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Losing It: And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time
written by Valerie Bertinelli
Studio : Free Press
by Free Press
Publisher : Free Press
Released : 2008-02-25
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9781416568186
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 198 reviews)
List Price : $26.00
Our Price : $3.85
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Product Description |
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Valerie Bertinelli, then: bubbly sitcom star and America's Sweetheart turned tabloid headline and rock star wife. Now: actress, single working mother of teenage rock star, and weight-loss inspiration to millions. We all knew and loved Valerie Bertinelli years ago when she played girl-next-door cutie Barbara Cooper in the hit TV show One Day at a Time, and then starred in numerous TV movies. From wholesome primetime in America's living rooms, Valerie moved to late nights with the hardest-partying band of the decadent eighties when she became, at twenty, wife to rock guitarist Eddie Van Halen. Losing It is Valerie's frank account of her life backstage and in the spotlight. Here are the ups and downs of teen stardom, of her complicated marriage to a brilliant, tormented musical genius, and of her very public struggle with her weight. Surprising, uplifting, and empowering, Losing It takes you behind the scenes of Valerie's acting career and marriage, recalling the comforts, friendships, and problems of her television family, her close relationships with her parents and brothers, the stress and worries of being the wife of a rock star, and the joys of motherhood. Like many women, Valerie often remembers the state of her life by the food she ate and the numbers on her scale. So despite her celebrity, Valerie's voice is so down-to-earth, honest, and appealing that you'll feel as if you're talking with a girlfriend over coffee. Funny and candid, Valerie recounts her attempts to maintain a healthy self-image while dealing with social pressures to look and act a certain way, and to overcome career insecurities and relationship problems, all of which will be familiar to the hundreds of thousands of women who struggle every day with these same issues. From marital turmoil to the joys of a new career, from being named among Penthouse's ten sexiest women in the world to overhearing whispers about her weight gain in the grocery store, this is Valerie's inspiring journey as she finds new love, raises a terrific kid, and motivates other women as a spokesperson for Jenny Craig. |
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Americancivilwar.com Review |
A Note to Americancivilwar Readers (and a Q&A) from Valerie Bertinelli Dear Americancivilwar Customer, Glad to see you here and hopefully purchasing my book. I've heard if you buy multiple copies it's a better experience--a better one for me! But seriously, I'm usually on Americancivilwar, too. I've been buying books through the site for ten years. I enjoy reading the reviews. I get a good sense of the book, and I like to hear what other people have to say. Like in a traditional bookstore, I can look at the cover, peek inside the book, and check out the bestseller lists. Valerie - Do you have a favorite character from a book? I love Scout and Atticus from To Kill A Mockingbird.
- If you can be any character from a book, who would you like to be? I would like to be Scarlett and I would let Rhett know how much I love him.
- How do you decide what next book you want to read? If it’s for my book group, whoever hosts the next gathering picks the book, so it’s picked for me seven out of eight times. But on my own, I read reviews and ask people whose taste I like what they’re reading.
- Where’s your favorite place to read? Either lying in bed or on the sofa next to the fireplace.
- What is your favorite genre? I don’t really have one.
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Still needs some work |
I personally (for the most part) enjoyed reading this memoir. While I, too, was expecting more than what it had to offer (some more personal insights rather than marketing Jenny Craig would have been nice), I found it hard to put down and felt as though I know who she is (to some degree).
I did take some issue with the fact that she still has some emotional growing to do (but then again, don't we all?). There was one part, in particular, that botherd me about her. It was when Wolfie was younger (I think maybe about 8 or so) and he started rebelling against her and saying mean things to her. Valerie attributed it solely (or at least in writing) to Eddie's drug and alcohol abuse and their constant fighting. She needed to look a little further than that! The sentences before that statement, she admitted to basically smothering the kid and putting ALL of her efforts into being a mother. Any kid who feels smothered by a parent will rebel in an effort to create their OWN identity, which may or may not have had so much to do with Eddie's drug use as it had to do with Valerie's clinginess to being a mother. Valerie seems to take little responsibility for her part in these things. But, she does seem to be a work-in-progress, so at least that is a good thing.
