Sally Field talks on reaction to her memoir
Sally Field has wound up near the top of the bestseller lists with “In Pieces,” a vulnerable, introspective book that is miles away from the typical celebrity memoir.
If you want dirt on “Steel Magnolias” or memories about her unforgettable “you like me” Oscar speech, look elsewhere. Field used the book to explore years of sexual abuse she endured from her stepfather, actor Jock Mahoney. That nightmarish existence naturally spilled over into other areas of her life, including her relationship with her mother.
Field spent seven years writing the book, which she wasn’t sure would ever see publication. Now that it’s out, the two-time Oscar winner is talking about it: Both to journalists and to the readers who come to her book signings. Field, 72, called a couple of days after her birthday to plug her appearance in Tempe.
Did have a fun birthday?
Fun? Well, fun is all relative. My youngest son came over to my house and we watched the election together. I don’t know if you’d call that fun. It was certainly adventurous. And stressful. you
Sally Field
1:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 18.
Changing Hands Bookstore, 6428 S. McClintock Drive, Tempe.
$31.35 for one copy of “In Pieces,” admission for two and one photo.
480-730-0205, changinghands.com.
(They’re moderated events), and sometimes some journalist does the moderating and they just want to cherry-pick the book. There are people who want the more sensational aspects of it. Some people want the more celebrity aspects, and there aren’t really a lot in there. I react to them as my feelings respond. Sometimes I tell them they’re off base, that they’re not responding to the book. I can be very honest with them. after my mother died. It wasn’t just grief; there was something missing. We had said all the right things before she died, we had healed whatever wounds that might have still needed scabbing over, but something was wrong. Something was missing, and the whole book is an exploration, a search. I set out to find her. It doesn’t surprise me that she comes out so strongly, because it’s about her influence on me.
Well, I think I found
Something was missing, and I needed to put the piece in place to get a full picture. I have a much clearer image of both my mother and myself. great. Her name is Millicent Bennett, and she is remarkable. I never had a sounding board before. She stayed with me, very lovingly, in the copy editing . ... The copy editor would put Post-its with sentences she felt needed to be restructured. Millicent would say, “While for a grammar lover this might not be the bestcrafted sentence, it works. The rhythm is there. You have not violated anything catastrophic.” To have somebody who understood my language and my rhythm was great.
A: I was most frightened to have my sons read it, but they were extraordinary. They were generous. It oddly kind of opened up new dialogue between us all, and they all gave me notes. I don’t remember asking them for notes! But all my sons are writers, which is no surprise, and the notes were fabulous and necessary. Even that was a new place to arrive. I was no longer the mother and they were no longer the sons. I was no longer the one who had a career longer than them. That was pretty great, too.
I never say never. I mean, who knew I would do this? But I doesn’t take as seven years. hope long it as
Yes, but easy is overrated. I’m not looking for easy. That’s boring.