as i may have discussed earlier, i spent one summer, home on vacation, watching the carol burnett show. my grandma said she used to love it and so i started to watch reruns and of course fell in love. i didn't become a fanatic but did spend that summer loving her show. my grandma also shared how she would give her ear a tug to say hello to her family.
with how successful burnett is, i was surprised to learn about her childhood on welfare. i would have never thought of her as having such humble beginnings but burnett is a true example of the american dream.
burnett's home life growing up reminded me of my own. we both had absent fathers though hers was an alcoholic, and we were both very close to our grandmothers. her being her grandma's shadow reminded me of my grandma bea. i wasn't as clingy as burnett, but i also did everything with my grandma and had anxiety over the idea that she would die when i was little (both of our grandmothers lived into our adulthood).
burnett was under the care of her grandmother because her mother had moved out to hollywood. her mother was in and out of work and later on in carol's life suffered from alcoholism as well. due to her parents lack of employment and disease, her grandma and she were on welfare. though poor, burnett's childhood was exciting. she and her grandmother moved out to hollywood. it was interesting to read about her live in hollywood and picturing the streets and corners she talked about. it was fun to read about her growing up and being a teen in hollywood.
this memoir covered burnett's life up to her big break into the entertainment industry, but it's was sprinkled with stories from her recent life. sharing how people from her past reappeared. i like the story of her giving a grandmother and her granddaughter $50 to take a cab after she saw them waiting for a bus and was reminded of waiting with her grandma and how much she hated the bus. i also liked when one of the popular girls from high school came to carol's table at dinner to say she was a fan and didn't remember carol from high school.
the other tales that stand out where how she was truly lucky when it came to her success. for example, she had applied to UCLA but could not afford the tuition. however, on the day her fees were due, $50 showed up in her mailbox, with her name on it, but no return address. thanks to this surprise, she went to UCLA. also, i had no idea she was a fellow bruin!
another great story was her benefactor. after performing in honor of one of her mentors, she spoke with a man about her future plans. she explained that she needed to be in new york to make it big, and he asked what was stopping her and she explained money. he then set up a meeting with her later in the week. at the meeting, he loaned her $1000 to be paid back in 5 years. with she moved to new york, struggled a bit, but as we know made it! her benefactor never was named, but as we learned in a story, was very proud of her success.
it may seem like luck, but burnett wouldn't be as successful if she wasn't such a hard worker. she was determined to make it and took chances and due to it became the wonderful comedienne genius that she is!
this memoir was a delight and i look forward to reading her other one. i have to add this memoir reminded me of the importance of persevering our own stories. this memoir was written for her kids to know her life story, which is something everyone should do.
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