Otherwise, it was a pretty good book. Would I recommend it? Sure! Especially to women who have issues with their weight (and I know A LOT of them--myself included!)
I also need to add that the editing was terrible. I found several words misspelled and while it's not the end of the world, it's a little annoying while reading it. What do they pay editors for, anyway?
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A woman who has made mistakes, but isn't afraid to own up to them |
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Although I grew up in the late 80s/90s, I enjoyed "One Day At A Time" reruns and caught Valarie Bertinelli's movies of the week. but I didn't know much about her life. Her childhood was nothing out of the ordinary, but she shot into super stardom as the youngest daughter on her hit 70s sitcom. Although she talks openly about her co-star Mackenzie Phillip's struggle with drugs, there isn't a whole lot of dirt behind the scenes. She writes about her in a sympathetic, sisterly way. Val also reveals her later drug addictions that began even before her marriage to Van Halen member, Eddie Van Halen. She also talks about motherhood and conquering her weight issues, even an attempted encounter with another woman. The best thing about the book is Val's telling of her story. She's completely down to earth and her tone is conversational, like being an old friend sitting in her living room. She doesn't try to pretty up her faults and mistakes or excuse them. She's honest and reveals herself as any other human being. She's refreshing and just fun. You can pick it up at your local library, but this one is worth the cash, I say. |
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Valerie - poor me, whiny baby |
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I am in the process of throwing this book in the garbage - the only reason I read it to the end was to see if there would be anything worth reading. The book didn't keep my attention with it's short, choppy and repeating sentences. It really irks me that she mentioned, about 500 million times, Eddie Van Halen's drug and alcohol problem, which seems to have caused partial blame for her numerous weight gains and added to her insecurities. I didn't buy her "confession" about doing drugs and sleeping with this and that person - those parts of the book were just too vague. In my opinion, she put those pieces in her book to make her look like the "bad" girl she isn't. Her book is premature - she's obviously still insecure - as she can't seem to be happy with the weight loss she has achieved, and she hasn't been with Jenny Craig long enough to prove herself. AND, Jenny Craig CALLED HER and PAID HER a lucrative sum to be their spokesperson - she was not the one who approached them for a weight loss solution. Yes, she lost the weight she said she would, but she hasn't had a long enough maintenance record to prove to me that she can keep it off, which is another reason her book is premature. I liked Valerie, until I read her book and realized that she's nothing but a whiny, poor me person. Suck it up woman. If you really want to gain the respect of your readers, don't talk negatively about your former husband's problems, stop blaming everyone and everything for your weight problems, and prove to us, and Jenny Craig, that you really have gained a new insight and purpose in life by keeping the weight off and keeping the healthy attitude you claim to have for the rest of your life. |
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Thank You Ms. Bertinelli For Inspiring Me to Walk! |
I grew up watching One Day at a Time and years later I greatly enjoyed the miniseries I'll Take Manhattan. Once upon a time I was a minor Van Halen fan, although Eddie's brother Alex was the one that caught my eye.
So, I was glad to read this book, although I did not necessarily expect to take anything meaningful away from it.
I don't doubt that Jenny Craig may have helped nudge Valerie into writing this book. It does contain a certain amount of discussion about weight issues, but that is just one piece of the pie (pun intended). Plenty of women are concerned about their weight, so none of these factors are a crime by any means.
If you left me to my own devices, I could probably compete as a professional couch potato. So I have to give this book a nod for introducing me to the concept of 10,000 steps per day. Truthfully I am averaging 8,000 per day, but that is WAY more activity than I was racking up before. I have read some sobering information explaining that even if you are not overweight, there are still potential hazards to not being truly fit. It is an interesting irony that although I am exerting myself to a far greater extent, I somehow have more energy, not less.
Even if this book had not introduced me to the ten thousand steps concept, I would still have considered it to be an enjoyable read. It was rather like peeking at someone's diary with the assurance that you had permission to do so.
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Great Reading |
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It's like she is talking to you personally; like a diary. There's alot I can relate to with her. I'm looking forward to her next book. |
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