Dying of Politeness by Geena Davis

Davis is funny, warm, and charming; all things I anticipated before picking this one up. And she’s also tough and strong — which I did anticipate, too. But her growth to becoming this strong and resilient woman was a journey for her, which was unexpected.

I mean…she’s all the funny and delightful as Barbara, April, and Mrs. Little, so that was an easy acknowledgment, though her true wit outshines what is often written for her in scripts. But this woman I grew up watching, and knew as Thelma, Dottie, and Charly, had to work hard at her strength and overcome the meekness that had hidden her own agency from her.

Her work fighting for gender equity is a testament to who she always was inside and how she had to break down the barriers to even begin to level out the field.

With her Massachusettsan frankness and her just-right humility, she detailed her life from beginning to now without ever lingering too long or going into extraneous detail. More importantly, especially for me, she never, ever got gossipy. On the other side of that, she delivered her memoir as a story relayed to an old friend with whom you’re just catching up. I enjoyed this memoir so much and hope she writes again.

Audiobook, as narrated by the author: I mean, clearly Davis was going to read her own memoir…she’s fabulous. It’s her voice in her voice and, quite frankly, she nails it. Her tone was conversational and her tendency towards slight self-effacing humor could really only have been delivered perfectly by her.