Kitchen Privileges: A Memoir

Educational Helpful information Interesting real life characters

This memoir is truly a great example of what a special person Mary Higgins Clark is. This woman was born under a special star and her mother had the wonderful insight to recognize it and encourage it to blossom. As I read this I actually felt as if I were one of those neighbors who were privileged [but didn't know it at the time] enough to be allowed to came and sit and chat at the kitchen table and listen in to the wonderful stories. Mary Higgens Clark has had her share of grief and yet she is humble enough to share those private moments with us and to managed to rise above the pain to become the wonderful sister, daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, and writer that she truly is. I really felt honored to be allowed to share in her life story and was sadden when the book ended. You won't regret reading this one! I read it in one sitting and one day--I couldn't put it down. Trust me--you won't be able to either. A-Must-Read for those who love Mary Higgens Clark and Memoirs.

I have been a fan of Mary Higgins Clark since junior high school when I first read, "A Cry in the Night". As a 31-year old working mother of two, I barely have time to read anything leisurely anymore! Over the years I have read many of her books, but I have found this one the most entertaining to date. This book brought me to tears on more than one occasion. This is a truly inspiring human story of love and loss that many people will relate to. I applaud her determination in making all of her dreams come true. I have forwarded the book to a dear aunt who writes short stories to give her some encouragement. I hope this review has been helpful.

A surprising glimpse into the world of Mary Higgins Clark from her childhood which took a sad turn with the early death of her father. Her mother then was forced to rent out rooms (with kitchen privileges)in order to try to make ends meet. Some of their tenants were interesting to say the least.Before marrying, Ms. Clark was an airline stewardess and she has a few interesting stories about that. She married the man she had had a crush on and was blissfully happy until he suffered a fatal heart attack leaving her with 5 children.She writes about her struggles to become published and also of her fantastic life since.The only thing wrong with the book is that it is so brief. Like I said at the beginning, we only get a glimpse into the life of this fascinating woman.

When an author achieves the success of Mary Higgins Clark, readers might assume her own personal story came wrapped in a neat package like one of her mysteries. But as all of Mary Higgins Clark's devoted fans know, she was not published till long after she was widowed with five young children. In KITCHEN PRIVILEGES, her memoir, she tells her remarkable story. We are often skeptical (and rightly so) about success stories; they can be a little too good to be true. But when confronted with Mary Higgins Clark's resilience, drive and determination, you will want to jump up from your chair --- and cheer her success. Clark's writing here has the same honest, breezy style that makes her books such fun to read. Mary grew up in an Irish neighborhood in the Bronx where family was everything. Her dad died when she was still in grammar school, forcing the family to change its lifestyle quickly. Her mom took in boarders, offering them "Kitchen Privileges," which is where the book got its title. Life in the Bronx for Mary meant hours at the kitchen table listening to her aunts talk about family stories. Many of these became the characters and grist for her later stories. Later in life she moved to New Jersey with her husband and young family. Both the Bronx and New Jersey have given comedians and jokesters plenty of material. As Mary says, "It has always amused me that I've had to defend the two places where I've spent most of my life, the Bronx and New Jersey." Mary loved to write and she loved to read, and she approached life with a jaunty style that kept her striving for success --- and achieving it. She also loved to act and, for a while, subsidized her family's income with appearances in television commercials. The highlight was a commercial for Fab laundry detergent that ran on I Love Lucy and several daytime soap operas. It was quite an achievement for the girl who never got a speaking part in the grammar school school play! Wouldn't you love to see that commercial today? Her husband Warren was a man with whom she shared both love and laughter. Though they had known each other their entire childhood, their courtship was nothing short of whirlwind. Their first date came soon after Pan Am hired her as a stewardess. Hungry for travel, she knew this was a way to see the world. On their first date he told her he knew they were going to be married, "Fly for a year. Get it out of your system. I'll take my mother to drive-in movies when you're away. We'll get married at Christmas." Mary and Warren bottled up a lot of wonderful times into their short years together. Sadly he died of a heart condition in his early 40s, leaving her with five small children. The love and respect they had for one another got her through many a dark day in the years ahead. Working at a job writing radio shows, commuting, attending night school at Fordham and trying to keep her young family happy and worry-free required a lot of energy. Recognizing that writing was something she always

Mary Higgins Clark has been a best selling author of suspense for what seems forever though her first book was a bio of George and Martha Washington. Ms. Clark returns to the world of non-fiction with an autobiography that may be her best work to date. Ms. Clark warmly discusses her life growing up in the Bronx, a very harsh one due the Depression. Even more heartwarming is her "courtship" and first marriage that should have turned Ms. Clark into a romance writer instead of the queen of suspense. She follows this up with the tragedy of suddenly raising children, as a widow with income problems until her first sale brings in needed cash. Finally, she discusses her second chance at love with her second marriage.Throughout the book, Ms. Clark displays her love for writing without padding fluff or an outrageous scandal. Instead the author's myriad of fans and readers who enjoy a well written insightful biography will take delight with this encouraging story that does not apologize for Ms. Clark following her dreams and encourages others to do likewise. For attaining one's dreams is how to attain happiness.Harriet Klausner