Tag Archives: memoir

LGBTQ Pride Month Memoirs: Alan Cumming, Portia De Rossi, and George Takei

3 Jun

For last year’s Pride Month, I looked at three of my favorite authors who are members of the LGBTQ community and who also focused much of their fiction on LGBTQ characters.  For this year though, I wanted to look at memoirs or biopics from some of my favorite actors who are proud to be part of the LGBTQ community including Alan Cumming, Portia de Rossi, and George Takei.  Their lives despite some difficult times are truly inspirational no matter what your orientation.

We hope you can join us for the Hoboken Public Library’s June LGBTQ Events including a panel discussion on June 4 at 6:30 PM, a Gems of In the Life screening on June 18 at 6:30 PM, and on June 25 at 6:30 PM, performances of works written by famous lesbian poets and musicians.  You can learn more on our website and RSVP on Eventbrite.  There will also be a display in honor of Pride Month in the library’s second floor display cases.

Alan Cumming’s Not My Father’s Son

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I’ve always been a fan of Scottish actor Alan Cumming’s work. There is a charm that he brings to any of his performance that gives greater depth from everything from a cabaret MC to his latest role on the Good Wife.  Cumming has been out as a bisexual since the late nineties and since then has taken part in numerous fundraisers for various LGBTQ causes.  Despite all his success, his childhood was much darker time.  Not My Father’s Son looks at Cumming’s relationship with his father Alex, who was emotionally and physically abusive; as well as the history of his maternal grandfather who died mysteriously overseas.  Cumming unflinchingly recounts the abuse his father heaped on him, and although at times painful to read, one feels Cumming’s commitment to shine a light on an often hidden crime, as well as helping give hope to those who have gone or are going through similar situations.  The mystery of Cumming’s grandfather has a bittersweet conclusion, but the love he shares with his brother, mom, and husband shines through in even the darkest moments.  Not My Father’s Son is not a light read, but memoir fans will find it a page turner.  It is available as a print book from the Hoboken Public Library as well as an eBook from eBCCLS and eLibraryNJ.

Portia de Rossi’s Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain

unbearable-lightness
I thought Portia de Rossi was fantastically funny on the quirky TV Show Arrested Development so I was curious to read more about her life.  Looking at de Rossi, who started her career in the spot light as a young model, you wouldn’t imagine she was riddled with self-doubt and desperate to see herself as attractive, but her memoir, Unbearable Lightness, from 2010 chronicles how her need to stay thin for her acting roles and her fears of being outed as a lesbian keeping her from connecting to those around her, precipitated an eating disorder.  She chronicles how her obsession with food began and how she counted each calorie so exactingly.  She keeps her orientation and her anorexia a secret until her body begins to breakdown.  Love and acceptance of herself bring a transformation and an understanding about how to give herself what she needs in balance in both nutrition and her life. Unbearable Lightness will be especially inspiring to those who have or know someone who is struggling with an eating disorder.  Unbearable Lightness is available as a print book from the Hoboken Public Library as well as an eBook from eBCCLS.

George Takei’s To Be Takei

to-be-takei
If you are a Star Trek fan like I am, you will be sure to enjoy To Be Takei, which focuses primarily on George Takei as an actor/celebrity and as a LGBTQ activist.  But even non-Trekkies will appreciate this documentary, which also looks back to Takei’s childhood during which his family was placed in World War II Japanese American Internment Camps besides highlighting happier events in his life such as pivotal acting roles and meeting his husband.  I enjoyed the humorous and insightful remarks of his fellow Star Trek cast mates.  To Be Takei follows Takei to numerous speaking engagements as well as more personal moments such as when his husband is scattering the ashes of his mother at an overlook (which manages to be touching and funny at the same time).  Takei is inspirational in the rode he paved for other Japanese American actors and members of the LGBTQ community.  You can borrow the DVD from the Hoboken Public Library or watch To Be Takei on Hoopla.

-Written by Aimee Harris, Head of Reference

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The Women of Mad Men and Call the Midwife

13 May

I am a graduate of Douglass College (DC ‘04), an all-women’s school that was part of Rutgers University. In 2007, Douglass College and three other liberal arts schools were all combined to become the School of Arts and Sciences (SAS). When the merger was first proposed, Douglass alumnae (myself included) protested, and ultimately a compromise was reached that led to the creation of the Douglass Residential College (DRC). Women attending SAS can choose to live at DRC, which offers them special programs and opportunities to excel that are central to Douglass’s mission.

