A LOTUS GROWS IN THE MUD

Goldie Hawn’s resumé includes experience as a dancer, comedienne, Oscar-winning actress, producer, wife, and mother. Add to that author and audiobook reader. In her memoir, she also draws on her spirituality as she seeks to make sense of the lessons of living. For instance, she discusses an incident in her childhood in which a teenager fondled her. She wasn’t scarred by it, she says, because her mother treated it openly, not hiding it or shaming her. Later she talks about being involved in a serious accident and puzzles about why she didn’t die and what her mission in life should be. She covers the basics--her time on “Laugh-In,” her movies, her loves, and her children. But she doesn’t go into a great deal of detail. Perhaps this is the fault of the abridgment. She is adequate as the reader, but, surprisingly, she doesn’t show as much animation as one might have expected. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 05]