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True Stories from an Unreliable Eyewitness: A Feminist Coming of Age Kindle Edition

by Christine Lahti (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 76 ratings
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A fiercely intelligent, hilarious, and deeply feminist collection of interrelated personal stories from Academy, Emmy, and Golden Globe Award–winning actress and director Christine Lahti.

For decades, actress and director Christine Lahti has captivated the hearts and minds of her audience through iconic roles in Chicago Hope, Running on Empty, Housekeeping, And Justice for All, Swing Shift, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, God of Carnage, and The Blacklist. Now, in True Stories from an Unreliable Eyewitness, this acclaimed performer channels her creativity inward to share her own story for the first time on the page.

In this poignant essay collection, Lahti focuses on three major periods of her life: her childhood, her early journey as an actress and activist, and the realities of her life as a middle-aged woman in Hollywood today. Lahti’s comical and self-deprecating voice shines through in stories such as "Kidnapped" and "Shit Happens," and she takes a boldly honest look at the painful fissures in her family in pieces such as "Mama Mia" and "Running on Empty." Taken together, the collection illuminates watershed moments in Lahti’s life, revealing her struggle to maintain integrity, fight her need for perfection, and remain true to her feminist inclinations.

Lahti’s wisdom and candid insights are reminiscent of Nora Ephron’s I Feel Bad About My Neck and Joan Rivers’s I Hate Everyone—and yet her experiences are not exclusive to one generation. The soul of her writing can be seen as a spiritual mother to feminist actresses and comedic voices whose works are inspiring today’s young women, including Amy Schumer, Lena Dunham, Amy Poehler, Caitlin Moran, and Jenny Lawson. Her stories reveal a stumbling journey toward agency and empowerment as a woman—a journey that’s still very much a work in progress.

True Stories from an Unreliable Eyewitness is about the power of storytelling to affirm and reframe the bedrock of who we are, revealing that we’re all unreliable eyewitnesses when it comes to our deeply personal memories. Told in a wildly fresh, unique voice, and with the unshakable ability to laugh at herself time and again, this is Christine Lahti’s best performance yet.

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  1. Print length
    190 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Harper
  5. Publication date
    April 3, 2018
  6. File size
    1554 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“This collection captures, in writing, the same array of emotions that Christine brings to the stage and screen with her acting. Funny with heart. Tears with a hint of hope. A fantastic mosaic that, when cobbled together, offers a stirring range of humanity.” — Alan Zweibel, original SNL writer and Thurber Prize winning author of The Other Shulman

“Christine Lahti’s autobiographical essays are a beautiful, painful, funny, fiercely honest walk through the streets of her life. Gorgeous landscape, dangerous potholes and all. The whole unedited she-bang. It’s Oz with the curtain pulled back. At once soul-baring, hilarious, moving and smart. I’m a fan.” — Kathy Najimy, actress and comedienne

“Lahti launches into the literary world with the same dynamism that has enlivened her acting roles. With brazen honesty, she recounts the many surprising, heartbreaking, and identity-building events that have punctuated her life. True Stories of an Unreliable Eyewitness oozes modesty, humor, and complete levelheadedness.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Christine Lahti has lived a full, ferocious life and her stories will break, beat and blister your heart.” — Amber Tamblyn, author, actress, and director 

“Engrossing, hilarious, tragic—this amazing book of essays by a wonderful actor whom we now know is also a great American storyteller, takes us from the Midwest to Hollywood to the moment of women’s rebellion we are currently in. Couldn’t put it down!” — Michael Moore, Academy Award winning filmmaker and bestselling author

“An intimate, conversational collection. Lahti writes with ease and authenticity... her timely chronicle of aging wisely, gracefully, and with self-respect will resonate with many readers”  — Publishers Weekly

“Lahti’s style is irreverent, bawdy, and laugh-out-loud funny, but she doesn’t shirk from painful subjects, including family mental illness. Lahti is one of those rare celebrities who not only has a fascinating life but who can also tell a relatable story with humility and humor.” — Booklist

About the Author

Christine Lahti is an acclaimed director and stage, television, and film actress with a career that spans over forty years. She won an Oscar for her short film, Lieberman in Love; an Oscar nomination for Swing Shift; a Golden Globe Award for No Place Like Home; an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Chicago Hope; and an Obie Award for Little Murders. On Broadway, she starred in God of Carnage and The Heidi Chronicles, among many others. Her films include Running on Empty and Housekeeping. Her television shows include Jack and Bobby, Law & Order SVU, and The Blacklist. She lives in New York City and Los Angeles.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B071HD874X
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper (April 3, 2018)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 3, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1554 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 190 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 76 ratings

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Christine Lahti

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
76 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

KG
5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, sweetly rueful, righteously pissed off, completely heartbreaking
Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2018
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Christine Lahti's series of autobiographical essays covers her life - personal, career and the nexus between the two - from childhood to her current life in her mid 60s.

The book is excellent. Lahti makes her multiple and complex tones dance beautifully together: Funny, touchingly vulnerable, sweetly rueful, righteously pissed off, completely heartbreaking (I flat out cried a couple of times.).

