Grace Notes

February 13, 2017
Sagal, who played Peggy Bundy in Married... with Children, shares her wild, hilarious stories of growing up, struggling with addictions, and finding herself. She opens on a scene of her mother—“the singing sweetheart of Cherokee County,” a nickname she earned singing on the radio in Gaffney, S.C.—holding her in her lap and teaching her to play guitar on the Martin that once belonged to Burl Ives. Sagal, whose mother suffered from mental and physical illnesses, often turned to her father, a director who was often hard to please and critical, though loving in his own way. Sagal decided early that “music is the key to everything” and by age 15 she joined a band. She eventually found a long-standing gig singing background vocals as one of Bette Midler’s “Staggering Harlettes,” and later sang with and befriend one of her idols, Etta James. Following a bout with cancer, Sagal eventually landed her signature role in the sitcom Married... with Children, which ran for 11 seasons. Sagal proves to be tough and sassy yet vulnerable as she movingly reflects on the stillbirth of her daughter, Ruby, which gave Sagal a deeper love for life; in addition, she touchingly introduces readers to each of her other children, who are the “teachers that parents can never find—until they have children.”

January 15, 2017
A Golden Globe-winning actress tells the story of her life as a singer/songwriter who unexpectedly became a TV star.Sagal grew up with two parents who had artistic aspirations. Her mother had been a TV screenwriter, and her quick-tempered, workaholic father had dropped out of Harvard Law School to become a respected TV director. But their home life was turbulent. The author's stay-at-home mother suffered from depression and heart disease and died when she was young, and the father she feared died when she was in her mid-20s. Through all the personal difficulties, Sagal's saving grace was music. Acting was an afterthought, something her father thought she did well and that got her into the Cal Arts theater arts program. After dropping out of college in the mid-1970s, Sagal found work as an actress in a touring musical and then in a restaurant as a singing waitress, where she met and began dating Kiss lead singer Gene Simmons. She then became a backup singer for Bette Midler; in the meantime, an early marriage fell apart. A brush with cancer during this period led to her recovery from alcohol and the pills to which she had become addicted as a teenager struggling with weight issues. By the mid-1980s, Sagal was discovered by an agent who helped her land the role of sex-starved housewife Peg Bundy in Married...With Children, which ran for 10 years. Offscreen, she married--and later divorced--her second husband, had two children, remarried a third time, and had a child via a surrogate mother. Despite her acting success, Sagal admits that "it took me years to feel like I belonged" on TV, just as it took her time to get used to turning 60. While this book is sure to please the author's many fans, its thoughtful, no-regrets honesty will no doubt also appeal to readers of Hollywood memoirs seeking substance that goes beyond gossip and name-dropping. A candid, reflective memoir.

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March 15, 2017

Actress and singer Sagal offers a tale of a privileged yet emotionally challenging childhood and teen years. Both fans and readers unacquainted with her work will learn a lot about the struggles of young people who are emotionally sensitive and artistically inclined. She tells of a difficult upbringing in Los Angeles in the Sixties and Seventies, raised by an immigrant father, Boris Sagal, a well-known TV director who was always worried about his next job, and an artistic songwriter mother, who struggled with depression and addiction. Sagal discovers for herself how to cope and ultimately gains self-confidence. The writing is at times a bit cliched and perhaps a little too personal but honest and forthright about the importance of believing in one's abilities. Sagal grappled with her own addictions and serious illnesses, but throughout this account, she stresses the importance of friends, work, and family in her life. Her fame, as an actress in Married...with Children, Sons of Anarchy, and other TV programs came late, and the majority of the narrative is taken up with the years of effort it took to achieve success on her own. VERDICT For fans of Sagal as well as those who want to understand the underlying battles of women artists.--Amy Lewontin, Northeastern Univ. Lib., Boston

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2017
Readers probably know Sagal from her roles on Married with Children or Sons of Anarchy, or maybe even as the voice of Leela on Futurama. They may not know that Sagal's first passion was music and that she sang with Bette Midler and toured with Etta James. Or that her father directed television shows in the 1950s and '60s, and Norman Lear is her godfather. Or that she has battled addictions and nearly constant self-doubt, starting at a very early age. Sagal's roundabout way to fame, even though she rubbed shoulders with the famous since she was a young girl, is filled with sex, drugs, alcohol, and tragedyall the makings of a great celebrity memoir. What elevates Grace Notes is Sagal's honesty and wonderfully conversational tonethe woman loves an exclamation pointwhich make it accessible and readable without being gossipy or simple. Chapters on parenting and getting older, especially as a woman and actress, are standouts. You don't have to be a fan to enjoy this one.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)