2020 Book Review #6:Home

I received this book and the sequel (Home Work) from my oldest daughter (Courtney) for Christmas.  I started it in the beginning of January and just finished it.  I've always loved Julie Andrews ever since first seeing The Sound of Music as a 2nd grader.  It is the first movie my parents took us to (that I can remember) and it was a real treat as we didn't really have the money to go to movies.  We didn't even have cable until I was in 8th grade.  (growing up in the Mohawk Valley (central NYS) we only were able to get 3 channels on the television and PBS was one of them along with NBC and CBS).

After becoming enthralled, at age 7, with the music and story of the Von Trapp Family Singers, and with Julie Andrews, I wanted to grow up and be a music teacher.  In fact, I ended up majoring in Music Education/Piano with a vocal minor during my 4 years of obtaining a BS degree from Roberts Wesleyan College.  But God had other plans of course and I ended up getting permanently certified with my MS degree in Educational Psychology/Special Education.  But I always incorporated music into my lesson plans with my special preschoolers and even to this day, as an assistant teacher, I use music in my teaching.  Julie Andrews has always been one of my favorite musical theater/film actresses and one of my very fave singers.  She is one classy lady.

SUMMARY of the memoir Home

Julie opens her memoir with her memory of her first word "home".  The book then proceeds to show us her early childhood with her vaudeville performer parents, her stepfather's relationship with her, her dad's relationship and how they both fit into her life.  Her memories are vivid and full of exquisite detail.  She is humorous at times and other memories are very poignant.

She spent a lot of time sharing her vocal lessons with "Madame" from London.  She also spent the first part of the book explaining her roots in the northern part of England, how she first started performing in music (singing, specifically) and from there, her start into musical theater.

It's the section on her start to the stage that most intrigued me.  She speaks of meeting the people who encouraged her and prodded her onto Broadway and the bulk of the book is her memory of performing for the first time on Broadway in the very well known to us My Fair Lady  (the musical stage version, not the film).  She introduces us to the people behind the scenes (the writers, producers, artists, costume designers, choreographer, etc).  

There are two sections of photos from her personal collection that are just fascinating!  Make sure you read the captions.  I loved this peek into her early years.

The last part of the book is about her first marriage to Tony Walton and her appearance in the musical Camelot as well as their relationship with the author who inspired the musical, T. H. White.  I loved reading about their cottage on the island of Alderney where Tim lived and wrote. 

Julie writes of many celebrities that those of us with a passion for musical and/or comedy will recognize:  Richard Burton, Rex Harrison (and what it was like to work with him on My Fair Lady!), Roddy McDowall, Robert Goulet, Carol Burnett, Grace Kelly, Ingrid Bergman, among others. I loved reading about her relationship and close friendship with Carol Burnett and the comedies that they created for television. 

She ends her book with the birth of her first daughter Emma, and being introduced to Walt Disney and thus going "home" to Hollywood and beginning her film career. 

Her writing is open, honest, witty at times, and very nostalgic.  It's like looking into her heart.

I really enjoyed this early years memoir and am looking forward to the sequel which I will get to later this year. That book will focus on her films.

In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 14 and older.

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 10.