Then Again by Diane Keaton

 This book caught my eye one day while browsing at the Treasure Chest, a thrift store nearby. It was only $.50, had interesting photos, and because I enjoy and admire Diane Keaton, I believed it was worth the risk. I'm glad I did.

Keaton compares her life with her mother's. We learn a lot about her family during her growing up years, and the how the relationships develop over time. We don't get details or a chronology; we get interesting impressions and very insightful observations. These memories and insights are shared via vignettes that reveal Keaton's rich inner life. She uses her self-deprecating humor to describe her attempts to become an artist. In the end, she decides she's "artistic," but not an artist. Few Hollywood stars would be so open about their embarrassing missteps. I admire Keaton's honesty about what she learned from her less successful movies, artistic endeavors, and directorial attempts. 

Keaton describes her bullemia and how she talked her way out of it with her therapist. She is clear about her wanting an audience more than a family like her mother had. She is honest and honoring of her romances with Woody Allen, Warren Beatty, and Al Pacino. There are many fascinating anecdotes about these and other famous friends and how they navigate life. The most telling to me was about Jack Nicholson, and how two years after the filming of "As Good as it Gets" she received a check from him with a lot of zeroes; he was sharing his percentage with her. She is not a snarky gossip. She is a clear-eyed observer of her own behavior and sees others with compassion and mostly, admiration. I appreciated that. 

Her description of her family life, and how she adopted two children when she was older, was interesting. She finds purpose in nurturing her extended family as well. This book was published in 2011, and she's had a lot of commercial success since then. It would be interesting to read an update...  The book left me wanting to see some of her movies again, especially The Godfather trilogy and Annie Hall, since she revealed a lot about what was going on behind the scenes in the making of these movies. 

I have always admired her style; and I understand more of her thinking now. This was a worthwhile read. Her devotion and care for her parents are admirable traits. Her humility and taking herself lightly are also impressive to me. Would I make similar choices? No, I did not, and would not. But she has qualities worthy of consideration, for sure.