In Pieces is a surprisingly introspective book, less a movie-star biography than the story of one troubled woman's journey toward conquering inner demons that seldom showed on screen.
Throughout most of her life, Field sought acceptance and fought feelings that she wouldn't be loved if she wasn't good enough â though she struggled to define what âgood enoughâ was, and how to get there. She found one kind of âgood enoughâ in acting, in the capacity to lose herself in a character â or rather, to develop a character to inhabit. After beginning her career in lightweight television sitcoms, Field grew more serious about understanding and developing her craft, and spent years in various actors' studio groups, eventually breaking away from the bubbly ingénue image with dramatic blockbusters like Sybil and Norma Rae.
Along the way, she acquired and shed several husbands, gave birth to three children whom she reared mostly alone, with the help of her mother, and struggled always to come to terms with a childhood trauma that would haunt her throughout her adult life.
If you're looking for âand then I made this movieâ or insider stories of the industry, or a list of Field's lovers, you won't find them here. And while she does discuss her well-publicized relationship with actor Burt Reynolds, it's more as a journey of growth and self-discovery than it is a kiss-and-tell.
If some of the episodes she describes are difficult to read, if the reader occasionally wants to smack Field upside the head for some of the decisions she made, it's all in the service of honesty and self-discovery. This one is worth the time.
Throughout most of her life, Field sought acceptance and fought feelings that she wouldn't be loved if she wasn't good enough â though she struggled to define what âgood enoughâ was, and how to get there. She found one kind of âgood enoughâ in acting, in the capacity to lose herself in a character â or rather, to develop a character to inhabit. After beginning her career in lightweight television sitcoms, Field grew more serious about understanding and developing her craft, and spent years in various actors' studio groups, eventually breaking away from the bubbly ingénue image with dramatic blockbusters like Sybil and Norma Rae.
Along the way, she acquired and shed several husbands, gave birth to three children whom she reared mostly alone, with the help of her mother, and struggled always to come to terms with a childhood trauma that would haunt her throughout her adult life.
If you're looking for âand then I made this movieâ or insider stories of the industry, or a list of Field's lovers, you won't find them here. And while she does discuss her well-publicized relationship with actor Burt Reynolds, it's more as a journey of growth and self-discovery than it is a kiss-and-tell.
If some of the episodes she describes are difficult to read, if the reader occasionally wants to smack Field upside the head for some of the decisions she made, it's all in the service of honesty and self-discovery. This one is worth the time.
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