Shirley MacLaine - I’m Over All That

review by Ro Bennett 21st April

Product Description From: About the Author:
“IN THIS THIRD ACT OF MY LIFE, MUCH HAS BECOME CLEARER. SO MUCH IS OVER, AND I AM OVER SO MUCH . . .
At a certain time in life, we all come to realize what is truly important to us and what just doesn’t matter. For Shirley MacLaine, that time is now. In this wise, witty, and fearless collection of small observations and big-picture questions, she shares with readers all those things that she is over dealing with in life, in love, at home, and in the larger world . . . as well as the things she will never get over, no matter how long she lives.
Among the things that Shirley is over: people who repeat themselves (“when you didn’t care what they said the first time”); conservatives and liberals; ill-mannered young people; the poison of celebrity (“Why do so many people want to be famous when they see how it can destroy your life?”); being polite to boring people (“If they won’t stop talking, I go into a trance and meditate”); getting older in Hollywood (“How peaceful it is not to have to look particularly pretty anymore or to wear a size 6”)".
In the opposite camp, there are some things Shirley will never get over: good lighting (“Marlene Dietrich taught me how to light myself”); gorgeous co-stars (“The vanity of male actors is an impossible wall to scale”); performing live (“Yes, it is better than sex”); and above all, brave people with curious minds (“Fear is the most powerful weapon of mass destruction”).
Along the way, she recalls stories of some of the true greats she has known—Alfred Hitchcock, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, the two Jacks (Lemmon and Nicholson)—and ruminates on the state of Hollywood past and present. She recollects her relationships and romances with politicians (including two prime ministers), scientists, journalists, and costars.
An unabashed seeker of truth and unrepentant free spirit, Shirley looks squarely at a world that can irritate, confuse, and provoke her, but that can also delight her with its beauty, humor, and future promise. Reading I’m Over All That will make you feel you have been reunited with an old friend who tells it like it is but never takes herself too seriously.
Shirley MacLaine may be over all that, but this irresistible book ensures that we will never get over her.
Shirley MacLaine—Oscar, three-time Emmy, and ten time Golden Globe-winning actress—has appeared in more than fifty films, has been nominated for an Academy Award six times, and received the Oscar for Best Actress in 1984 (Terms of Endearment). Then it continues to list countless other awards. A longtime outspoken advocate for civil rights and liberties, Shirley is the author of ten international bestsellers which it names.

I think that Shirley MacLaine is an interesting and thoughtful person who has some very unusual ideas and has had a rich and varied life, meeting all sorts of fascinating people. I have read several of her books, my favourite which I first read many years ago is Out on a Limb. In it she introduced lots of different concepts I had never considered before and I have re-read it and remembered it. It made me want to go to Macchu Piccu which I have never done. The most recent book I read prior to this was The Camino where she describes walking across Spain doing the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage. That book was very interesting and I flirted with the idea of doing the walk myself as it sounded an amazing experience. Then I remembered how bad tempered I get just walking up the hill from Old Town so went off that idea.

This latest book didn’t grab me. She tends to pontificate and huffs and puffs about things so in fact I found it a tad boring and at times rather irritating. There was one funny bit where, having stated that she has never done drugs she describes going to a party where the hostess served coke in a silver bowl. Shirley thought it was Sweet and Low and put a spoonful of it in her coffee - someone told her later it was hundreds of dollars worth. She was never invited back...

The author muses about such diverse subjects as terrorism and airline security, her experiences of past lives and her interest in UFO's, homeopathy, "smalk" (otherwise known as "small talk", fame and celebrity,2012, and so much more.
But one reviewer, who gave her only one star, said the book had completely put him off her as a person.
I personally didn’t mind reading about people she had known or her unusual beliefs but I’m not keen on reading someone’s rants and felt that in the book she does come across as rather inflexible and opinionated. So I wouldn’t say I enjoyed it much.
review by Ro