This for Remembrance

by Rosemary Clooney, Raymond Strait, Bing Crosby (Foreword)

Rosemary Clooney - as a young girl she had done it all. She rose from the squalor
and poverty of a small Southern town to the heights of American show business. A smash recording artist whose records sold in the tens of millions, a famous film star, the host of her own network TV show, featured on the cover of Time magazine -almost overnight she became America's favorite sweetheart. She was married to the internationally celebrated actor Jose Ferrer. She was the close friend of Bing Crosby and Marlene Dietrich, John and Robert Kennedy.

Then in one terrible year it all came crashing down around her. From the heights of stardom she began her long, terrible descent into hell, a descent that would end in the isolation ward of a Los Angeles mental hospital.

But Rosemary fought her way back. And now, recovered and still stunningly attractive, Rosemary has actively resumed her career. At last, she tells her story. It is the testament of how a woman suffered in order to be saved, died in order to be reborn - a heartrending saga to rank with I'll Cry Tomorrow.

Genres: Biography, Music

250 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

For more than fifty years, Rosemary Clooney's simple and exquisite singing style defined her dynamic career. She also took on movie roles, and did a star turn in her own television show, but it was her successful and inspired music that cemented her reputation as one of America's finest jazz-based vocalists.

source: Songwriters Hall of Fame

Reviews

[Thomas Strauser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read. It's like she is here today telling you her story.

[Kiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read a lot of celebrity autobiographies at this point, but I found Rosemary Clooney’s first one to be a particularly strong entry in the genre. It's slim and engaging, and more internally-focused than the usual autobiography, which often has the pitfall of reading like an extended Wikipedia article. As is the case with many memoirs, it’s not without its faults—there are several unpolished mid-chapter focus shifts—but it also never overstays its welcome on any one event or topic.

It’s also especially noteworthy for Clooney’s discussion of her mental breakdown and subsequent treatment. Given the time of this book’s publication (1977), I doubt that many other celebrities—or people in general—were so open about mental health, and it’s really cool that Clooney was among the first famous people to have that conversation, almost a decade before figures like Carrie Fisher opened the door even further.

[Mick Meyers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad read but found it a bit depressing.for such a talented person to be taken in by so many bozos,but it's a story as old as time.