I have to be honest, I'm prejudiced. Presented with the opportunity to review Vanessa Williams' memoir, You Have No Idea, I was less than enthusiastic. Over the past 15 years I've read hundreds of memoirs: spiritual quests to India, sexual quests to Europe, mountain climbers hoisting themselves atop the highest peaks on all seven continents, mountain climbers starting schools in Pakistan, grief stricken adult children, rock stars' wives, political heads of state, spiritual heads of state, Nobel Laureates, athletes, dancers and circus stars. I'd come to the conclusion that real life is overrated. I'm totally into fiction now.Still I couldn't turn down Vanessa Williams' life story for two reasons: 1) she created my all-time favorite Christmas songs CD; and 2) she was married to gorgeous ex-Laker Rick Fox. I remembered her giving birth to their daughter during the NBA playoffs years ago.
I had no idea I'd enjoy You Have No Idea as much as I did.
The memoir is unique. Co-written with her mother, Vanessa's descriptions of scenes from her life are juxtaposed with her mother's recollection of those same events. Both women write as I imagine they speak. The book reads like a conversation, like a mother and daughter reminiscing, with a good dose of "I told you so" from mom. I've always loved Vanessa Williams. While reading her memoir I fell in love with her mother too.
Both women are tough. Vanessa, crowned the first African-American Miss America, surrendered her crown after the nude photo scandal broke. She's survived beauty pageants, Hollywood, Broadway, the NBA, two marriages and, most notably, racism. Helen Williams is even tougher. She survived emotionally supporting her daughter through it all.
To watch Vanessa Williams in her two most famous roles, Wilhelmina on Ugly Betty and Renee on Desperate Housewives, you'd never believe life didn't come easily to her. But what struck me most about her memoir is that despite her super-stardom, she's a lot like the rest of us. She deals with heartbreak, loss, difficult patches in her relationship with her parents. After a disagreement with her father over the contractor who was remodeling her home, she and her dad never experienced the closeness they'd once known. You Have No Idea is honest, funny, inspiring and sad. It's real, but certainly not overrated.
I recommend this book. Join the discussion of You Have No Idea no BlogHer: http://www.blogher.com/bookclub/now-reading-you-have-no-idea.
This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club, but the opinions expressed are my own.
