The Road to Happiness is Always Under Construction

by Linda Gray

When Linda Gray, iconic star of Dallas, was twenty years old, a magazine editor coldly rejected her as a model, writing that, perhaps one day, "you might shape into something." At thirty-eight, Linda got her big break, as Larry Hagman's wife on Dallas. To celebrate her seventy-fifth birthday, Linda is opening up about her life for the first time. She tells deeply personal stories with wit, humor, and candor, and reveals how she's learned to love every day and treat herself with the kindness she bestows on friends and strangers alike. Linda shares her accumulated practical tips about maintaining a healthy lifestyle - how to strengthen and detoxify your body, liberate your mind, and uplift your soul.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Audiobook, Biography, Autobiography

Audio CD

First published September 8, 2015

Reviews

[Wendy]

To celebrate her seventy-fifth birthday Linda Gray, the iconic star of "Dallas", opens up about her life for the first time in "The Road To Happiness is Always Under Construction".
She tells deeply personal stories of pain, suffering and abuse with wit, humor and sincerity and reveals how she has learned to love every day as the blessing it is and to treat herself with the kindness she bestows on friends and strangers alike. She shares with us alot of practical tips about maintaining a healthy lifestyle - how to strengthen and detoxify your body, liberate your mind, and uplift your soul.
My favorite quote "Take The Time to: Love and Give, and Shine, Goddess Shine!" is an inspiration to live life to the fullest.
A wonderful memoir that takes us on Linda Gray's road to serenity.

[Danielle]

You don't have to be a fan of hers to appreciate her tips on how she lives. I have been a fan of hers since the first drink she threw in Larry Hagman's face. She dishes on her career and lessons she learned along the way. The recipes that are threaded throughout the chapters could be a book themselves. If you are looking for permission to toot your horn, you will love this book!

[Gil]

What a wonderful surprise! I thought I was going to read a much beloved celebrity's autobiography, but instead I feel like I had a fun, loving and supportive conversation with an old friend. Such a refreshing style in which to get to know someone you've admired from afar. Linda is just as beautiful a light as her name says.

[Lori]

I read this book because I used to watch Dallas when it was on in the late 70s and 80s{ I will admit i stopped watching the series at about season 8} I even watching the first and part of the second season when it was brought back a few years ago. Just had to find out what happened to the Ewing family. When I saw Linda Gray wrote a memoir and kind of advice book I had to give it a try. I could see her voice in her memoir. She shares her childhood, her battle with Polio when she was five. She had to learn how to walk again. She wrote about her family, her beloved younger sister Betty,her dad. and her mother who was an alcoholic. Part of her childhood could be difficult dealing with an alcoholic for a mother. She married young had two children in her 20s. Although married for over 20 years, her marriage was not an easy one. Her husband was very controlling and wanted her to be a stay at home mom. Although she adored her children,Linda wanted more in her life. She started taking acting classes and a few years later landed the role of her life, Sue Ellen Ewing in Dallas. Linda spoke fondly of her years in Dallas but they came with a price. Her marriage ended in divorce, she once could not attend her son's graduation from high school due to her work on Dallas. Linda speaks fondly of her cast especially Larry Hagman and Patrick Duffy.
Through out this book Linda offers advice on good health, and dealing with other issues in life. I do not want to give away too much of her book. This is a pretty decent memoir/advice type of book. If you are a fan of Linda Gray, you may like this book.

[AJourneyWithoutMap]

It is not often that you come across a book with a title as thought-provoking as The Road to Happiness Is Always Under Construction by Linda Gray. I was not immediately sure about its author as I couldn’t recollect anything. But I decided to go ahead and ask for an e-galley on the strength of the title. Having read the book, I’m grateful that I took the chance, and I must confess that I learned quite a lot about life and how a painful relationship can pin you down, no matter how far the distance you have traveled together.

The Road to Happiness Is Always Under Construction by Linda Gray is an honest, instructive and informative memoir. One would imagine that a celebrity life like Linda Gray’s would make a dull as she has led an open life. But imagination and real life is quite different, and she has much to tell. What was most revealing was the troubles in her marriage, and how she was tore apart by it. The book also tells of the many struggles in her - of how she lived her child as a polio victim and how she lost her younger sister to cancer.

The Road to Happiness Is Always Under Construction by Linda Gray is simply irresistible and hugely readable. At the heart of the memoir is life-lessons which Linda Gray imparted through her exploration of life’s painful journey, childhood, sex, mental abuse, and how to age gracefully.

[Rhonda Lomazow]

Linda Gray has written an honest open book about her real life.She. shares with us the problems in her marriage how she decided to take acting classes & start to act against her husbands wishes.We watch her become a strong independent woman,She meet her fabulous friends even The Liz Y
Taylor makes an appearance.Her deep love for Larry Hagman &his wife who made her part of their family,She also,gives valuable advice about heathy eating gracious living &aging.A true delight to get to meet the real Linda Gray.

