Wise Girl: What I've Learned About Life, Love, and Loss [Paperback]

Jamie-Lynn Sigler (Author), Sheryl Berk (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 6, 2002

"I am so proud to be Jamie's 'dad.' She is not only a talented actress but also a bright, generous, and inspiring young lady." -- James Gandolfini

"Jamie-Lynn Sigler definitely knows how to inspire people....I'm grateful to call her my friend." -- Lance Bass, *N'SYNC

SHE'S YOUNG, TALENTED, BEAUTIFUL AND FAMOUS. BUT NOTHING IS THAT SIMPLE...

Everyone knows Jamie-Lynn Sigler as Meadow Soprano on the HBO hit television series The Sopranos. But there's so much more to her, as her candid, outspoken autobiography proves. In Wise Girl, Jamie-Lynn reveals both the perks and the pressures that have come with fame, and how uncertain, fearful times have made her stronger, more confident, and able to face life's challenges. Writing openly and from the heart, she describes the emotional and physical toll taken when Lyme disease left the healthy 19-year-old paralyzed at the height of The Soprano's popularity; an obsession with her weight that nearly destroyed her career; and the dark side of overnight success. Her story will both surprise and inspire you. For this wise girl, the key to success isn't just what's on the outside -- it's using your brains, going with your gut, and learning from your experiences, including the mistakes, every day.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Everybody knows me as Meadow Soprano, but there's a real girl behind that character," announces Sigler at the start of her chatty memoir. While the book will appeal to teen fans of HBO's The Sopranos, aspiring actors will also appreciate her direct discussion of what it takes to succeed in show business. This 20-year-old Long Island native offers readers insight into the "real girl" with a candid if cliche-riddled commentary on her life, beginning with her childhood, when she made her first foray into acting through community theater. A perfectionist, Sigler as a youngster felt she never lived up to her self-imposed high expectations and notes, "With my self-image so fragile, the door was wide open for problems to develop. My eating disorder just snuck up on me, but once it was there, it was like Alice falling down the white rabbit's hole." She discusses behavior that resulted in a 30-pound weight loss in seven months, as well as the steps she took to control her disorder. She also fills many pages with particulars about The Sopranos, describing how she landed her role, her relationships with the other actors, her favorite scenes and her sudden celebrity ("Someone pinch me 'cause this couldn't be happening!") Sigler emerges as a likable person as she dispenses tidbits of advice in a conversational tone. An afterword presents information on identifying and addressing eating disorders. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Sheryl Berk most recently collaborated with Sopranos star Jamie-Lynn DiScala on her memoir, Wise Girl, and with Britney Spears on her autobiography, Stages. She lives in Manhattan with her husband, Peter, and their own little miracle, daughter Carrie.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books; Original edition (August 6, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743453247
• ISBN-13: 978-0743453240
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,493,415 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for a teenager...., November 5, 2002

By 

Krista-Lea (New York, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wise Girl: What I've Learned About Life, Love, and Loss (Paperback)

For all the interviews I have seen or read of Jamie-Lynn Sigler, I have thought her innoccent, kind and concerned. After reading this book it all still stands true. She seems sincere, sweet, and loyal to her fans. As the on screen daughter of Tony Soprano she was thrusted into the lime light and had not only the pressures of any average teen, but a teen on a hit series. She is insecure and takes everything to heart. In this book she basically speaks to the teenage girls. She gives advice on relationships, friends and eatting disorders. She wears her heart on her sleeve as she talks about what she went through to overcome her eatting disorder and her battle with lyme disease. Although it is a good book, it is very young, as is she. Not that this is a stab at her, I do admire her and think she is a gifted actress, I would love to see her be the next "American sweetheart" especailly with the personality she possesses. But this again is geared toward teenagers, with information such as; "dont let yourself get so caught up in a boy that you lose yourself, like if you break up, you will never get over it, that is like so not true" as an example. For a teen it is perfect and she makes a fabulous role model. To end the book, she has great resorces for centers of eatting disorders all over the country, complete with addresses and phone numbers. Eatting disorders can be a problem for anyone at any age. But again, this is for the younger crowd, I would say 21 and younger, anyone older with eatting disorders can find better reads. But Jamie did well and should be proud. Im sure there will be many a teenage girl who will feel better after reading her book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So Much More, September 9, 2003

By 

Jenni Schaefer "Author of "Life Without E... (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wise Girl: What I've Learned About Life, Love, and Loss (Paperback)

I picked up Jamie-Lynn Sigler's book, Wise Girl, because I have an eating disorder. I wanted to be inspired to move forward with my recovery. I wanted to feel connected to someone else who had once been lost in obsessions with food and weight. And I wanted to be moved to take a stand for eating disorder awareness - just as Jamie has done by speaking publicly and sharing her story. Well, Jamie definitely touched my heart and motivated me to continue fighting my eating disorder. And she also reaffirmed my desire to speak out in the fight against women hating their bodies.

But Wise Girl did much more than that. It is so much more than a moving account of a trip to hell and back with an eating disorder. Wise Girl is a journey of self-discovery - a chronicle of lessons learned in the life of a courageous, young woman. Jamie has been through a lot in her twenty-something years, and she shares her experiences in a way that is both enlightening and entertaining. I learned so much from Jamie and simultaneously enjoyed every minute of it. Jamie writes with incredible insight, frankness, and honesty. Her casual and conversational tone made me feel like I was getting to know a new friend.

I definitely got what I wanted out of Wise Girl, and I found so much more. Whether you are suffering with an eating disorder or not, this book is for you. You will be amazed by what you can learn from such a young and wise girl.

Jenni Schaefer, author of Life Without Ed: How One Woman Declared Independence from her Eating Disorder and How You Can Too (McGraw-Hill)

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wise Girl: What I;ve Learned About LIfe, Love, and Loss, January 27, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Wise Girl: What I've Learned About Life, Love, and Loss (Paperback)

This novel,by Jamie-lynn Sigler, is a wonderful story. It is a perfect book for teenage girls to read to teach them about the pressures of being a teen and a star. It is a wonderful example of how a strong conviction can help to overcome anything. It teaches girls about the dangerous effects of eating disorders and how to get yourself out of a deep hole. This is a story about a girl goiung through what everyone goes through, love, loss, and the daily pressures of life.