Biography, Autobiography, Memoir discussion

I have the first part. Does anyone want to read this with me?
Cher: The Memoir, Part 1
I haven't started yet. It's 413 pages.

Wow, 413 just for the first part? I'm not interested enough to read a multi-part memoir that is that long, but I hope you enjoy it. She's had a long and successful career and is an amazing actress (I was surprised the first time I saw her in a film.)

Karin wrote: "Wow, 413 just for the first part? I'm not interested enough to read a multi-part memoir that is that long, but I hope you enjoy it. She's had a long and successful career and is an amazing actress ..."

Yes! The second book hasn't been released. Apparently Cher has a lot to say.

If I see this at the library I will probably try it.

I haven't forgotten you Cher! I just need to get through my library books first.
They're due back, but I was given Cher's memoir to keep for as long as I like.

Selina wrote: "I haven't forgotten you Cher! I just need to get through my library books first.
They're due back, but I was given Cher's memoir to keep for as long as I like."

So true-- it can be a lot harder to get to a book we don't have to return by a certain date than one from the library :)

I've started so far...it's pretty good. She has a lot of childhood memories. I'm up to chapter 7 and she's still recounting her childhood where she's now 11 years old. Her family was poor and dysfunctional, they moved around a lot and her mother had many husbands/boyfriends...it's amazing that she can recall them all.

It be interesting to read how she met Sonny.

I didn't know Cher was half Armenian. That's where she gets her 'exotic' looks from.
Apparently Vivien Leigh had an Armenian grandad on her mother's side, and her mother was what they called half-caste.
So dark hair, pale skin - sort of Eurasian.

For some reason I thought she might have been half native American but that's only because I've seen her wearing what looked to me like feathers and a mohawk lol.

Selina wrote: "I didn't know Cher was half Armenian. That's where she gets her 'exotic' looks from.
Apparently Vivien Leigh had an Armenian grandad on her mother's side, and her mother was what they called half-..."

She is part Cherokee as well, and I think it's both the Armenian and the Cherokee that lend themselves to her looks along with the Armenian. I remember her talking about her Cherokee heritage--does she mention it in her book? However, it caused no small stir when she sang the song "Half Breed" because she was half Armenian and half northern European. Armenia is sort of caught between Europe and Asia, but the people are Caucasian in race, as are Europeans.

Karin wrote: "Selina wrote: "I didn't know Cher was half Armenian. That's where she gets her 'exotic' looks from.
Apparently Vivien Leigh had an Armenian grandad on her mother's side, and her mother was what th..."

She's Armenian on her father's side. Not sure exactly what her mother's ancestry is. She seems to be from all over, they led a gypsy like existence. Her mother was born in Arkansas, and Cher was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. She writes that her grandad's mother (her great grandmother) was six feet tall and part Cherokee.

Selina wrote: "Karin wrote: "Selina wrote: "I didn't know Cher was half Armenian. That's where she gets her 'exotic' looks from.
Apparently Vivien Leigh had an Armenian grandad on her mother's side, and her moth..."

Her mother was a mix of Cherokee, Dutch, English, Irish and German.

Just finished part one
When is part two coming out?
I had no idea Sonny and Cher had a tv show. The way she describes it they were a crack-up, it was comedy/variety I would have loved to have seen it.
Cher is so funny.
The memoir goes up to 1980 before she starts breaking into movies.
I'm looking forward to reading the next part, she also may share what it's like to have a transgender daughter/son. Chastity became Chad.
The pictures are snapshots. So maybe if you want the glamourous Cher, might have to go look on you-tube Vogue looks or something.

One thing that surprised me was that she was on the cover of Time, but Vogue didn't want her because they said 'we can have blondes with brown eyes, and dark haired with blue eyes, but we can't have dark hair and dark eyes'

Cher ended up being the first. I think Cher is beautiful, but her body type was not popular back in the day.

I do recommend if you a fan, read this, and post your thoughts on here. Funny thing is, today I just finished, and then in the library I bumped into a life-size cutout of her -- I can't get away from Cher now. I'm sure whenever I hear Cher on the radio I'll remember this book. She's also on the uber eats ad - turning back time. She didn't name her memoir that though, it's just Cher. And on the about the author book jacket flap, it just simply says 'Cher is a global icon'.

Selina wrote: "Just finished part one
When is part two coming out?
I had no idea Sonny and Cher had a tv show. The way she describes it they were a crack-up, it was comedy/variety I would have loved to have seen ..."

The TV show was in the 1970s and aired in North America. I have no idea if it was shown overseas. It has a 7.1 rating on IMDB, so I'm not sure if it was as good as she writes or not.

I don't think it would have shown here, it was on CBS. I saw an episode on You-tube after I finished reading the book, and both Sonny and Cher are hilarious.
And wow she could dance, sing, joke around, and she and Sonny did that every week. It must have been exhausting after a while, but its amazing they did that together. They had a lot of variety shows in the 60s-70s every popular star had them, they didn't just perform at awards shows.

Sonny and Cher were popular in the UK when USA was indifferent to them...and then they got huge. I can see the appeal having a duo that were married in real life singing together.

The divorce was messy though, can't believe Sonny would do that to Cher. Read the book to find out what he did.

Favourite quote/quip from Cher
'I left Sonny for another woman - me'

I remember watching the Sonny and Cher show when I was a kid. They always brought out cute baby Chastity at the end. I will look for this book. You said they had a messy divorce, but I remember seeing her at Sonny's funeral. She gave a eulogy and sobbed through the whole thing.

Koren wrote: "I remember watching the Sonny and Cher show when I was a kid. They always brought out cute baby Chastity at the end. I will look for this book. You said they had a messy divorce, but I remember see..."

I think it was complicated because they loved each other, but were not 'in love' with each other, which happens in most marriages after a while, probably after she had children.

She wrote that is better when they were friends without the complications of being in a relationship. He was cheating on her with many groupies and she was the last to know, as usual.

I will say that Sonny was kind of like Ike to Tina Turner. He didn't beat her up, but he was very controlling.

Selina wrote: "I will say that Sonny was kind of like Ike to Tina Turner. He didn't beat her up, but he was very controlling."

Yes, that's what I remember hearing about him. I also watched their show sometimes as a kid, so in my mind it seems like a kids show, although it might not have been, and I remember little Chastity coming out as well.