04/12/2021
Though the title refers to Stone's near-death from a stroke in 2001, the actor has arguably lived many lives, as her bold memoir recounts. Stone revisits her small-town Pennsylvania youth, where strict "kitchen-sink Irish" parents and incidents of abuse failed to crush her spirit or her subsequent roles as ambitious student, celebrity, sex symbol, philanthropist, and adoptive single mother. Stone was determined to get the most out of her improbable circumstances, campaigning hard for the film roles she wanted, grieving many losses (including three miscarriages), and searching out avenues for spiritual connection. Suffused with wry humor, Stone's storytelling alternates between literary descriptions and intimate colloquialisms ("Well, that was just the Cracker Jack best!"). Though there are plenty of celebrity cameos, the memoir is neither tell-all nor fluff; without veering into self-pity, Stone's clear about the difficulties of being a woman who became famous for baring it all on screen, but didn't want to sleep with her coworkers: "People criticize me and say that men are intimidated by me. That just makes me want to cry. I was often alone on a set with hundreds of men," she writes. "And now I am the intimidating one?" The mix of moxie and vulnerability conveys a life well lived, and well examined. (Mar.)
04/01/2021
In this sincere memoir, Stone begins by recounting the emotional and physical toll of a medical experience two decades ago, when she had a stroke that continues to impact her daily life. Her candid writing brings readers into her life before and after her stroke. In the aftermath, she tries to become familiar with her body's new limitations, and is grateful for the support of close family and friends. She relates stories of personal hardship, particularly regarding friendship and failure, balanced with lighthearted and humorous anecdotes of starting over. Her writing is conversational and engaging, especially as she tells the powerful stories that demonstrate resilience and grit in many facets of her life, from her childhood to her acting career and beyond. She warmly embraces and explains the aspects of her spirituality—especially her path toward Buddhism—that have guided her through life and provided comfort when she needed it the most. At times, the narrative seems to meander, but Stone never loses sight of the things that keep her centered—faith and support from loved ones. VERDICT A welcome memoir of finding your way when life doesn't go according to plan. Stone's vulnerability and rediscovery will resonate with many readers.—Amanda Ray, Iowa City P.L.
2021-03-21
The celebrated actor reflects on a life of success, activism, and cleansing self-discovery.
Stone (b. 1958) begins in the hospital in 2001, when a severe brain injury nearly ended her life. She then backtracks to her youth growing up with three siblings in the “snowbelt” of northwestern Pennsylvania. She excelled at school but distanced herself from an aloof, damaged mother, a woman who never had a chance “to imagine a life where she could be whatever she chose.” As a teenager, Stone waited tables while entering local beauty pageants, which led to Manhattan modeling jobs and a move to Hollywood in the early 1980s. The author breaks down her iconic roles in Basic Instinct and Casino. Regarding the controversial interrogation scene in the former, she writes, “there have been many points of view…but since I’m the one with the vagina in question, let me say: the other points of view are bullshit.” While sharing a host of madcap episodes throughout an eventful life, she also proudly describes her impressive “life of service,” her Buddhist faith, and the adoptions of three sons. She also contributes juicier stories about co-hosting the 2008 Cannes Film Festival with Madonna and the controversy that erupted following a stray comment to reporters. Stone then moves on to her “second life,” when she endured “the loss of all things we call dear,” including her father, marriage, health, and financial security. Though the memoir is unevenly, frenetically narrated, that will only deter readers unfamiliar with Stone’s persona. Delivering a barrage of self-reflective anecdotes, she is consistently candid, alternatingly tender and feisty, and always witty. In conclusion, Stone offers thoughts on wisdom, modesty, and vulnerability as well as some startling admissions about “being sexually abused throughout my life.” Encouragingly, Stone has reconciled with her mother. “Today,” she writes, “my mother and I are at the beginning of our relationship.”
Fans will blissfully revel in the intimate if restlessly delivered details in this perceptive memoir.
One of Vogue's Best Books of the Year • One of O Magazine’s 20 Best Books to Pick Up • One of Fortune’s 11 New Books to Read • One of CNN’s 20 Most Anticipated New Books to Read • One of Town & Country’s 42 Must-Read Books of Spring • One of Marie Claire’s 25 Best Memoirs to Pre-Order
“A candid, heartfelt, poignant memoir, written with grace and humor.”
—Harlan Coben, bestselling author of The Boy From the Woods
“In this courageous, daring and tender-hearted memoir, Sharon Stone interrogates her own trauma and a myriad of losses and discovers the gift of clear seeing. The Beauty of Living Twice is so much more than a celebrity tell-all. It is an act of reckoning, contrition, and above all, love.”
—Dani Shapiro, author of Inheritance
“Elegantly written with her wicked sense of humor on full display, the memoir is catnip for fans who have never managed to crack the exterior of the elusive star.”
