Customer Reviews

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

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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.

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)

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.

Sopranos star Jamie-Lynn Sigler has experienced more in her life than many people twice her age, including severe anorexia, paralysis from Lyme's Disease and extreme career changes. This book contains fun backstage tidbits about The Sopranos and the recording business, in addition to valuable insights about the many pressures of normal teen life.

Sigler is honest about her mistakes and discusses ways to help other young people avoid image problems. She even revealed that Sopranos producers were secretly auditioning other girls for her part as Meadow because she was so thin. Instead of using her fame to write a fluffy celebrity tell-all, Sigler is eager to have her written experiences help promote the National Eating Disorder Association, for which she is now a spokesperson.

Pictures that show Sigler in the worst stages of anorexia are powerful. The description of her secret 2 1/2 hour daily exercise routine is vivid, but the before and after pictures reinforce everything. A valuable chapter at the end also advises readers on the warning signs of anorexia and how to get help.

This is an important and enjoyable book for young women to read. Sigler's voice is refreshingly conversational, but a good editor should have helped her smooth over some of the language to do justice to the heartfelt topics she discusses. I hope she will continue to write, as she has a lot to share with readers.

--- Reviewed by Amy Alessio

This was an eye-opening book. It's always interesting to see that the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Just because Jamie-Lynn is pretty and famous and wealthy etc, doesn't mean she doesn't have her own share of problems. It was kind of scary to read about how hard she'd exercise in order to stay in shape (because of all the pressure she felt from everyone), and the lengths she went to to keep this secretive. She talks about her life growing up, now working in a hit TV show, a few health problems here and there and toward the end of the book, she has a section dealing with how to get help if you or someone you know has an eating disorder. Overall, I'd say this is a good interesting read that is easy to get through, but helpful for the younger girls out there who may fall into the trap of extreme dieting or exercise because of today's pressure to look a certain way. Good job Jamie-Lynn.

Thanks to DVD I was able to watch all 3 seasons of The Sopranos, and since season 1 I was wondering what the story behind Jamie Lynn Sigler really was. After reading on The Sopranos website that Jamie had written a biography I immediatly went out and bought Wise Girl and read it all in one sitting, which I never do. This is a very informative and sometimes very entertaining book, it answered almost every question I had about Jamie.

Wise girl is a very smart, inspirational, and true book. It is about her life and how she deals with fame and perfection. Jamie shows people through this book to be smart in your actions, how to deal with relationships, how important family is, and what her horrible eating disorder caused her to do and change. She shows how hard to be famous is and how she keeps in contact with friends and family. The title explains it all. Jamie is a very "wise girl" and is sharing that with the world. She tells people how to make smart decisions. What amazes me is how she is so down-to-earth and seems like a completely normal person.

I am a father of a young teenage girl. I had heard about this book and wanted to purchase it for her, and ended up flipping through it myself. Well, I found myself reading the whole ting in one evening (due to its easy read) and loved it. She is a grown woman with a lot to say and I know she will help anyone who puts aside 3 hours of their life, and reads the book. I should add my daughter loved it as well!

I got this book because I read an article about Ms. Sigler in a magazine and was impressed with her maturity. My sister also battled with an eating disorder and it was a very interesting read into the how and why Ms. Sigler developed her disorder and how she battled it. It is a bit of a quick read, but still great.

This book was very eye opening into Jamie's life however only a small section was devoted to eating disorders. For an ED book, it was pretty small. But as far as a book into Jamie's experiences it was good and interesting. It really humanized Jamie.