Part Swan, Part Goose

An Uncommon Memoir of Womanhood, Work, and Family

De: Swoosie Kurtz, Joni Rodgers

Narrado por: Swoosie Kurtz

In a wise, warmhearted memoir that celebrates her extraordinary life and stellar career, Swoosie Kurtz shares just the right combination of personal misadventure and showbiz lore, candidly reflecting on the right choices that empowered her, the wrong choices that enlightened her, and the intimate journey of caring for an aging parent.

Animating this remarkable memoir is Swoosie’s relationship with her equally remarkable parents. Her father, Frank, was an Olympic athlete and highly decorated World War II airman. He flew a record number of missions in a cobbled-together B-17D called the Swoose. Her mother, Margo, was the quintessential military wife but with the spunk and will to match her husband’s. Her 1945 memoir, My Rival, the Sky, chronicled their lives up to the time of the birth of their daughter.

Today, Margo, who is fast approaching her 100th birthday, lives with Swoosie. And Swoosie’s life has become a precarious and precious balancing act as she struggles to stay ahead of her mother’s increasing needs while navigating a showbiz career that keeps one foot in Hollywood and the other on Broadway.

©2014 Swoosie Kurtz and Joni Rodgers (P)2014 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"I laughed and cried (sometimes at the same time) reading this extraordinary story about Swoosie and her parents and her work and her loves. Swoosie has the beautiful gift of a seasoned story teller. Her observations about love and loss had me dog-earing several pages to re-read again and again. I feel blessed to know her.”(Carol Burnett)

"The Tony Award-winning actress certainly relates a lot of great anecdotes from her long career on the Broadway stage, in films and on such popular TV shows as Sisters, Pushing Daisies and her current hit, Mike & Molly. Yet, her book, co-authored by writer Joni Rodgers, is also a remarkable journal about Kurtz’s extremely close relationship with her parents, and is a compelling saga about her recent journey as a loving caregiver for her mother as she’s slipped into depths of dementia." (Chicago Sun Times)

“Comedic timing always has been Kurtz’s hallmark and in Part Swan, Part Goose, she proves she can write a line as humorously as she can deliver one. The book crackles with wit. The book lists Joni Rodgers as a co-author, but the candor, clever turns-of-phrase and hilarity seem very Kurtz-like.” (The Buffalo News)

A good memoir

As memoirs go, this one was good. It would have been so-so had it not been for Kurtz' relationship with her mother, Margo. I took care of my own mother until she passed away at age 91, so it is easy to identify with the things Kurtz went through. Even though towards the end my mom had a hard time doing things for herself, I would have her back in a heartbeat if I could. I miss her every day. I miss her sweet influence in my house, and I miss her touch. That is basically what this book is about. We love our moms and have a hard time without them.

I found other aspects of the book interesting and entertaining even though I have never seen any of Kurtz' movies or TV shows. I'm sure she is a wonderful actress.

Love this woman and love this book!

I truly appreciated the candor in the writing of this book and hearing about Swoosie’s experience over her decades.