SPEEDBUMPS Flooring It Through Hollywood

The once-popular actress Teri Garr narrates her own autobiographical account of life in the Hollywood fast lane and how it came to a crashing halt when she developed multiple sclerosis. It is a life-affirming story, which scrupulously avoids the sappiness of such yarns and is told with a kind of neighborly eloquence containing warmth, humor, honesty, and charm. The positive effect gains considerable amplification from her reading. One hears her illness in her voice: the occasional slurred word, a slight discomfort reading. On the other hand, she invests the lines with cheerfulness and little fillips of laughter, comic groans, and interpolations. No one but the author would know just the right spots to place these grace notes or just what sort of touches would be most appropriate. She thus enriches and enlivens an already rich and lively text. Y.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2007 Audies Award Finalist © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/ MAY 06]