In Pieces by Sally Field

Title: In Pieces

Author: Sally Field

Read by:  Sally Field

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Length: Approximately 10 hours and 41 minutes

Source: Purchased from Amazon.com

Sally Field’s memoir is a heartfelt look at her life and the people who helped to shape it.  This memoir is personal and very well written by Field herself.  I’ve read other ghost-written celebrity memoirs that are more about making the celebrity look important.  She brings up a lot of painful memories and it feels very honest.

Sally was born to a veteran father with whom she had a distant relationship after her parent’s divorce and a beautiful showbiz mother.  The memoir describes the history of her mother’s family and her childhood in a home with her mother, grandma, great-grandma, and aunt and how that shaped her.  Her mother Margaret remarried to legendary showbiz stuntman Jock Mahoney.  Unfortunately, Jock spent Sally’s childhood grooming her and abusing her.  It was heartbreaking to learn about. 

Sally discovered that acting was her forte during drama club at school.  She soon was the star of the Gidget TV series and then the Flying Nun.  She didn’t want to take the Flying Nun job, but Jock told her she may never work again if she didn’t take it so she did and hated it along the way.  Sally worked toward becoming a better actress by attending the actor’s studio and working to get better parts.  It was hard to get good roles as all anyone saw her as was the Flying Nun.  I have never seen the Flying Nun myself, but it seems like whenever you say “Sally Field” to anyone in my mother’s generation, they automatically say “the Flying Nun.”

During her career as a young actress Sally marries and becomes a mother and continues trying to get ahead while always afraid of failure and running out of money as she witnessed with her mother and Jock during her youth.  Poignant to me was when Sally would be working all day and she would have her mother take care of the kids while her husband did nothing, and she would still have to come home and do dishes and chores.  I can see why that marriage failed!!

As the novel reached its conclusion, it was a heart felt ending where Field and her mother are able to talk through events from the past including her abuse by Jock.  I’ll admit I had tears in my eyes at this point.  This last part of the memoir really made me realize that was what the book was all about.  Field’s difficult relationship with her mother and how her youth impacted her life and decisions.  I was glad she was able to have that conversation with her mother.

I was sad that the book had a great introspective look at the early years of Field’s life, but I was said that it glossed over 1980 to present day in what felt like a chapter.  I did love learning about her role as Mary Lincoln, but I wanted to learn more!  I especially wanted more on her relationship with Burt Reynolds.

In Pieces is the Kewaunee Library Book Club pick for March.  It should be interesting to talk about. 

Sally Field is a wonder narrating her own story.  It feels like a personal conversation with the author.  It was a wonderful audiobook to listen to.

Overall, In Pieces is a heartfelt, interesting memoir about a famous actress, but really about family relationships.