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Broken Pieces
Torn between family, a demanding husband, and emotional upheaval,
can an aspiring young actress find the courage to embrace her
passion and independence in the face of overwhelming obstacles?
Born in Louisville, Kentucky, the youngest in a family of six children, Reedy Gibbs was tormented by her mentally disturbed eldest brother and learned to survive by staying out of the way and doing as she was told. After graduating high school, she moved to Chicago to pursue her dream of becoming an actress. Caught up in the big city excitement and her new life, she meets a handsome but troubled musician and gets lured into his stoner lifestyle.
Receiving tragic news from home, her life spirals out of control. Grief and fear cloud her judgment, and she allows herself to be seduced into marriage.
Always the pleaser, she goes along with her husband’s dream of living on a Northern California commune, even though her heart longs to be in the city pursuing her dream of acting professionally. After years of living as hippies, they buy land of their own and build a rock house with their bare hands, and Reedy gives birth to two children. She endures years of living without electricity, plumbing, or a telephone; however, these hardships do not deter her from her dream. Finally, she endeavors to stand up for herself and begin life anew as a working actress and single mother.
A memorable adventure filled with vibrant characters, hardships endured, and inner strength revealed, Reedy’s memoir will take you on a journey that will inspire and amuse, but, most of all, will fill your heart with hope that all difficulties can be overcome.
can an aspiring young actress find the courage to embrace her
passion and independence in the face of overwhelming obstacles?
Born in Louisville, Kentucky, the youngest in a family of six children, Reedy Gibbs was tormented by her mentally disturbed eldest brother and learned to survive by staying out of the way and doing as she was told. After graduating high school, she moved to Chicago to pursue her dream of becoming an actress. Caught up in the big city excitement and her new life, she meets a handsome but troubled musician and gets lured into his stoner lifestyle.
Receiving tragic news from home, her life spirals out of control. Grief and fear cloud her judgment, and she allows herself to be seduced into marriage.
Always the pleaser, she goes along with her husband’s dream of living on a Northern California commune, even though her heart longs to be in the city pursuing her dream of acting professionally. After years of living as hippies, they buy land of their own and build a rock house with their bare hands, and Reedy gives birth to two children. She endures years of living without electricity, plumbing, or a telephone; however, these hardships do not deter her from her dream. Finally, she endeavors to stand up for herself and begin life anew as a working actress and single mother.
A memorable adventure filled with vibrant characters, hardships endured, and inner strength revealed, Reedy’s memoir will take you on a journey that will inspire and amuse, but, most of all, will fill your heart with hope that all difficulties can be overcome.
- GenresAmazon
433 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 31, 2024
68 people are currently reading
1424 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 7, 2024
A heartfelt journey
Full of the angst and joy of discovering oneself, Gibbs reveals her path from a troubled childhood to a young woman taunted by voices telling her she’s not smart enough to know her own mind. As she searches for her own voice, we watch her grow stronger as she conquers the fascinating rare obstacles set before her. This story kept me reading straight through to the end. Broken Pieces is a winner.
Full of the angst and joy of discovering oneself, Gibbs reveals her path from a troubled childhood to a young woman taunted by voices telling her she’s not smart enough to know her own mind. As she searches for her own voice, we watch her grow stronger as she conquers the fascinating rare obstacles set before her. This story kept me reading straight through to the end. Broken Pieces is a winner.
February 10, 2024
Excellent read
This autobiographical account of Reedy’s life is complex but wonderful. The struggles and the triumphs make this a fantastic read. It was hard to put down. Every page found me cheering for Reedy. Definitely a must read
This autobiographical account of Reedy’s life is complex but wonderful. The struggles and the triumphs make this a fantastic read. It was hard to put down. Every page found me cheering for Reedy. Definitely a must read
January 25, 2025
Apparently ending some time in the late '90s, this is a memoir concluding before the career of actress Reedy Gibbs really gets going. That's fine, her writing style is so honest and engaging that I would enjoy a follow-up on the aughts and whatnot. I would like to hear of her experiences as an actress and writer, especially for Brick (2005), and Wristcutters: A Love Story (2006).
Anyway, what attracted me was the cult commune experience as I enjoy reading of such experiences.
The self-sufficiency and community among the members was fascinating. Over it all, lurked a sexual predator later sued for sexual harassment and fraud for using his title swami, which implied he was celibate. In 1998 he was found guilty of appearing to be celibate by using the title of swami but all the while having sex with several women during 30 years of overseeing Ananda. He was also judged to have caused emotional trauma.