—Vogue
“Stone is uncommonly candid about life, fame, and trauma.”
—The New Yorker
“The Beauty of Living Twice is far from the glitzy account of Hollywood that readers might expect. Instead, it shows a woman who’s spent the majority of her years in the public eye seizing the opportunity to tell her story entirely on her own terms.”
—TIME Magazine
“While [The Beauty of Living Twice] contains some startling personal revelations, equally affecting is Stone’s warmth and grace, qualities that, by the end, feel quite miraculous. . . . Writing with zeal and urgency, Stone argues for a stronger legal system, for rape kits on police shelves to be processed, for better training for teachers and pediatricians. Above all, she offers a hopeful glimpse of life beyond trauma. . . . The Beauty of Living Twice promises the possibility of improvement or redemption, of compassion and understanding, of living honestly.”
—Charles Arrowsmith, The Washington Post
“Stone is a strong portraitist of the instant in time, and aware that stardom, like identity, is mostly a phenomenon of the memory. . . . The gossipy moments in this book are juicy. Her occasional lapses into divahood are frankly more entertaining to read than the more virtuous edit of the same event would have been. . . . The Beauty of Living Twice is a book about Sharon Stone’s life, which makes it a book about how women take on multiple personas when they become very famous, then struggle to keep them in order.”
—Jo Livingstone, The New Republic
“[The Beauty of Living Twice] charts not only the highs and lows of her career on screen but also her struggles, including medical problems that nearly killed her, in her personal life. Stone being Stone, it's all delivered with a wit and honestly that brings the book beyond your average movie-star memoir.”
—Town & Country
“The past few years have seen a string of revelatory celebrity memoirs that aren’t just promotional tools but genuine, no-holds-barred autobiographies offering nuanced looks at people we might have thought we knew . . . This year, Sharon Stone shares her story: The actress recounts how she rebuilt her life in the wake of a massive stroke and pursued a slow road back to wholeness and health.”
—Fortune
“Fans of Stone will eat up the actress’ new autobiography, which chronicles not only her famous roles but also a traumatic childhood; a stroke in 2001 that, she writes, cost her both her career and savings; and her humanitarian efforts to strengthen the lives of women and children around the world.”
—CNN
“In her candid memoir, Sharon Stone discusses how she rebuilt her life after a stroke that forever altered life as she knew it.”
—Marie Claire
“Brave, contemplative and inspiring. . . . Stone's tough and touching memoir reveals the traumas, setbacks and gritty determination to survive and thrive that have previously been hidden beneath a beautiful façade.”
—Kevin Howell, Shelf Awareness
“Stone delivers a bighearted, wonderfully rambling story full of wisdom and humor.”
—Amy Scribner, BookPage
“Delivering a barrage of self-reflective anecdotes, [Stone] is consistently candid, alternatingly tender and feisty, and always witty. . . . Fans will blissfully revel in the intimate if restlessly delivered details in this perceptive memoir.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Bold. . . . Suffused with wry humor, Stone's storytelling alternates between literary descriptions and intimate colloquialisms. . . . The mix of moxie and vulnerability conveys a life well lived, and well examined.”
—Publishers Weekly
“[Stone’s] writing is conversational and engaging, especially as she tells the powerful stories that demonstrate resilience and grit in many facets of her life, from her childhood to her acting career and beyond. . . . A welcome memoir of finding your way when life doesn't go according to plan. Stone's vulnerability and rediscovery will resonate with many readers.”
—Library Journal
This is a remarkably special audiobook listening experience—difficult, challenging, not entirely coherent, but nonetheless moving. Internationally known beauty, philanthropist, social activist, and skilled actor Sharon Stone narrates her own courageous memoir, which she wrote after her recovery from a massive stroke. Her brain injury seems apparent throughout her narration. It’s sometimes distracting, sometimes not. Her pauses at the ends of sentences, paragraphs, and chapters can seem unduly lengthy, and there are some struggles with enunciation. However, this extremely candid work reveals the tremendous strength and resilience that she has exhibited since her stressful childhood. Stone simply does not accept failure, and her fierce determination is evident throughout her performance. W.A.G. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
This is a remarkably special audiobook listening experience—difficult, challenging, not entirely coherent, but nonetheless moving. Internationally known beauty, philanthropist, social activist, and skilled actor Sharon Stone narrates her own courageous memoir, which she wrote after her recovery from a massive stroke. Her brain injury seems apparent throughout her narration. It’s sometimes distracting, sometimes not. Her pauses at the ends of sentences, paragraphs, and chapters can seem unduly lengthy, and there are some struggles with enunciation. However, this extremely candid work reveals the tremendous strength and resilience that she has exhibited since her stressful childhood. Stone simply does not accept failure, and her fierce determination is evident throughout her performance. W.A.G. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine