Thank you to HarperCollins for sending me a copy of this ebook.
TITLE: Getting Naked
AUTHOR: Valerie Bertinelli
GENRE: Memoir (its marketed as a memoir but its more essays)
RATING: 5 stars
Firstly, i admire Valerie Bertinelli for always being so honest and open in her books, in her various social media posts and in her life in general.
Its hard for me to think that she is 65 because she sooo does not look it.
We have shared many similar struggles and I am just a few years younger than she is. I mention this because all these commonalities, of course, affect my review of this book.
I would classify this as a book of essays with some self-help thrown in, its a bit of a stretch to call it a memoir. I was a tad disappointed in this as I would love to read another memoir based on her life since the last book.
My thoughts.....Bertinelli is extremely hard on herself. Many of the things she mentions, such as remembering all the events, in her past, which have caused and continues to cause her misery today is something, I believe, we can all relate to.
This is the strength in this book - Bertinelli shares feelings and thoughts that many of us have and it made me feel better knowing that I was not alone. Each chapter is a little ray of hope for all of us.
Her struggles with her weight, her two divorces, losing her job, the death of her parents and how it felt to be raised by them, as well as the death of Eddie Van Halen are front and center here.
The things I loved:
Her description of how free she was swimming in her pool was very empowering, as she described it, I could almost feel the calmness she felt at that moment.
Her love for Wolfie and his wife are obvious, as well as her love for Eddie Van Halen. These two (now3) have been a theme in all of Bertinelli's books. I have never heard her utter one bad word about Eddie Van Halen and its very obvious she still loves him. Not so much her second husband and I get it, I have no love loss for most of my relationships either, but there is always THAT one person.....
She mentions worrying about $ and I was very surprised at this. I am guilty of just assuming she has tons of money and while she questions many aspects of her life, she is doing it in a (what I assume) is a beautiful house, surrounded by lots of Hollywood friends and job offers all over the place. The 'what does she really have to complain about' thought did cross my mind, but everytime I read a book by Bertinelli, I get myself in check because, obviously you do not need to be wildly rich to have problems. I keep forgetting that and Valerie Bertinelli is certainly not a spoiled actress, without a clue about real life, which we so often see in Hollywood. In fact, she could easily be our best friend - because that is the overall vibe she gives out.
I do hope that Bertinelli writes another memoir and that she keeps doing what she is doing. It helps.
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