Consumer Critique: Part Swan, Part Goose

In PART SWAN, PART GOOSE: An Uncommon Memoir of Womanhood, Work, and Family, award-winning actress Swoosie Kurtz provides a tour of her journey from Nebraska to the theater stages of Broadway and the television and movie screens of Hollywood.

She's appeared on-screen in The Donna Reed Show (a part that was whittled down until only the back of Swoosie’s head was shown on-screen), Fifth of July, The House of Blue Leaves, Sisters, Pushing Daises, and Mike & Molly and has won several awards along the way (Tony, Emmy, Obie, Drama Desk). Her life off-screen has been extraordinary as well.

Swoosie’s father was an Olympic diving medalist and later became one of the most decorated aviators in American history. During World War II, Frank flew a record number of missions in a cobbled-together B-17D Flying Fortress called The Swoose (part swan, part goose). Swoosie’s mother chronicled the early years with Frank in My Rival, the Sky, a homefront memoir published by Putnam in 1945. Margo’s book ends with the couple happily anticipating the birth of a baby who will be named after the indomitable Swoose. In 1996, Margo moved in to her daughter’s home. Drifting between lucidity and confusion, Swoosie’s 98-year-old mother still lives with her. Margo requires 24-hour care and companionship, but she remains the sweet-natured, loving woman who can delight Swoosie with a witty and well-placed quip or surprise her with an in-the-moment memory of a 1943 bond tour.

The book looks at how Swoosie has navigated the demands of her career while meeting her mother's needs. It incorporates a behind-the-scenes look at Hollywood with a mother-daughter relationship and the struggles of caring for an aging parent. It was a good read, even though I am neither interested in Hollywood nor currently caring for aging parents, just because it was so well-written and offered glimpses into life situations that I know nothing about.

New York Times bestselling author Joni Rodgers has collaborated on several celebrated memoirs, including A Little Bit Wicked by Kristin Chenoweth and My First Five Husbands…and The Ones Who Got Away by Rue McClanahan.