Undiscovered

Definitely the worst book I've ever read. Disjointed mumbo jumbo. Delirious quackery. I don't know what to call this style of writing, other than self-indulgent pablum. If I had paid only $1.00 for this book, I would still have considered it a ripoff. Winger is really messed up. Don't waste your money on it. Not the least bit entertaining.

I didn't expect this book to be as well written as it is. In fact, I started to read it fully expecting to hate it. I find that books written by Hollywood actors, when I bother to read them, they make me cringe a little. Until I shut them a few pages in and take them back to the library. I like Debra Winger. I never expected to write that. Because I've never really enjoyed her acting or her movies. But I picked up the book because I liked the cover. She, if it is her, looks gorgeous from behind and standing on the liminal point of a threshhold in a doorway in the fall of her life, well, it won me over. Love the metaphor :). Yes, the book is fragment and poetic and won't appeal to those looking for Hollywood gossip. In it you will find essays in a journal form written by a still youngish woman finding her fit in a upside-down world. She has been lucky enough to have an insightfulness (by accident, upbringing, good DNA or hard psychological introspection, or a combination) and the ability to articulate it. Some people are reporters of the secret things they've been privy to know through suffering and triumphs. They have the ability to see and tell about them without senitment or an underlying detection of privilege, but as observers. They write them down to tell others who are paying attention. I didn't expect it but it's one of the books I will read again, and also, happily recommend. PS. She wrote about something, about the scene while on the "bull" in Urban Cowboy. The scene that some found simply sensual and titallating. And she wrote about the significance of that scene in regard to what a person would do, to try to reach out to someone they love/to be loved. I just thought that might be something the unsatisfied reader would pay attention to while reading this book. In my mind, it's sort of the theme.

This is not your usual type of biography / memoir. It is more her feelings with a few antecdotes dispersed within. Very introspective with poetry and prose thrown in. I liked it a lot as she reminded me of Hugh Prather. But then she never was a conventional actress either.

Winger has always been a thoughtful, and, in many ways, mercurial actress. There is no question about her onscreen chops as a triple Oscar-nomineee and major star despite a rambling, choosy, relatively sporadic resume. Then again, Winger's wonderfully versatile choices (and performances) have stood the test of time ('Terms of Endearment,' 'Officer & A Gentleman,' 'Shadowlands,' and 'Urban Cowboy'--even delicious second-tier fare like 'Black Widow'). Perhaps Hollywood's current crop of mediocre talents could take a life-lesson from the gifted Winger, in this regard: scrutinize your destiny, your integrity, choose what lasts. This book is Winger's very compelling way of doing just that, in essay form. Winger demonstrates that her way with the written word is well nigh as charismatic as her way with a line of film dialogue. Naturally, it helps that she was thrust into myriad adventures by her success in the 80s and 90s (and has something of immediate interest to "play-off of"), but the book works just as convincingly as a document of sometimes aching human self-discovery. Winger is able to recount mood and mayhem with the skill of a charming raconteur and technique of a solid writer. In fact, I'm pleasantly surprised at how good a writer Winger proves herself to be. The book moves, almost dreamlike, from reflective episode to incisive commentary, and not necessarily with a strict chronological purpose--these are essays from the very soul, after all. Winger is by turns funny and subtly provocative, and, of course, takes time to drop an appropriate number of industry names and anecdotes for those more interested in her career self-perception than with the equally direct assessment of her close family life...a life away from the shackles of fame. In many ways, this is one of the more rewarding and exceptionally written memoirs to come directly from a major film star in recent memory. Winger infuses the book with wisdom and honesty; apparently she's not only earned it--she's chosen it, and that makes an impact here. The reader comes away with the feeling that one has been given a rare opportunity to glimpse the journey of a genuinely attuned "Traveller" through Hollywood and beyond, rather than a caricature of Hollywood overwhelming a Traveller's voice and personality. Great collection of memoir-ish essays. She'd be wise to write a screenplay or a stage play, with talent like this. Well done, Ms. Winger.

I haven't yet read this book, but I have heard several passages read aloud by Debra Winger at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH). Debra Winger has been such a mystery to me. Over the years I have heard she was a volunteer in a kibbutz, that she was strong-willed and not always easy to work with, that she had a breakdown of some kind around the time she made The Sheltering Sky, that she retired from film forever. I saw a DVD of Rosanna Arquette's documentary Searching for Debra Winger. But I had no idea of the high regard I felt for this actress or how ingrained she was into my filmgoing consciousness. Then I stumbled upon her book-reading at MFAH and was delighted. I never feel like bothering celebrities I meet, but I wanted to hug her. She looks great, and said she feels her best film work is ahead of her. I can't wait.