Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain
A Story of Loss and Gain
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
Born Mandy Rodgers just outside of Geelong, Portia de Rossi is one of Hollywood's most intriguing and talked about stars. Finding early success in the Australian film Sirens, Portia went on to star in the hit television series Ally McBeal, as well as the cult hit Arrested Development, launching her Hollywood career - and eventual high-profile marriage to Hollywood mega-star Ellen DeGeneres. But behind her success, Portia was plagued by self doubt, depression, anorexia and bulimia. Starving herself and terrified of being ‘outed' by the press, Portia lived a Hollywood nightmare for years. "There is no lonelier place than living with an eating disorder. It forces you to hide from everyone out of fear that someone might see through your controlled exterior to the festering, flesh-eating disease that lurks just under the skin. I can't express how shameful it is for the self-controlled over-achiever to find herself at a supermarket parking lot on the floor of the backseat of her car stuffing a succession of muffins in her mouth then vomiting in a plastic bag and dropping it into a trash can - all the while terrified that paparazzi were capturing the whole disgusting ritual." - Portia de Rossi Unbearable Lightness is the story of living with an eating disorder. It's also Portia's story of accepting her sexuality, coming out in Hollywood, marrying Ellen DeGeneres and what life is really like inside the Hollywood machine. Shockingly candid, outrageously funny, self deprecating and no holds barred, Unbearable Lightness is an extraordinary account of a Hollywood life not even the tabloids could make up.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The author, an actor in movies and TV, (including Ally McBeal, Arrested Development, and Better Off Ted), model, and gay rights advocate, writes that "playing the role of heterosexual while fantasizing about being a homosexual had been my reality since I was a child." It's one she played into her 20s, when she was for three years married to a man. Now, she is married to Ellen DeGeneres, whom she met in 2001 after recovering from anorexia and bulimia. De Rossi nicely chronicles the years in between, during which she starved herself to 80 pounds. She artfully draws the reader into the tension of a life lived in secrecy: did anybody notice she lunges rather than walks, the better to burn calories? will anyone guess she is gay? when she nearly fainted, was anyone around? While some details could be viewed as anorexia how-tos, they make it possible to comprehend the twisted logic of de Rossi's frantic daily pursuits, and grasp the enormity of her achievement in overcoming her problems. The path de Rossi took to her happy ending is well worth reading about: her story is a cautionary tale, an inspiration, and a triumph.
Customer Reviews
Fine line
Thank you Porsche for writing so honestly. I've been struggling for 30 yrs with food/weight, this has shown me there is a very fine line between obesity and anorexia. Great read.
Brilliant!
I don't feel so alone now...
"I was scared of being fat and I was scared of being gay..." this and so many other quotes spoke to me, now I have optimism I will be ok, thank you Portia~ you made me a tiny bit stronger...
Amazing
I purchased and read this book in 2013 but have just re read it. It's filled with so much detail and depth I am blown away by her ability to go there and share it with the world. I am sure revisiting those days could not have been easy but I and I'm sure many others appreciate it to no end. Such a good and powerful read.