True stories from an unreliable eyewitness : a feminist coming of age
(Book)

"A fiercely intelligent, hilarious, and deeply feminist collection of interrelated personal stories from Academy, Emmy, and Golden Globe Award-winning actress and director Christine Lahti. For decades, Lahti has captivated the hearts and minds of her audience through iconic roles in Chicago Hope, Running on Empty, Housekeeping, Swing Shift, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Now, this acclaimed performer channels her creativity inward to share her own story for the first time on the page. In this poignant essay collection, Lahti focuses on three major periods of her life: her childhood, her early journey as an actress and activist, and the realities of her life as a middle-aged woman in Hollywood today. Lahti's comical and self-deprecating voice shines through in stories such as 'Kidnapped' and 'Shit Happens,' and she takes an honest look at painful family fissures in pieces such as 'Mama Mia' and 'Running on Empty.' Taken together, these essays illuminate watershed moments in Lahti's life, revealing her struggle to maintain integrity, to fight her need for perfection, and to remain true to her feminist inclinations. Lahti's wisdom and candid insights are reminiscent of Nora Ephron's I Feel Bad About My Neck and Joan Rivers's I Hate Everyone--and yet her experiences are not exclusive to one generation. Her stories reveal a stumbling journey toward agency and empowerment as a woman--a journey that's still very much a work in progress--and her writing speaks to young women who are inspired by the likes of Amy Schumer, Caitlin Moran, and Amy Poehler. True Stories from an Unreliable Eyewitness reveals that we're all unreliable eyewitnesses when it comes to our deeply personal memories. And yet it's Lahti's raw authenticity that makes her a reliable narrator, as she demonstrates the power of storytelling to affirm and reframe the bedrock of who we are. Told in a wildly fresh, unique voice, and with the unshakable ability to laugh at herself time and again, this is Christine Lahti's best performance yet."--Dust jacket.