[Kristin]

loved this book! Linda Gray is a very positive and accomplished woman. After reading her story, I look up to her even more. I love her perseverence and posituve attitude!

[Winter Sophia Rose]

Inspirational, Funny & Heartfelt! An Enjoyable Read! I Loved It!

[Doreena Silva]

I found out about this book from a FB book group and wanted to read it as I had been a big Dallas fan back in the day. It was very interesting reading about Linda and her life, marriage, Children and not a huge section about Dallas but rather more about her co stars and good friends and supporters Larry Hagman and Patrick Duffy. Bonus star for her mention of Rod Stewart and Joni Mitchell. I loved hearing her recipes and want to try the Mexican meat pie. I also liked hearing her "Life philosophies" and loved the kids and pets one.

[Liz Sergent]

I really enjoyed this book written by actree Linda Gray for her 75th birthday - I learned a few things like she suffered from polio as a child and it was feared she would never walk again, her love of animals. I loved the insights of filming Dallas and her favorite leading man.....JR. Loved this book, so glad I stumbled across it.

[Jonathan]

A bit of a rambling review coming up I'm afraid. I was hooked on Dallas when it started on TV in the late 70s. Soon enough Sue Ellen Ewing became my favourite character, and I began my life-long platonic love affair with Linda Gray. The great big eyes, expressive mouth, the mix of strength and vulnerability made Sue Ellen a perfect soap heroine in my young eyes. As we went into the 80s the (developed) world became obsessed with 'big is better', money, power and everything that Dallas represented. People were expendable, feelings came second to work and success Eventually I began to reject what I saw on the small screen, and to change my ideas about what I wanted out of life, and what was admirable in people and TV characters. Now, as I am about to re-embark on Season 9, it still makes me laugh and cry, but I have a different perspective on it, America and big business. I still love Sue Ellen of course.

I was quite excited when I saw that Linda Gray had written a book. Unlike with most celebrity autobiographies she had actually waited until she was 75 to write it. With this much experience there is no need for unnecessary filler information (although ironically she does actually share her good, healthy breakfast ideas with us), so it is about key points in her life, and what her experiences have taught her. The title of the book is purposely self-helpish, and Linda does not shy away from her California woowoo (as she puts it) background. Bringing up her family in the 60s and 70s she was eating organic long before it became generally available, attending therapy sessions, dealing with an alcoholic mother and a controlling husband. Life experiences that, organic food aside, would undoubtedly come in valuable for a certain future role!

Having divorced her husband in the mid-80s Linda Gray continued on her journey of self-discovery. The book is full of lessons, although it is not very preachy, just thought-provoking. There are lists, recipes, funny stories and very sad experiences. There was one worrying moment in the book during a journey Linda made to see a healer in Brazil, when I thought she might be getting a bit religious on me (she is quite a spiritual person I think, unlike me), but I needn't have worried.

Anyway, you can probably tell that I enjoyed this fine, amusing and enlightening book. Yes I am completely biased in my opinion and happily so.

[Connie]

Good advice on how to grow older but not age by thinking kindly of yourself and others, being eternally optimistic and creative in staging your life. Provides direction on choosing others in your circle: avoid those who talk about how fat they are, how old they feel, engage in petty drama, complain, blame, criticize, make fodder of other's illnesses and finally dwell on unmet expectati0ns and un realized dreams. Quotes "What scares you heals you". Love and give. Travel light. To be a successful failure marinate on these questions: What did I learn from this experience? What can I take with me in the future? What were the positive aspects of it? Do not compare. Choose what you eat and do and your friends wisely.

[Michelle "Champ"]

Please keep in mind that the person writing this is totally enamored with all things Dallas (the tv show). I have waited for a very long time to hear from Linda (my fave female on the show) about her life, friendship with Larry and those horrendous bangs. I read about all those things here...as well as how she stays HOT, how she chooses to be happy and about Models, INC (she was the only things on that show worthy). The only thing missing from this book was Sue Ellen's hatred of Pamela. :)


Linda, I adored this book, thank you.

[Terri]

This book is an auto-biography by Linda Gray. Most of us know her as Sue Ellen on Dallas. She is also the woman whose legs were used for THE GRADUATE movie poster. She was a model and an actress, raised two children and has many life long celebrity friends. This book was filled with antidotes about her life, her time on Dallas and her philosophy. I found most of her information very interesting. I did get a bit tired of all her lists of things to do and believe. However, I would recommend this book for enjoyment.

[Allie Smith]

I didn't even know Linda Gray had written a book.! She was my favorite actress (and Sue Ellen my fav character) on Dallas! I'm so grateful I saw this in the bookstore (and shame on her PR team - the woman should have been on some talk shows!). This is a fabulous book! What a life. She is wise and funny. I love her outlook on life and she can tell a hell of a story. One of my favorite memoirs this year. I just wish there was a little more dirt, but she's a class act.

