My Life So Far

Starred review from June 6, 2005
Thanks to Fonda's bravura reading, this eloquent abridgement of her stirring 500-page autobiography is one of the best audiobooks of the season. Her tour de force performance ranges from hilarious (an imitation of Ted Turner trying to say "monogamous") to heartbreaking (her final days with her dying father). This probing and articulate memoir follows Fonda's quest for self-discovery: "To have a good third act you need to understand what the first two have been about. I don't want to die without knowing who I am." With unsparing honesty, she admits to 30 years of bulimia and anorexia, dissects three failed marriages and details her cathartic, four-hour meeting with Vietnam vets in 1988 as a "raw, angry, emotional... exorcism" of the myth of Hanoi Jane. With the exception of Barbarella
, Klute
and On Golden Pond
, the abridgment skims the two-time Oscar-winner's films in favor of her political awakening, budding feminism and emotional and spiritual growth. It's a fascinating, surprising journey, brought vividly to life by Fonda, who chuckles and ad-libs at will. On a side note: kudos to Random's inside packaging for including five photos from the book. Simultaneous release with Random hardcover (reviewed online at www.publishersweekly.com
).