It’s powerfully political at times, but shares those ideas from such a personal place that it takes feminism - for this male reader anyway - away from an intellectual concept into something visceral. I didn't just understand what Lahti was expressing, I felt it in my gut, saw through her eyes.

I also loved how honest she is about her own contradictions - the passionate feminist staring in the mirror and wondering about plastic surgery. The proudly brave and strong woman cowering during an earthquake. It's endearing and truthful.

It’s also interesting to read a memoir by someone from a more upper-class background and see how little difference that makes in the struggles and dysfunction that families and humans face. (Maybe it’s just luck but the last few autobiographical pieces I’ve read were all by people who grew up in poverty with terrible familial and social challenges). It’s important to be reminded that economics clearly matter, but the complexities of the human heart and mind matter more.

This is an impressive and thoroughly enjoyable collection of pieces and one that I will recommend to friends and return to myself.
4 people found this helpful
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Laurel-Rain Snow
4.0 out of 5 stars A JOURNEY TO HER AUTHENTIC SELF
Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2018
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A fiercely intelligent, hilarious, and deeply feminist collection of interrelated personal stories from Academy, Emmy, and Golden Globe Award–winning actress and director Christine Lahti.

For decades, actress and director Christine Lahti has captivated the hearts and minds of her audience through iconic roles in Chicago Hope, Running on Empty, Housekeeping, And Justice for All, Swing Shift, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, God of Carnage, and The Blacklist. Now, in True Stories from an Unreliable Eyewitness, this acclaimed performer channels her creativity inward to share her own story for the first time on the page.

In this poignant essay collection, Lahti focuses on three major periods of her life: her child-hood, her early journey as an actress and activist, and the realities of her life as a middle-aged woman in Hollywood today. Lahti’s comical and self-deprecating voice shines through in stories such as “Kidnapped” and “Shit Happens,” and she takes a boldly honest look at the painful fissures in her family in pieces such as “Mama Mia” and “Running on Empty.” Taken together, the collection illuminates watershed moments in Lahti’s life, revealing her struggle to maintain integrity, fight her need for perfection, and remain true to her feminist inclinations.

My Thoughts: As a fan of the actress, I’ve enjoyed her humor and her down-to-earth and realistic portrayals of characters I’ve been able to relate to.

In  True Stories from an Unreliable Eyewitness: A Feminist Coming of Age , Lahti described how memory is subjective, and that events are sifted through our personal filters. Individual family members would thus have very different memories of events they shared. I had seen this occur in my own family, with siblings experiencing quite different versions of events.

As she talks about growing up in Michigan in the 1950s, I felt a kinship with that picture perfect upbringing that could hide a multitude of frustrations, anxieties, and the quest for perfection.

Topics ranged from the counter-culture to aging, and in each stage of her life, she described her struggles to achieve her goals. In all parts of her journey, she has tried to find her authentic self, and fight against the demands of the male directors who expected sexual favors from female performers, and how sometimes she had to turn down roles that would erode her self-respect.

Back and forth in time, the author takes us along on her journey, sharing heart-felt moments and traumatic family episodes that could destroy someone without her strength and determination.

An engaging book that kept me interested throughout, I am awarding 4.5 stars.
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Wendy Hutchins
5.0 out of 5 stars Funny and touching: A great read!
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2018
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I have been a big fan of Christine Lahti's for many years and had been counting the days until this book would pop onto my e-reader! What a terrific book! The openness, humility and honesty make the reader feel like they are sitting down for coffee with a good friend who is sharing stories from their life. Anyone would find this book interesting, but since I grew up in the same time period, it was fascinating to look back at how women were treated in the 50's and 60's, in marriages and in the workplace. Her stories are also very personal, from essays that had me laughing out loud (I LOVE her sense of humor!) to trials and tragedies in her life that touched me deeply. I love that this is not an "as told to" book; her writing style is excellent and easy to read. I don't agree with all of her views on some issues but have to admire her ability to express them so clearly and intelligently. How wonderful to read a book by someone whose talent you've admired for so long and discover that you admire them as a person as well!
10 people found this helpful
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Laura K. Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars A memoir as warm as the woman who wrote it
Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2022
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I've loved Christine Lahti since I first saw her back, well, decades ago. But you never know the person from what's on the screen or even in various news articles/segments. So I was happy to pick up the book to get to know her a bit better.

It's an honest, open memoir about her growth over the years and the challenges and joys she's had. A very enjoyable read and re-read. If you've enjoyed her work, I think you'll love the book as well.
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D.R. Bennett
5.0 out of 5 stars Telling it like it is, or was
Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2020
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This is not a typical autobiography. Award-winning actress Christine Lahti, with both humor and straight-talk, reviews her life via a series of chapters that capture high points of her professional and emotional world. Lahti admits her own naivete in starting an acting career but balances that innocence with a determination to succeed despite her unwillingness to play the sexual game. She shares her awakening to feminism and how she follows that path. She allows a few four-letter words in her narrative and comes across as authentic. I really enjoyed this book, because while I didn't learn everything about her life, told A-Z, I came away feeling a relationship with her.
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Top reviews from other countries

Jane M.
5.0 out of 5 stars True to life.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 26, 2022
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The author and I are the same age...so I could really relate to her experiences. I always view her movies because she is so genuine.
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