Book Review: My Mother was Nuts by Penny Marshall

My Mother Was NutsMy Mother Was Nuts by Penny Marshall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Penny Marshall has always wanted to just play. She came from this dysfunctional family in New York, got married and had a child at a young age, then became an actress, met everyone in show business and even beat cancer. And then she wrote a book about it.

My Mother Was Nuts is such an easy book to read. It feels like Penny is just sitting there next to you, with a cigarette in her hand, telling you her life story. I could almost imagine her voice as I read. Sometimes I would be laughing out loud, then somber, realizing that she has lost both her brother and best friend just this last year, and I feel so bad for her. She comes across as such a real human being, so enmeshed in movies, talking about all these incredibly famous people, but it never seems like name-dropping, it's just Penny talking about her friends.

A League of Their Own is one of my favorite movies, so I was very happy to read a chapter or so about it. Penny's daughter Tracy played "Betty Spaghetti", she of the scene that rips my heart out every time, and makes me a little choked up just writing this review. All of Penny Marshall's movies have a little drama, a little comedy and a whole lot of heart - and that is what she always wanted for them. She succeeded.

If you like to get a glimpse into the crazy world of show business from the viewpoint of someone who has been in it for over 50 years, you will love this book, and you will love listening to Penny tell her stories. I sure did.

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