This was during a time she was in an unhealthy marriage with Dick Sisto.
While living on the Northern California commune as hippies, they bought land of their own and built a rock house without electricity, plumbing, or a telephone. During this time:
The core of the book is extricating herself and her children from that marriage as well as her later relationships, such as with Bruno Alexander. Her career in stage, TV commercials etc. is nurtured along the way with great effort. This is obviously a passion of hers. In this book we are able to witness the start of Hollywood careers for her children, Meadow and
Jeremy Sisto.
Framing this personal family development is how Reedy as a child was tormented by her mentally disturbed eldest brother. Toward the end we get possibly a glimpse into the cause of her brother's issues.
Anyway, what attracted me was the cult commune experience as I enjoy reading of such experiences.
Swami Kriyananda, the guru and owner of the more than 300 acres that the commune and retreat consisted of, was a middle-aged, white Romanian devotee of Swami Yogananda. Everyone said how spiritual and enlightened he was and how being in his Godlike presence was a true gift. They said he was going to be returning from a speaking tour soon. Dick and I couldn’t wait to meet him.
The self-sufficiency and community among the members was fascinating. Over it all, lurked a sexual predator later sued for sexual harassment and fraud for using his title swami, which implied he was celibate. In 1998 he was found guilty of appearing to be celibate by using the title of swami but all the while having sex with several women during 30 years of overseeing Ananda. He was also judged to have caused emotional trauma.
This was during a time she was in an unhealthy marriage with Dick Sisto.
While living on the Northern California commune as hippies, they bought land of their own and built a rock house without electricity, plumbing, or a telephone. During this time:
That’s when we happened to meet Gary Snyder, the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet whose land was adjacent to Ananda Retreat. Gary was a real character and a genuinely great guy. He, his wife Masa, and their two kids became friends.
The core of the book is extricating herself and her children from that marriage as well as her later relationships, such as with Bruno Alexander. Her career in stage, TV commercials etc. is nurtured along the way with great effort. This is obviously a passion of hers. In this book we are able to witness the start of Hollywood careers for her children, Meadow and
Jeremy Sisto.
Framing this personal family development is how Reedy as a child was tormented by her mentally disturbed eldest brother. Toward the end we get possibly a glimpse into the cause of her brother's issues.
February 17, 2025
Excellent Read!
April 29, 2025
I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect going into this memoir, especially because prior to reading it, I had never seen anything with Gibbs, much less heard of her name.
For a memoir of an artist that I was unfamiliar with I’d rate this a solid three stars. While Reedy’s description of her turbulent childhood marked by the abuse of her mentally ill older brother, as well as the dismissal of her mother, explains a lot of the decisions she recounts making later in life (her people pleasing tendencies, her constant relationships, including toxic ones), I felt that the narrative was lacking at times.
While the middle of Reedy’s story, her beginning her acting career, meeting and falling in love with her first husband, Dick, and their lives amongst a Californian cult, was quite interesting, I felt the beginning and the end of this memoir were a bit disjointed.
While I understand that Gibbs’ memories of her childhood (like most of ours, I’d suspect) probably aren’t as fresh as they once were, the exposition of her story felt very cut and paste. Many times the vignettes she provided seemed disjointed, or very loosely strung together. Similarly, the ending of the memoir came quite quickly and suddenly. I read the last sentence followed by, “The End” and found myself thinking, that’s it? That’s how it ends?
Despite the rather abrupt ending and disjointed beginning, I did enjoy the meat of the memoir following Reedy’s journey into acting, leaving an abusive relationship, and forging her own path with the help of friends. To see someone reflect on vulnerable moments like those was refreshing. Overall, I’d give the book a solid 3 stars.
For a memoir of an artist that I was unfamiliar with I’d rate this a solid three stars. While Reedy’s description of her turbulent childhood marked by the abuse of her mentally ill older brother, as well as the dismissal of her mother, explains a lot of the decisions she recounts making later in life (her people pleasing tendencies, her constant relationships, including toxic ones), I felt that the narrative was lacking at times.
While the middle of Reedy’s story, her beginning her acting career, meeting and falling in love with her first husband, Dick, and their lives amongst a Californian cult, was quite interesting, I felt the beginning and the end of this memoir were a bit disjointed.