Last month brought a new conflict. Rutgers University wants to fold the Associate Alumnae of Douglass College (the main fundraising body for DC/DRC) into the Rutgers Foundation with the goal of streamlining all fundraising. However, it is not clear if gifts donated to Douglass will go directly to DRC, which is concerning. Again, Douglass alumnae protested and mobilized to Save the AADC. (#SaveAADC) On May 1 there was a rally on DRC, which my friend and fellow alumnae Stephanie attended with her two young sons. (Gotta start kids early in activism!) This issue hasn’t been resolved and is headed toward mediation. Details can be found here.

The quick action of my classmates and sister alumnae, and the pictures from the rally I saw on social media, inspired me to think about my favorite female characters that I admire on TV, most of whom are on Mad Men and Call the Midwife.

Mad Men 

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Mad Men, a show set in a 1960s Madison Avenue advertising agency that followed the lives of the employees and the events of that turbulent decade, has long been appointment television for me. (This is rare for me, which I’ve previously written about on this blog!) I enjoy discussing Mad Men with my dad, who graduated high school in 1968 and remembers the 1960s well. I am excited to see how it all ends this Sunday when the series finale airs.

I loved following the stories of the women of Mad Men, Betty, Peggy, and Joan. The show was set before the women’s movement gained traction in the 1970s and never shied away from the issues women living and working at the time faced, such as sexual harassment, unequal pay, and discrimination–issues that still exist in 2015, sadly.

Betty Draper Francis (played by January Jones) is a victim of her time–a Bryn Mawr educated woman who was a model but then became a housewife suffering from “the problem that has no name” described in Betty Friedan’s groundbreaking book, The Feminine Mystique. Watching Peggy Olson (Elizabeth Moss) ascend from the secretary pool to become Copy Chief was thrilling but bittersweet because she had to sacrifice more and work much harder than her male colleagues to succeed. Joan Holloway Harris (Christina Hendricks) was the office manager who became a partner at the firm in a controversial manner, but proved herself as a capable ad exec when she brought in Avon as a client.

All seasons of Mad Men (with the exception of the last batch of episodes) are available to borrow from the Hoboken Public Library, and other BCCLS libraries, if you want to dive into this show or re-watch it again.

Season 1, Season 2, Season 3, Season 4, Season 5, Season 6, Season 7 Part 1

Call the Midwife

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Call the Midwife, based on Jennifer Worth’s memoirs of the same name, follows the nurses and nuns of Nonnatus House that serve the Poplar community in South London in the late 1950s-early 1960s. As the show’s title indicates, much of their time is spent caring for expectant mothers and delivering newborns. The birth scenes are realistic (for TV) and employ real newborn babies, who by British law can only shoot scenes for 20 minutes at a time.

Women make up much of the cast, and their stories are diverse and interesting. Some of the nurses come from more privileged backgrounds and are at first horrified by the poverty they encounter in Poplar. I think Sister Monica Joan (played by Judy Parfitt), an elderly nun who suffers from dementia, is the most fascinating character. She no longer works as a nurse due to her condition, but in her moments of clarity she shares wisdom and sage advice with her fellow sisters and the younger nurses when they run into challenging situations.

Many of the stories Jennifer Worth’s first memoir, which I read and enjoyed, were used in the show. One story I liked that hasn’t been seen on the show was about how one young Poplar boy took it upon himself to protect Nurse Chummy (Miranda Hart), who was a target for teasing by the other children. Worth wrote that that young boy grew up to become a bodyguard for Princess Diana.

All four seasons of Call the Midwife are available to borrow, as well as the memoir. Jennifer Worth wrote two more books a about her time as a midwife, Call the Midwife: Shadows of the Workhouse and Call the Midwife: Farewell to the East End. Both are on my to-read list.

Season 1, Season 2, Season 3, Season 4

Who are your favorite female TV characters? Please share in the comments.

-Written by Kerry Weinstein, Reference Librarian

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