I'm Wild Again
Snippets from My Life and a Few Brazen Thoughts
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2.5 • 4 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
She's back and causing jaws to drop as always! As bold and amusing as ever, Helen Gurley Brown, who made her mark in publishing history when she became editor in chief of Cosmopolitan in 1965, has written her first memoir, I'm Wild Again: Snippets from My Life and a Few Brazen Thoughts. While the subjects of her seven previous books have all been drawn from her own experiences, this is the first time Brown has concentrated on herself as the sole subject of a book and revealed the secrets of her sometimes shocking and always interesting life.
In I'm Wild Again, Brown discusses several aspects of her life that she has not opened up about before. She talks about her breast implants and cosmetic surgery, her bout with breast cancer, her fidelity to her husband. Furthermore, she offers her thoughts on parents, adultery, office politics, exercise, food, marriage, affection...the list goes on. Never one to be shy or mince words, Brown doesn't leave any words unwritten, and the contents of her book "shocked, flabbergasted, amazed, irritated, amused" gossip columnist Liz Smith, who has seen almost everything. Larry King, Frank McCourt, Joan Rivers, Diane Sawyer, and Dominick Dunne have also praised the book and toasted Brown for leading such a courageous and vibrant life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Never shedding the "Cosmo Girl" identity she created and perfected over 32 years as editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, the redoubtable Brown muses over her life, career and philosophy. Relentlessly candid, she reveals a difficult childhood: her mother was a depressed young widow, and her older sister contracted polio before the vaccine was developed. Brown was a veteran of 17 secretarial jobs before writing the provocative bestseller Sex and the Single Girl. She also reveals a brief stint at being kept ("keptive") by a married man, and an affair with boxing great Jack Dempsey, among other romances. Brown's self-portrait as stingy and demanding is in sharp contrast to that of her husband of 40 years, movie producer David Brown, whom she paints as a dapper, generous genius. A good portion of her memoir is given over to Brown's relentless quest for a youthful appearance, which may trouble some readers. She's probably kidding when she calls exfoliating dead skin one of life's pleasures, but she is deadly honest about her diet ("skinny is sacred to me"), exercise regimen (two 45-minute sessions seven days a week, even now), breast augmentation, and battle with thin hair. She's equally open about having had a lumpectomy for breast cancer. Brown, who transformed Cosmo into a powerhouse, is a publicity pro who can still charm (though replaced in the editor's chair at age 74, she is still editor-in-chief of the international editions). Whether playfully describing a man as "wife-encumbered" or fretting over a "poochy tummy," Brown's voice is uniquely hers, although the book feels padded and repetitious. Overall, to use one of Brown's favorite words, it's only "pippypoo." 16-page photo insert not seen by PW.
