On the Couch (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "The postman tried not to look at me as he handed me a large stack of envelopes..." (more)
Key Phrases: custody agreement, New York, Tony Soprano, Lorraine Bracco (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The most refreshingly candid celebrity memoir in years, from an actress who has always lived life on her own terms.

Known to millions as psychiatrist Dr. Jennifer Melfi on HBO's hit series The Sopranos, a role for which she has received multiple Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild nominations, Lorraine Bracco is one of the most recognizable actresses working today. A glamorous and intelligent presence on both the big and small screen, as well as on the Broadway stage, it's hard to imagine that this formidable woman was once voted the "ugliest girl in the sixth grade." But with guts, determination, and a very good sense of humor, Lorraine Bracco triumphed-and did it her way.

Born in Brooklyn to an Italian-American father and a British mother, Bracco survived her ugly-duckling childhood to become a Wilhelmina model in Paris. On the Couch traces her rise from fledgling actress to star and wife of acting heavyweight Harvey Keitel; her film roles, including her Academy Award-nominated performance in Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas; the very public custody battle following her divorce from Keitel; and her glorious return on the series that proved, once and for all, that even mobsters get the blues.

In this engaging memoir, Lorraine opens up about her career, her marriages, her determination to be a good mother, and her refusal to be marginalized as an actress and a woman in a society obsessed with youth and beauty. She is also startlingly honest about her victory over depression, her willingness to seek treatment, and how she found her way again. And when she was cast on The Sopranos, yet another incredible new chapter began. Forthright, funny, and, at fifty, a woman of both uncommon beauty and intelligence, Lorraine Bracco knows what she wants out of life. In a conversational memoir as frank and candid as a heart-to-heart with an old friend, Lorraine Bracco's On the Couch delivers with all the force of this amazing woman's marvelous personality.

About the Author

Lorraine Bracco was born in Brooklyn. Since making her American feature film debut in Ridley Scott's 1987 thriller Someone to Watch Over Me, she has appeared in countless films, on television, and on Broadway, most recently as Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate. She serves on the board of directors of the environmental group Riverkeeper, was recently named "Woman of the Year" by the New York City Police Athletic League, and is launching her own line of wines.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult (June 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039915356X
• ISBN-13: 978-0399153563
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #808,467 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sit down for a conversation with a delightful woman (who just happens to be an award-winning actress), July 10, 2006

By	Jessica Lux (Rosamond, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This book should be sold in audio form only! Bracco's memoir is read straight from the heart, in her raspy Brooklyn accent. She owns these stories and reflections and tells them in a mesmerizing voice. While I was enjoying this audio book, I often found myself pulling into the garage and sitting there for extended periods of time, unable to tear myself away from Bracco's captivating life story.

On the Couch is the story of an amazing woman who continues to live life to its fullest. Bracco was a gawky Long Island teenager whose wildest dreams game true when a modeling agency took a chance on her. As a hard-working model in Paris, she was shocked when someone suggested trying out for an acting role. She had no belief that modeling prepared her for acting in any way (how refreshing!), and, as it turned out, her acting career was a long, hard climb. Any woman or modern professional will be able to identify to Bracco's experiences with a childhood in suburbia, early romances, her early twenties in Paris, choices between different career paths, the sting of being fired or rejected for a job, motherhood, and the process of seeking and growing through therapy. Yes, she also happens to be TV's most famous fictional psychiatrist, and an Oscar-nominated actress, but that's all just part of her life experience.

The listener (or reader) will glean some fascinating insight into the industry, including the large differences between television and film sets, the process of filming a pilot and negotiating with studios, the tug-of-war between true genius and unadulterated schmoozing, and the sigma of dyslexia and other conditions in the cut-throat world of acting. Don't pick this one up expecting to get any Hollywood dirt, though! Bracco's anecdotes focus on positive influences, such as the time Sean Connery made her Cinderella for evening, funny stories about times on set, and unforgettable advice and encouragement she received over the last several decades. This is no sugar-coated story, however, and Bracco owns up to her own weakness and mistakes on many occasions.

I'm recommending this book to my mom and her peers, who are the same age as Bracco, and to my girlfriends, who could use these sage reflections on young life and the outcome of various career and life choices. One of the most important topics in this book is therapy, including Bracco's firsthand experience realizing that depression isn't one big black monster, but a slowly-creeping condition. She gives essential advice about the process of growth in therapy, and how one may need to move on to a new counseling provider as they progress through the process.

25 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow. Very very interesting :-), June 6, 2006

By	Little Miss Cutey (Melbourne, Australia) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

What a great book. I got this earlier in Australia and have read it in record time for me for a biography. It's a very interesting look at a great actress' life.
There is so much that you may not know about her , but there has been a lot of drama in her life. This memoir is revealing and sometimes shocking. She wanted to write this in celebration of herself and celebration of motherhood and because there are things here she believes can help other people.
She talks a fair bit about her relationship with Harvey Keitel and how serious their relationship was early on and it resulted in the birth of their daughter. She had met him in 1983 in Paris, and was immediately drawn to him. She writes how she slept with him on the first night. Later down the track there was a major custody battle for their daughter. She was also married to Edward James Almos for a while. She wrote how he was accused of molesting the child of a friend of hers, but she says it was a shakedown to get money out of her. It impacted her custody battle for her daughter and made her question everything in her life.
During her career at one stage, she had to even file for Chapter 11 because she wasn't getting good roles.
She talks about how nice Sean Connery was to her the year of Goodfellas. She was in Mexico, but gave her time-share on his plane to get her back to LA because he wouldn't let her miss the Oscars.
She writes about her major funk during the first season of Sopranos. Medication, therapy and family love got her through that.
It's an amazing book with a lot of interesting information that you probably never knew. She's such a great actress and it's always fun to read about their personal lives to see that they are as human as we all are. I really recommend this great read to everyone. It's very good.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Enter Whinning, August 10, 2007

By	Bennet Pomerantz "Bennet Pomerantz, AUDIOWORLD" (Seabrook, Maryland) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: On The Couch (Audio CD)

When you see Lorraine Bracco on screen she steals your heart, whether it in against Sean Connery in Medicine Man to facing Tony Soprano on the couch..she knows how to act.

Now when recanting an abridgement of her own audio biography, why does she morfs into a clone of Fran Drescher? For a actress of her talent to whine out her own words is unproffessional.

There is an old adage, a person should not narrate his or her biography to audio. In the case of this book, they are correct. Bracco's true life tale is interesting at best.

However in her vocal hands, it shows no depth. With her whinning voice, In the audio neighborhood where Roseanne Barr and Fran Drescher have previous tread, Bracco's lifeless voice is recanting her story depresses the listenership very easy

I give it 3 stars for the biography itself..and not its narrator

Bennet Pomerantz AUDIOWORLD