While I understand that Gibbs’ memories of her childhood (like most of ours, I’d suspect) probably aren’t as fresh as they once were, the exposition of her story felt very cut and paste. Many times the vignettes she provided seemed disjointed, or very loosely strung together. Similarly, the ending of the memoir came quite quickly and suddenly. I read the last sentence followed by, “The End” and found myself thinking, that’s it? That’s how it ends?
Despite the rather abrupt ending and disjointed beginning, I did enjoy the meat of the memoir following Reedy’s journey into acting, leaving an abusive relationship, and forging her own path with the help of friends. To see someone reflect on vulnerable moments like those was refreshing. Overall, I’d give the book a solid 3 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 7, 2024
An interesting book about her life. Reddy was somewhat traumatized in her childhood, due to having a mentally ill older brother. She grows up being a person who tries to please and avoids confrontation. She marries a man that she has doubts about just to avoid further conflicts about it with him. His suggestion that having a baby would fix their broken marriage was again answered to try and fix the brokenness.
Reddy's life was somewhat different from the norm, but her emotions are the same we all have. She captures her life well, with great stories of her coming into being her own person. There's no major, big, life changing climax, just a steady telling of her life, to the point that I was surprised when it ended. I enjoyed reading about how she found the strength to turn her life into one that she loved. #GoodreadsGiveaways
Reddy's life was somewhat different from the norm, but her emotions are the same we all have. She captures her life well, with great stories of her coming into being her own person. There's no major, big, life changing climax, just a steady telling of her life, to the point that I was surprised when it ended. I enjoyed reading about how she found the strength to turn her life into one that she loved. #GoodreadsGiveaways
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 30, 2025
What a life
The Author takes us into her life from the earliest time that she could remember. She talks about her brother packy, and his struggles in life, her mom, her dad and her many love interests. Throughout her life, she thought of her older brother Packy to be a certain way that was until her niece told her a family secret that only a few knew. Could this be why Packy was the way he was to her, to everyone.
The Author takes us into her life from the earliest time that she could remember. She talks about her brother packy, and his struggles in life, her mom, her dad and her many love interests. Throughout her life, she thought of her older brother Packy to be a certain way that was until her niece told her a family secret that only a few knew. Could this be why Packy was the way he was to her, to everyone.
July 31, 2025
This is an interesting memoir/autobiography. Reedy grew up in a loving but somewhat unique and disfunctional large family... I think her childhood with a mentally disturbed older brother who often terrorized her, played a large part in her roller coaster lifestyle that followed well into adulthood. For me, I felt that there could have been less profanity and explicit love "scenes". However I was captivated and needed to know how her her life was going to unfold.
January 13, 2025
Interesting..realistic..relatable
The good, the bad and the ugly
All seen as a part of daily life through the characters, especially Dick and his wife, the child grown up.
Most women and some men will easily relate to the main characters. Well worth reading.
The good, the bad and the ugly
All seen as a part of daily life through the characters, especially Dick and his wife, the child grown up.
Most women and some men will easily relate to the main characters. Well worth reading.
April 15, 2025
Interesting read.
Easy to read and an interesting biography. I didn't know who she was prior to getting the book but it was interesting none the less.
Easy to read and an interesting biography. I didn't know who she was prior to getting the book but it was interesting none the less.
July 23, 2025
Couldn’t get into this one.
June 5, 2024
A heartfelt, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes joyful journey through decades. Reedy Gibbs portrays well her life as a child with a difficult sibling, and then her journey into relationships and marriage. From a hippy life in California to a sophisticated acting career, this is a page-turner, and one of the best memoir's I've read this year.
February 7, 2025
Engaging read through hippy days to a successful acting career by an outgoing, loving, new author.
Reedy writes engagingly about the messy ups and downs, joys, sorrows, and loves of her family, hippy years, and the growth of her career as an actress. Fascinating, deeply honest in tone. I laughed & cried at familiar memories of the early 1970s, and about loves treasures and how we grew from them. I'd recommend this book to open-minded adults who want to learn about or remember the challenges of coming of age as independent feminists in the late 20th century. Hats off to you, Reedy!
Reedy writes engagingly about the messy ups and downs, joys, sorrows, and loves of her family, hippy years, and the growth of her career as an actress. Fascinating, deeply honest in tone. I laughed & cried at familiar memories of the early 1970s, and about loves treasures and how we grew from them. I'd recommend this book to open-minded adults who want to learn about or remember the challenges of coming of age as independent feminists in the late 20th century. Hats off to you, Reedy!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews