Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!
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4.4 • 7 Ratings
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- $21.99
Publisher Description
“A bombshell, jaw-dropping memoir”
—People Magazine
#1 New York Times Bestseller
Global icon Liza Minnelli shares her inspiring story: stepping out from the long shadow of a mega-star mother and legendary film director father, fighting a lifetime battle with addiction, and emerging from it all to become a once-in-a-lifetime artist.
Kids, Wait Till You Hear This! is the autobiography of EGOT icon Liza Minnelli. This fascinating, untold story reveals the intimate truth of the only child born to Hollywood legends Vincente Minnelli and Judy Garland. For the first time, here is Liza up close: Raw, strong, sexy, hilarious and heartbreaking.
Liza decided at the age of 16 that “sympathy is my mother’s business. I give people joy.” That veil of joy, however, masks a lifelong struggle with Substance Use Disorder ("SUD," which Liza inherited from her mother's branch of her family), boundless love to give and an equal need to receive it, broken marriages, multiple miscarriages, and hospitalizations—the highs and lows of unparalleled artistic success and lifelong friendships, as well as chronic anxiety and the threat of financial ruin.
Despite every challenge, Liza’s is a life wrapped in laughter and her tremendous capacity to give and receive love. Today at nearly 80, she opens her heart, mind and memories, sharing secrets we never knew. Liza’s book celebrates supreme artistry and, more importantly, her human rights activism.
“It’s time to tell the truth," Liza says, “and help people heal, as I have, one day at a time.”
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Liza Minnelli has lived several lifetimes, and all of them have been amazing. In this candid, fast-moving memoir, she looks back on her roller-coaster childhood, her meteoric rise to become the youngest-ever Best Actress Tony winner, and her Oscar-winning performance in Cabaret—all before a whirlwind of psychological, physical, and financial problems nearly consumed her. She’s refreshingly direct about the chaos that surrounded her, including her mother’s struggles, her own battles with addiction, her high-profile relationships, and the constant paparazzi glare. There’s heartbreak here, and some well-deserved spilled tea. (Her last husband sounds like a real piece of work.) But mostly there’s wicked humour, backstage gossip, vivid memories of friends from Frank Sinatra to Princess Diana, and her bedrock love of music. Kids, Wait Till You Hear This! is exactly what we wanted a Liza Minnelli memoir to be.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Decorated entertainer Minnelli's debut delivers on the razzle-dazzle intrigue of its title. Narrating her life story to musician Feinstein, her longtime friend, Minnelli invites readers to join her at the piano bench and soak up the highs and lows of her storied career. She begins on the MGM lot, where she grew up the only child of filmmaker Vincente Minnelli and superstar Judy Garland in the 1940s and '50s ("We were living our own version of Meet Me in St. Louis.... But it wouldn't be all blueberry pie for long"). First witnessing the cracks in her parents' marriage soon after her fifth birthday, Minnelli became a keen observer of her mother's addictions to "pills and alcohol" before grappling with her own addictions in adulthood. Among other chatty showbiz anecdotes, Minnelli recalls breaking an ankle during rehearsals for her Broadway debut and making career-defining turns in the film Cabaret and its companion TV special, Liza with a Z. Through multiple marriages and divorces, successes and flops, she catalogs the pendulum swings of her life with gumption and good humor ("One day it's kicks, then it's kicks in the shins"). Fans new and old will appreciate this portrait of a woman forever committed to putting on a show.
Customer Reviews
Great read!
Great read! She was so open - what a life!