Debbie Reynolds is a remarkable woman—there’s no other way of saying it. If anyone else had accomplished what she had before she turned 30, they’d consider it a successful life. But if you’re Debbie, you’d only be just getting started.
In the first of three memoirs, “Debbie: My Life” provides an overview of Debbie Reynolds’s life from birth to the late 1980s. It goes through her early life, her time at both Warner Bros. and MGM, and through her marriages, ending with her happily married to Richard Hamlett (although that didn’t end well in real life).
Two of the standout sections focus on her marriage to Eddie Fisher and her time filming “Singin’ in the Rain.” It’s fascinating to hear her perspective on the relationship with her first husband—how he was the man she lost her virginity to, how he became a different person after they married, and how she grew as a person during the experience. As for “Singin’ in the Rain,” I won’t spoil too many of her stories—many of which feature Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor—but let’s just say she wasn’t kidding when she later said the hardest things she ever did were childbirth and “Singin’ in the Rain.”
Overall, it was a great book and Debbie read it in a way that only Debbie could. However, I felt like it was more of an extended Wikipedia article rather than a personal story. I don’t believe she was lying or anything, but it felt a lot less personal than what I might expect from someone’s autobiography. This might be because I listened to the abridged version of the book, but I thought she could have gone deeper than she did.
Even though we didn’t learn that much from this book, it was still enjoyable to listen to. I can’t wait to listen to her other two memoirs!
From Blushes to Blasters 