Audiobook Review: This Time Together: Laughter and Refection by Carol Burnett

This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection by Carol Burnett
Publisher: Random House Audio
Narrator: Carol Burnett
Release Date: April 6, 2010
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

Carol Burnett is one of the most beloved and revered actresses and performers in America. The Carol Burnett Show was seen each week by millions of adoring fans and won twenty-five Emmys in its remarkable eleven-year run. Now, in This Time Together, Carol really lets her hair down and tells one funny or touching or memorable story after another.
 
In engaging anecdotes, Carol discusses her remarkable friendships with stars such as Jimmy Stewart, Lucille Ball, Cary Grant, and Julie Andrews; the background behind famous scenes, like the moment she swept down the stairs in her curtain-rod dress in the legendary “Went With the Wind” skit; and things that would happen only to Carol–the prank with Julie Andrews that went wrong in front of the First Lady; the famous Tarzan Yell that saved her during a mugging; and the time she faked a wooden leg to get served in a famous ice cream emporium.

This poignant look back allows us to cry with the actress during her sorrows, rejoice in her successes, and finally, always, to laugh.

Yes, it’s another celebrity memoir! I just can’t get enough.

Carol Burnett’s memoir spans her entire life, without going into too much detail on any one part. She sticks mainly to recounting facts, without too much emotion. For instance, she tells us that she and her first husband got divorced but doesn’t go into much detail as to why. One part that does get emotional is when she talks about her daughter’s death. I could hear her voice breaking as she tried to hold back her tears.

Carol narrates the book herself, which makes her humorous anecdotes even funnier. My favorite stories were the ones from The Carol Burnett Show, since that’s primarily what I know her from. I didn’t realize how ground breaking that show was in so many ways.

I’m not a Carol Burnett super-fan but I still enjoyed This Time Together very much. Listening to it on audiobook was like having a conversation with her. (Albeit, one-sided!) I recommend it for anyone who enjoys memoirs, fans or not.