



Hello, Molly!
A Memoir
-
-
4.3 • 190 Ratings
-
-
- $15.99
Publisher Description
A New York Times bestseller
A candid, compulsively readable, hilarious, and heartbreaking memoir of resilience and redemption by comedic genius Molly Shannon
At age four, Molly Shannon’s world was shattered when she lost her mother, baby sister, and cousin in a car accident with her father at the wheel. Held together by her tender and complicated relationship with her grieving father, Molly was raised in a permissive household where her gift for improvising and role-playing blossomed alongside the fearlessness that would lead her to become a celebrated actress.
From there, Molly ventured into the wider world of New York and Los Angeles show business, where she created her own opportunities and developed her daring and empathetic comedy. Filled with behind-the-scenes stories involving everyone from Whitney Houston to Adam Sandler to Monica Lewinsky, many told for the first time here, Hello, Molly! spans Molly’s time on Saturday Night Live—where she starred alongside Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, Cheri Oteri, Tracy Morgan, and Jimmy Fallon, among many others. At the same time, it explores with humor and candor her struggle to come to terms with the legacy of her father, a man who both fostered her gifts and drive and was left with the impossible task of raising his kids alone after the loss of her mother.
Witty, winning, and told with tremendous energy and heart, Hello, Molly!, written with Sean Wilsey, sheds new and revelatory light on the life and work of one of our most talented and free-spirited performers.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Actor and comedian Shannon (Tilly the Trickster) revisits a life colored by grief in this surprisingly raw and personal account. Following the death of her mother, sister, and cousin in a 1969 car crash that Shannon and her father survived, the former SNL star recounts how her life was crushed before she started kindergarten. "It ripped me out of my fantasy... made me realize how vulnerable I really was." However, turning to a mischief that bordered on delinquency allowed her to channel her sorrow into something positive, even funny. She recalls leaving her home in Ohio in the '80s to break into New York City's acting scene (which, among its many hurdles, included a slew of sleazy men), while charting along the way her complicated, often emotionally abusive relationship with her alcoholic father. While she packs in plenty of details regarding her SNL stint, what's most resonant is Shannon's unflagging story of perseverance, perhaps best embodied by her beloved sketch character Mary Katherine Gallagher. As Shannon writes, " a survivor. She struggles to rise above the wreckage... Fucks up. But gets back up." Supremely inspiring, this will leave fans astonished.
Customer Reviews
Thoughtful
A super thoughtful, very true-to-form memoir from someone I so admire! Molly’s writing style is exactly how I’d imagine it, and her story is really inspiring and sad all at once. A great entry into the celebrity memoir space for those who are into them!
Excellent read
Great book!! Molly tells captivating stories throughout her life vividly and interestingly.
It’s funny, honest and heart wrenching.
Wonderful!
So good. Loved all of it. Molly is the best and her story is beautiful.