Dear Cary

My Life with Cary Grant

By: Dyan Cannon

Narrated by: Dyan Cannon

Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

He was the most charming, handsome, romantic, and famous leading man in the world....what could possibly go wrong?

With unparalleled honesty, Dyan Cannon shares the heartwarming and heartbreaking story of her magical romance and stormy marriage to screen legend Cary Grant.He was the ultimate star, defining Hollywood glamour as well as cinematic achievement. She was a bright new actress, beautiful and funny, who would one day prove her talent by being the first woman to receive Academy Award nominations for her work on-screen and behind the camera.

When he asked to meet Dyan, she assumed it was for an acting part, but he had a different role in mind for her... and so began a storybook romance that brought her to dizzying heights. On his arm, she found herself traveling in the inner circles of power and glamour in which Cary Grant was king, with friends such as Noel Coward, Jimmy Stewart, Frank Sinatra, Audrey Hepburn, and so many others considered Hollywood royalty.

Behind closed doors, she discovered a Cary no one knew. A thoughtful, caring, and private person, with dark family secrets that weighed heavily on him. He was a man contending with the swan song of an astonishing film career while her career was just beginning. Despite the age difference, they fell in love, got married, and had a beautiful daughter together. Happily Ever After still proved elusive, and their relationship was beset with tragic twists and turns. It took a tremendous toll on Dyan as she struggled to keep her heart and mind intact.

With rare photos and never-before-seen letters and notes from Cary Grant, Dear Cary is told with poignancy and hard-won wisdom. For anyone who has ever loved and lost, Dyan Cannon’s memoir is an exploration of what love means, and an inspirational story of surviving life’s slings and arrows.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2011 Bonkers Entertainment, Inc. (P)2011 HarperCollinsPublishers

Thank you, Dyan

I appreciate the effort and the energy put into this book by Dyan Cannon. It’s obvious she still carries a torch for Mr. Grant after all these years, and has been trying to understand how it worked and why it then went bad. A lot of us can relate to that having survived divorces, which is true of me, some people have complained about her voice, but that’s her voice and I appreciate that she read it herself. at the point in the story where we learn that Cary took away her dog when her baby was just born, I had to turn it off for a while and recover from that one. It’s hard to give your heart away and keep it safe or heal it when it gets broken. Dyan Cannon’s done a lot of work on her self and I applaud her for that.

Reality; The Ultimate Trip

Dyan Cannon shares rarified memories of an exquisite lifetime and the horrors that can sometimes befall the best of us. What a gift to peer via starlight between dark shadows of an imperfect but irresistible romance. It isn't just any woman that would live this tale, Listen to this author's love in her own radiant manner. What remarkable human beings they were together and apart, and how very lovely Dyan's tender telling.

Wow. Thank you.

Well I'm crying. Amazing story. A book to help you find the love when you think all is lost.

Great Book

I was very curious to listen to this book because I loved her autobio movie back in the 90’s, End of Innocence, and she did mention some of the same things from the movie. Very inspirational and relatable. Loved it.

Fiction ?

Some of information about Cary Grant was new. However the first part of how Cary pursued her and how she kept resisting and putting him off was Twilight Zone material to me. I still enjoyed reading it as I am such a huge fan. He was unique as an actor and a person.

Poignant

This book was excellent. Not exactly what I expected, but very well written from the heart. Eye opening to say the least. I had no idea idea about the inner demons that Cary was dealing with.

Perspectives Aside

Ms. Cannon provides an engaging narration of her years with Mr. Grant. Sounds like a Domme and his submissive and I think she left out a lot such as I did read somewhere Cary Grant was given to administering spankings to discipline his wife. Still, it kept my attention from a psychological perspective as she signed on for this codependent dynamic until she was worn thin.

Loved It

You have to appreciate the lifestyles of the rich and famous, or perceived rich and famous, of the 1950s and 60s in order to really truly appreciate much of this book. However, if you have an appreciation of mental health issues which impact all socioeconomic strata, then this could be a wonderful book for you. I learned so very much about people I have admired from afar and was sad to learn of the struggle of each person as well as their joint struggles. A firm belief of my own is that good always comes from bad and this story definitely reflects that for Ms. Cannon. I would love to sit down and chat with her after reading this book. So many more questions. Wonderfully written (in my humble opinion). I was easily engaged from start to finish.

Strange Coupling

Not sure what these two actually had in common but their relationship worked for a while. It was an interesting book, I learned a lot about Ms. Cannon beyond her screen career> Mr. Grant was wacky, not the well put together actor he presented to the public. Either way their love for their daughter was their common bond. It is worth a listen.

Today, Cary wouldn’t be considered a very nice guy

Dyan is of a different generation and tends to put a lot of emphasis on her failures in the marriage as well as his. But I felt stifled and outraged at his gaslighting and misogyny. I think women have clearly evolved today - ironically maybe Cary would be pleased about that after all.