[Ronda Kelley]

Loved this book! I admit I was curious about it because growing up I was a huge fan of the TV show Dallas. I came away from this book with a huge respect for Linda Gray. She is upbeat, positive & determined. I loved her life lessons & advice. It was thought-provoking & there were so many tidbits I took away from it. Great job!

[Gina]

And happy 75th birthday to Linda. We should all be so lucky to look this fabulous in our 70's. I had the pleasure of meeting Linda Gray at a book signing recently and I must say she is one of the nicest people I've ever met. She is absolutely gorgeous inside and out. I really enjoyed her book.

[Roxanne]

I have been a fan of hers for a long time.

I was very pleased with the book and it contained a lot of new information about Linda that I did not know.

[Alex Vega]

It's a well written book and it quickly became of my favorite book. I love the tips she has given in her book. I highly recommend it to people to read it.

[Cherie Bush]

This is a combination philosophy of life and memoir. Linda Gray appears down to earth and like someone you could sit and chat with. I enjoyed it.

[Amy Zeuli]

Love Linda Gray but this was a bit much. Self help meets biography, but it was tough to get through. Good for her, though, for writing what she wanted.

[Mary Montgomery]

Not at all what you would expect. There were a lot of uplifting ideas, besides talking about her life.

[C Buckley]

Shine, Baby, Shine!

[Liliana]

Chiar mi-a placut cartea. E o femeie desteapta "Sue Ellen" in real life.

[Linda Smatzny]

Interesting

[Melissa Smith]

This is a great memoir and must read for any Dallas fan .

[Liebes Buch]

(Deutsche Ausgabe "Sue Ellen & ich" Giger Verlag)

Ich liebe dieses Buch! Es ist sicher mein Lieblingsbuch 2017!
Ich bin Dallas Fan und habe mich darum natürlich sehr gefreut, dass Linda Gray ein Buch geschrieben hat! Obwohl ich also nur positive Erwartungen hatte, wurden diese sogar übertroffen.
Linda Gray hat nicht einfach eine Biographie geschrieben, sondern eine Art Wohlfühlbuch.
Zu ihrem 75. Geburtstag erzählt die Schauspielerin ihren Lesern, was sie in ihrem bewegten Leben gelernt hat, welche Weisheiten sie weitergeben möchte. Linda Grays Blick liegt nicht vordergründig auf ihrem sensationellen Erfolg, sondern psychologisch auf der Suche nach dem Glück und wie sie als Mensch gewachsen ist. Dieser entspannte Ansatz hat mich begeistert. Der Humor verleiht dem Buch dann endgültig eine sehr persönliche Note.
"Sue Ellen & ich" kann man nicht nur als Fan lesen, sondern jeder, der an der Lebenserfahrung einer abenteuerlustigen Frau teilhaben will, wird hier hervorragend unterhalten.
Ich bin verzaubert von Linda Grays warmherziger Persönlichkeit und ihrer Fähigkeit, trotz Schicksalsschlägen so viel Lebensfreude zu versprühen!
Das Buch enthält zahlreiche s/w Fotos.

[Lisa Jo]

A friend and I went on vacation in Texas. As a fan of Dallas while in high school and college I thought it would be fun to visit the Southfork. And, honestly, it was. While in the gift shop I came across this book: A signed for edition. As a bookie what other a souvenir what I bring home but a signed first edition book. One of my guilty pleasures is reading memoirs by actors I have enjoyed in television series. This hit that spot. The one bit of information I walk away with is that Linda Gray’s legs are the legs on the poster for the graduate. #SpoilerAlert

[Goose]

I always liked Linda Gray and thought she was good on Dallas and also in the movie Oscar with Sylvester Stallone. It's a fun and breezy read and I enjoyed reading about her early years as a model, her difficult marriage, and her years on Dallas. I didn't mind the new age like affirmations and even read the fashion suggestions even though I'm someone who wears 20 year old t-shirts. If you like the actress or liked Dallas or even if you just like to read about different actresses, you'll enjoy this memoir.

[W. Frazier]

I’m a little conflicted on this book. It’s written as a life’s review, an empowerment book with a 70’s - 80’s overlay. Gray showed a keen interest in organic foods, meditation, self-help exercises all before they became mainstream. She has an intense desire to fulfill personal challenges however this drive has led to some not so positive repercussions on her home life. Gray walked away from a 22-year marriage, raising 2 teenagers, to seek out her truths and her career goals. Her self-empowerment, self-improvement mantra has a lot of self in there. The narrative is casual, sometimes scattered. A fierce determination shines through with some good nuggets I didn’t expect.