Here is a book you will need to curl up with in front of the fire over Christmas time – if you ever have any time to curl up! The book is called ‘Audition’ and is a Memoir by Barbara Walters.
Although I saw her a few times on television, she was not a person in whom I was particularly interested. But the book reviews were good and I felt that if nothing else it could be an interesting read and I would gain a bit more insight into her life. My goodness, she is one super lady who can honestly say – ‘been there, done that’. The great thing about this book is that you can almost feel the presence of the narrator. It’s as if she is telling you the intimate details of her life and her career and you are the only one in the room listening.
Barbara Walters is warm, open and honest – not a bit like the person I thought she portrayed on T.V. The times when I did see her interviewing people in the past I felt a bit uncomfortable because I never knew how much pressure she would put on people to get the information she wanted. Having read the book, I find now that this is the trait of a good interviewer.
Her own personal life has been far from idyllic for her and I’m sure that many people will equate with her and the family problems she had to deal with.
In her extraordinary life she has interviewed thousands of people. ‘What she said and what he said’, are all there to read. She certainly doesn’t skip over some of the spicy and risqué comments that came from some of her interviewees. This makes us appreciate the interesting, personal and funny side of all the conversations.
Somehow, I connected her TV shows with interviewing celebrities; not a bit of it. The people she interviewed came from all walks of life and all nationalities. They were a cross section of presidents and first ladies; celebrities who had affected Barbara in her life; heads of state, holy men, uncommon criminals and murderers and, of course, Joe public.
She was really a ground breaker in her chosen profession and in many cases she wrote the rules. She had a lot to put up with, especially sexism in her early years. Her kind of journalism was cornered mainly by men in the early years and she was viewed as an intruder. But, she triumphed over everything and went on to become a legend in her own time. How she ever managed to accomplish all this and have a family life is beyond me.
She has shown through this story that a woman can be tough, driven and successful and still be a woman. Through it all she exuded a warmth and compassion which I never imagined she had.
Just read it and enjoy.
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