Review by Booklist Review
When Shannon was just four years old, her mother, little sister, and cousin died in a car accident. She and her older sister Mary were raised by their father, Jim, in Cleveland. Jim was an alcoholic who was sometimes strict and needy, but always encouraged Molly when she performed or went for a joke. Shannon calls herself a trickster, and she was, whether she was telling classmates they missed the morning bus (they hadn't) or calling agents in L.A., pretending to have a connection to David Mamet (she didn't). That fearlessness and impish sense of humor, plus her Catholic upbringing, led to her developing some of her most famous characters, personae she later made even more famous on Saturday Night Live: terrible comedian Jeannie Darcy, fearlessly 50-year-old Sally O'Malley, and, of course, feral Catholic schoolgirl Mary Katherine Gallagher. Shannon spends plenty of time behind the scenes at SNL, giving readers a look into how sketches are developed, but most of this book is about her relationship with her father as he battles his demons. Told in Shannon's bright, irreverent voice, this memoir is equal parts touching and hilarious, a real insight into the mind of a comedic genius. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Fans will crowd in for this first memoir by smart, beloved comedian and actor Shannon.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Actor and comedian Shannon (Tilly the Trickster) revisits a life colored by grief in this surprisingly raw and personal account. Following the death of her mother, sister, and cousin in a 1969 car crash that Shannon and her father survived, the former SNL star recounts how her life was crushed before she started kindergarten. "It ripped me out of my fantasy... made me realize how vulnerable I really was." However, turning to a mischief that bordered on delinquency allowed her to channel her sorrow into something positive, even funny. She recalls leaving her home in Ohio in the '80s to break into New York City's acting scene (which, among its many hurdles, included a slew of sleazy men), while charting along the way her complicated, often emotionally abusive relationship with her alcoholic father. While she packs in plenty of details regarding her SNL stint, what's most resonant is Shannon's unflagging story of perseverance, perhaps best embodied by her beloved sketch character Mary Katherine Gallagher. As Shannon writes, " a survivor. She struggles to rise above the wreckage... Fucks up. But gets back up." Supremely inspiring, this will leave fans astonished. Agent: Kim Witherspoon, InkWell Management. (Apr.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Readers picking up actress and comedian Shannon's memoir might be surprised by its contents--starting with the prologue, where Shannon relates the car crash that killed her mother, cousin, and baby sister and was caused by her alcohol-addicted father. It's an effective marker for the book as a whole, for while there are plenty of laughs to be found here, there's a large dose of vulnerability as well. Readers might expect the memoir to focus on Shannon's six-year Saturday Night Live stint, and it does cover her time on the show with fondness, but there's less reminiscing about her castmates or behind-the-scenes details than anticipated. Shannon instead devotes the majority of the memoir to her unconventional childhood (including an incident in which she and a friend charmed their way onto a plane and spent a day wandering around New York City) and her struggling pre-SNL years in Los Angeles (where she sometimes landed interviews with agents by pretending to be a protégée of David Mamet). VERDICT A scattered but often-absorbing recollection, tending more towards anecdote than introspection, and becoming most thoughtful when Shannon reflects on her complex relationship with her father and her mother's absence from her life.--Kathleen McCallister
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
The TV and film star shares stories from her childhood in Cleveland, her career, and her relationship with her father. In her debut book, Shannon begins with the loss of her mother and sister in a car accident when she was 4 and being raised, along with her younger sister, by their father, who had been at the wheel. She continues through her rise to stardom on Saturday Night Live and work afterward. While dealing with his own grief, her father, whom she describes as "the Mama Rose to my Gypsy Rose," raised Molly and her sister in an exceptionally permissive household, and the author describes how she acted out, including the time she stowed away on a flight to New York City when she was 13. Chronicling the love of performing she discovered at an early age and the improvisation games she played with her father, who "encouraged mischief," Shannon explores the development of her performance style, her work with other performers, and her views on a variety of topics. From adolescent hijinks to a deeper understanding of comedy she learned at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, Shannon knew she "could make people really laugh." Gradually, she writes, "I learned to trust myself. That somewhere deep in my gut I knew not to over-rehearse but to just let it rip. Know the basic beats but then let yourself be free within those parameters, which is what I ended up doing years later on SNL." Throughout the book, the author gives advice on performance and relates the highs and lows of being a cast member on SNL for six seasons. Fans will be satisfied with the behind-the-scenes look at the germinations of her most famous characters, especially Mary Katherine Gallagher, but the standout sections focus on her relationship with her father and the self-awareness and drive that led to her success. Equal parts funny and touching, a cut above most celebrity memoirs. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
