Book Description An inspiring and unconventional memoir from one of the world's most beloved actresses.
Goldie Hawn's life is an ongoing tableau of stories, and she has a born knack for telling them. In this candid and insightful book, Goldie invites us to join her in a look back at the people, places, and events that have touched her. It is the spiritual journey of a heart in search of enlightenment.
With her trademark effervescent humor, Goldie tells us about the lessons she's learned and the wisdom she feels she's been given in the hope of giving something back. Not a Hollywood "tell-all," A Lotus Grows in the Mud is a very personal look at moments private and powerful: her delight in her father's spirited spontaneity; the confidence instilled in her by her mother; the unexpected gifts of comfort from strangers many miles from home; and the joy of being a daughter, a sister, a lover, and a parent. This memoir is Goldie's chance to talk about everything from anger and fear to love, compassion, integrity, and friendship, to the importance of family and the challenges of show business.
Goldie writes about her younger self-the little girl who felt like an ugly duckling-and growing up in suburbia dreaming of becoming a ballerina. She takes us on a tour of her go-go dancing years in New York in the sixties, her phenomenal success on TV's Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, and then on to the world of Hollywood stardom and such memorable films as the Oscar-winning Cactus Flower, Swing Shift, and Private Benjamin.
A Lotus Grows in the Mud speaks of her relationship with her family-her partner, Kurt Russell; her children, Kate Hudson, Oliver Hudson, Wyatt Russell, and her stepson, Boston Russell-her growing faith, her curiosity for that which she doesn't yet know, and her unquenchable thirst for knowledge and understanding. Most of all, it is a trip back through a life well lived by a woman well loved.
Ah, Goldie, gotta love her! I grew up watching Goldie Hawn on Laugh-in and then in movies- everything from Butterflies are Free (where her hippie, dippy side got to cut loose) to Private Benjamin.
All along, she seemed both funny and gutsy but what REALLY got me to buy this book was a television profile where Goldie spoke of a long battle with depression and insecurity. Her longtime companion, Kurt Russell, and their children (some from previous marriages) also appeared and I realized that there might be more depth and complexity to this woman than I got from the fleeting images on screen.
Thankfully, I was right. This book was a joy to read, revealing the depth, intellect and pure gutsiness that Goldie Hawn possesses. She was brave enough to reveal the insecurities and pain that she felt during some of her early years in show biz as well as the joy she felt as she discovered Buddhism, met Russell, gave birth to her children - and so much more. Written with a unique style (would you expect anything else from Hawn?) the reader will find both entertainment and inspiration within this one.
Goldie Hawn shares with incredible honesty, wisdom and compassion in this memoir that is filled with heart-felt insight, integrity, and poignant lessons learned from her pure heart.
One thing is for sure, you will learn a LOT. Goldie has always searched for truth, and she is a shining example of living purely from the heart center, with compassion for all.
A note to the reviewer below that calls this genuine woman named Goldie a "man hater", dear Sir, take a look in the mirror, it is you that hates yourself. So we have compassion for you.
Goldie Hawn is the epitome of a humanitarian, and an example to learn from.
10 Stars for her and this Fantastic Book!
I wavered between rating this book somewhere between 3 and 4 stars. I think this is a lovely summertime beach read, paperback-on-the-plane read, or get-it-from-the-local-library read. I'm glad I got this from the library and didn't spend money for a hardcover, though.
The best part of this book: Goldie's love and gratitude toward her parents, sister, life partner, children and friends. Her parents taught her how to love well. Goldie's life is clearly working for her (however mildly unconventional), and I think the gift of love her (imperfect) parents gave her has a lot to do with that. This love made her story endearing.
I also liked the interesting form of narrative, and I enjoyed reading some of Goldie's spiritual musings. Some of her spiritual points did come off as "New Age superiority," but I don't fault Goldie for that. She seems sincere. Nowadays, it's difficult to communicate such ideas without coming off as trite or pretentious, and without risking some social ridicule (especially if you are a woman).
The worst part of the book: It jumps around and often skips over entire chapters in Goldie's life. That left me feeling disoriented. And what about her first husband? Her second husband? They are barely mentioned. Perhaps Goldie is so good at letting go that she didn't feel the need to mention some folks from her past? Perhaps she felt she was taking the high road by not mentioning them? If so, good for her. However, even the happy parts (her relationship with Kurt Russell, her kids) are mentioned in passing, it seemed. At times Goldie focused on stuff that didn't seem all that important to her story, while at other times completely overlooking big chunks of her story which seem enormously significant.
This book was fun yet dissatisfying. It seemed that Goldie was letting us see only what she wanted us to see. Much of what Goldie "intimately" shared was interesting but fairly standard stuff considering the cultural context from which it was written (Hollywood, therapy, rebirthing, etc., etc.). This turned out to be an enjoyable sketch of a celebrity's life, but for all its intimate posturing, the book played it safe & never truly delivered. I would have liked to have known her better. 3 stars.
I've seen pics of Goldie with the Dali Lama and was looking to get a spiritual picture of who she is. I found this book to be very elementary...just entries into a diary, she did try to sound deep but it came off as stale,I wish I hadn't been disappointed! I consider myself lucky that a friend had the book so I didn't loose $$$$....sorry Goldie!
There are a few laughs and sweet remembrances in this very long book of anecdotes that seem largely ghost-written, but unless you are extremely open to New Age-ist ideas and life philosophies, you will probably find this read to be slow going.
Ms. Hawn continues to be a charming and appealing personality, in front of and behind the cameras...and undoubtedly she is a great humanitarian. However, often the writing comes off as over inflated and grande--exactly the opposite of her image as the fun loving girl you'd like to hang out with in your spare time. That pretension unfortunately makes her many good deeds and loving heart seem like they are theidle amusments of someone rich, privileged and bored. That's not Goldie!
I believe the book could have benefitted from more Editorial guidance and, hopefully, this beloved brainy, bubbly blonde will write more books in the future...with a more down to earth and inclusive narrative.
I have very mixed feelings about this book. There were some very interesting parts about her early days struggling to make it in New York and her fascinating trips to India, Africa, Italy, etc. But there were also some Spiritual Growth and Philosophy of Life sections which were really dull, and which I skipped over. Also I was disappointed that she doesn't delve deeply into so many things that could have been interesting; she hardly discusses many of her films, and mentions her kids, husbands, lovers and co-stars only very quickly and superficially. It's like she'd signed confidentiality agreements with everyone connected with her, or at least was bound and determined to be totally nice and not upset anyone by revealing anything personal about them. You gotta admire her for being classy and not catty, but it makes the book rather unsatisfying. Also, the photographs are sort of randomly inserted into the book and don't correspond to the text at all; for example, when Goldie was going on and on about her sister and their wonderful trip to Italy together, I hunted and hunted for pix of her sister and finally gave up -- but then I came across them much later in the book. On the whole, I liked Jane Fonda's memoir a lot more.
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See all Editorial Reviews
An Incredible Memoir from An Incredible Woman, May 8, 2005
Better than I expected & I'm not much of a Goldie Hawn fan , June 27, 2005
I was hoping for more., June 21, 2005