Let's Just Say It Wasn't Pretty
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3.5 • 180 Ratings
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
From Academy Award winner and bestselling author Diane Keaton comes a candid, hilarious, and deeply affecting look at beauty, aging, and the importance of staying true to yourself—no matter what anyone else thinks.
Diane Keaton has spent a lifetime coloring outside the lines of the conventional notion of beauty. In Let’s Just Say It Wasn’t Pretty, she shares the wisdom she’s accumulated through the years as a mother, daughter, actress, artist, and international style icon. This is a book only Diane Keaton could write—a smart and funny chronicle of the ups and downs of living and working in a world obsessed with beauty.
In her one-of-a-kind voice, Keaton offers up a message of empowerment for anyone who’s ever dreamed of kicking back against the “should”s and “supposed to”s that undermine our pursuit of beauty in all its forms. From a mortifying encounter with a makeup artist who tells her she needs to get her eyes fixed to an awkward excursion to Victoria’s Secret with her teenage daughter, Keaton shares funny and not-so-funny moments from her life in and out of the public eye.
For Diane Keaton, being beautiful starts with being true to who you are, and in this book she also offers self-knowing commentary on the bold personal choices she’s made through the years: the wide-brimmed hats, outrageous shoes, and all-weather turtlenecks that have made her an inspiration to anyone who cherishes truly individual style—and catnip to paparazzi worldwide. She recounts her experiences with the many men in her life—including Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, and Sam Shepard—shows how our ideals of beauty change as we age, and explains why a life well lived may be the most beautiful thing of all.
Wryly observant and as fiercely original as Diane Keaton herself, Let’s Just Say It Wasn’t Pretty is a head-turner of a book that holds up a mirror to our beauty obsessions—and encourages us to like what we see.
Praise for Let's Just Say It Wasn't Pretty
“Behind the sterling movie credits and tomboyish wardrobe, we see a soulful and deep woman contemplating the narrative arc of her own life.”—Newsweek
“Delicious writing . . . This book is like a dishy lunch with the movie star you thought you’d never be lucky enough to meet. . . . Diane Keaton is in a class by herself and this book is good for the soul.”—Liz Smith, Chicago Tribune
“She’s talented, iconic, quirky . . . and wonderfully blunt. This is just a small sampling of the reasons we love Diane Keaton, and they all permeate the pages of her new memoir.”—Elle
“As disarming and personable as the actress herself.”—The Huffington Post
“Wise, witty, thoughtful, uplifting, the truth, unvarnished—and very funny.”—Toronto Star
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Keaton describes her physical imperfections and aging woes in this candid, and occasionally tedious, collection of observations and insights. The veteran actress covers the many aspects of female beauty with a still-youthful voice that is as familiar, lyrical, and charmingly awkward as that of her on-screen persona. She admires pioneering comediennes Phyllis Diller and Joan Rivers, reflects on her relationships with Warren Beatty, Woody Allen, and Al Pacino, and discusses her much-talked-about personal style, her real estate purchases, and her children. Some anecdotes from Keaton's childhood are written in a diarylike style, and she has much to say about her parents, choking with emotion at one point. Keaton sounds confident as she imparts the accumulated wisdom of 67 years, but her introspection periodically segues into stream-of-consciousness patter and oversharing about her children. This is a mixed bag of advice for women and intimate celebrity gossip from an iconic woman admired for her independence and individuality. A Random House hardcover.
Customer Reviews
Appreciation
I loved it, being that, my family thinks I look and act a lot like Diane. I have loved her from the beging. I read her the book of her life with her family and the diaries of her mother. Now this book, of her thoughts and wishes, really helps me see the Diane we all love and appreciates . I could see my self as her so often in this book. I love her and give her credit for opening up and being so vulnerable about her feelings, dreams and thoughts. As a women I think this book has helped me to appreciate who I am and except who I am with all my flaws.
Thanks Diane
Not worth your reading time or $$$
Hard to believe a publisher vetted this book for publication. If you think Diane Keaton is interesting her book will quickly convince you otherwise.
Rambling words neatly printed on pages does not a book make.
Diane's story is testament that female versions of Peter Pan exist.
Found myself skipping paragraphs, then skipping pages, and when I skipped a chapter I deleted the book from my iPad.
Let's Just Say it wasn't Pretty
I love this book!