Mary Tyler Moore Show. This book is a barrel of laughs from a lady who may be in her 60's but at heart she is still as youthful and vibrant as ever. Taking a poke at everything from self-help books that profess to make you an eye-stopping cover-girl at fifty, to menopause, weight gain and ageing, you will admire this incredible lady's wit and style. She is just as vivacious and high-spirited as ever. Valerie Harper is the kind of person one would love to have as a friend and next door neighbour; she would certainly know how to make your spirits soar when you are having a bad day.

Ms Harper has always had a knack for saying whatever was on her mind, and it was her tongue-in-cheek humour that we remember from her Rhoda days. Now, as a lady still young at heart, she pours her unique combination of creative talent and sheer, natural ability into this series of essays. The only downside, dear Valerie, is that the book was far too short, and we know you were never one to be short on words. Just as we get into the ambiance and humour... the book comes to an end.

Valerie Harper is well known as her role on TV's "Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Rhoda" playing Rhoda Morgenstern. This book is her take on life and it is one of the funniest books I have read!

Valerie says that, "If life imitated television, teenagers would be twenty-five, Mom would be thirty, and Grandma would be thirty-three. Are there any real people left?" She comments on weight and clothing sizes ("What fluke of genetics leads to size zero? I tremble at the future possibilities. Size double zero. Size minus fifteen. Are we headed for a time when we'll be embarrassed to say, "I'm a size two"?"), menopause, humor, and plenty of other things.

Illustrated by Rick Tulka and co-written with Catherine Whitney, this is an excellent book to read and share with your mom, daughter, sister and girlfriend. You will laugh yourself silly and agree with everything Valerie says!!

Valerie Harper's Today I am a Ma'm is a must read for all ages. Valerie sets forth the many feelings and thoughts that we all have as age creeps upon us and all of a sudden we realize "Hey what happened? I was just 21 years old". The younger generation could serve well to read it also and realize what Mom is up against and that their turn will also come. I've re-read Valerie's book at least 7 times. It is written not to emphasize what is happening in a negative way - but to make light of what could be traumatic to some. I URGE anyone who needs a light approach to growing older to read it. It just doesn't get any better than this. And to Valerie I say thank you so much for giving us a "smiling approach to aging".

THIS IS A FUNNY, FUNNY BOOK FROM A TRULY GREAT LADY! I am a 40 year old man and I still enjoyed it tremendously. Of course I loved RHODA. I hereby nominate Ms. Harper as the NEXT ERMA BOMBECK... I hope Ms. Harper takes this seriously and puts out another great, humorous book soon! How nice it would be if someone put out more RHODA VHS tapes and some VALERIE VHS tapes too! God Bless Ms. Harper... what a great book. Buy it now!

Valerie Harper's book will make you laugh out loud, and reach for the phone to share the lines with your friends "of a certain age." Universal humor shines with universal truths, and wisdom.
This book is for women who have lived and laughed and have the grey (or in my case, as a former redhead, white) hairs, and grin wrinkles, to prove it! Valerie Harper reminds us that life at any phase, is to be celebrated.

This book was a quick read and good for deep hearted laughter. I say it is for those over 40 as you have to have lived some of life to see the realistic humor and feel it as well. Enjoy!

Although Valerie has always been one of my favorite actors and comes across in interviews as one of the most sincere personalities out there today, I was disappointed in this book. It seems that most of the really funny stuff was mined from the internet and after being online for 6 years myself, it wasn't the first time I had seen it. (such as "If Men had menopause" and "Diet Fibs") There were also many cliches about aging that were, frankly, OLD. The book (and publicity material) also uses a phrase that was coined by someone else, but that person was not given credit. As a writer myself, I'm very surprised that credit was not given for the "Humor Replacement Therapy", which is a trademark of the minniepauz.com site that Valerie mentions in her book.

I did enjoy the stories that were original. We always like to peek inside a celebrity's life and hear familiar names mentioned. Also, the illustrations were very funny. I guess I just expected more from one of TV's funny ladies.

This audio cassette is a huge disappointment. Not only is the content unamusing, but Valerie reads the lines s-l-o-w-l-y ... perhaps to try to fill 90 minutes (yes - the whole thing, unabridged, fits on one 90 minute tape!) How many pages were in the book version I wonder ... 6? It is hard to fathom what Valerie is trying to achieve with this mis-mash of supposedly woman-empowering babble, but she has failed dismally - she isn't even funny or interesting when quoting the odd line from Rhoda. Valerie, if you read this - PLEASE sit down and write your autobiography. I am sure all your fans would much rather hear about your rise to TV superstardom than hear tired old rants along the lines of "wouldn't it be different if men got menopause", etc.