It's Always Something

By: Gilda Radner

Narrated by: Gilda Radner

A month before her death on May 20, 1989, Gilda Radner entered a Los Angeles recording studio to deliver what would be her final performance - this remarkable audio autobiography, in which she reveals the inspirational story of her struggle with cancer...a private, personal battle in which the humor and humanity that has touched millions became her most powerful weapon.©1989 Gilda Radner, All Rights Reserved (P)1989 Simon & Schuster Inc., All Rights Reserved

Critic reviews

• Grammy Award Winner, Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Recording, 1989

GREAT!!!!

I will forever be grateful to her for being a great comedy hero of mine!

Beautiful

I don’t usually write reviews, so I felt strongly enough about this honest, sweet inspiring memoir to do just that. High recommend.

good story

great story but a sad story of what she went through. definitely a strong woman.

R.I.P. Roseanna Danna, you are missed!

Thanks for the years of laughter! You are forever loved & missed, you saved my life!

Powerful & beautiful, but audio not complete

A remarkable story told and read by a remarkable woman; Gilda Radner’s words will move you to tears, to laughter, to deep contemplation. Unfortunately, the audiobook doesn’t include everything in the book (which is wonderful), and while it is wonderful to listen to Gilda tell her own story, the audio quality is pretty poor. I would still recommend listening; but read the book, too. Her story is one of strength, resilience, courage, and hope.

Not what expected, but still something

It always feels weird to rate an autobiography, as if I’m rating the author’s story. That said, I did have expectations on what I’d learn about Radner in her own words. These expectations were not met.

Admittedly, I wanted to hear more about her childhood, working towards Saturday Night Live, her attempt at the big screen - her WHOLE story. However, it really was focused on the last 6 years of her life. Of course, I am grateful to hear even a lick of her story told in her own words. I simply wish there was more of it.

This on its own was at times a difficult read. There was a lot of bouncing around in events and I believe the story was suppose to be constantly comparing her “past” (no cancer) self to her “present” self. Although this was at times successful, most of the time it was difficult to follow.

Overall, I always recommend an autobiography and will always rate it 5/5 since personal stories, even when hard to follow, ought to always be rated as perfect… at least in my opinion.

Great Book

Where does It's Always Something rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is a great book narrated by Gilda Radner. I had no idea that she had such a rough time with her cancer. She was a brave woman and glad she wrote it all down and was able to record the audio book before she passed away. I feel bad this happened to her. She discusses being active in her treatment and I think this is the way people handle things today. When you listen to her read this book you will feel like you are having a chat with her.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked that Gilda narrated her own story. It is a sad story but a moving one. It makes you appreciate your own life and not to worry about the small things in life.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book made me appreciate her even more. She was lucky to have Gene Wilder with her. He sounds like he was pretty strong for her despite it being so difficult This must have taken a huge toll on him also.

Hearing Gidla's voice read her story- priceless

Hearing Gidla's voice read her own story is priceless. You even get to hear her sing her cancer fighting song. This story is mainly surrounding her discovery & battle with cancer internally & externally. You will also hear bits and pieces about her career, family, her dog, Sparkle & her loving relationship with Gene Wilder. It will leave you wanting to hear more & so deeply sad that this wonderful, creative & funny individual isn't with us anymore.

Gilda is still the best

I was 15 when Saturday Night Live started. Saturdays began elsewhere but always ended somewhere watching the show. One of the originals on the show was Gilda Radner. I thought she was great - probably because my own humor leaned towards her comedy.

I followed her life after SNL. I thought it was great when she married Gene Wilder and they went on to do a couple of movies together. I remember hearing about her cancer but I thought it had been caught early and that she would go on for many more years. I was wrong. She didn't beat it but boy did she fight.

So this book is written by Ms. Radner and talks about her life before and during her fight. Since it's written before her death it ends upbeat. I read it the first time right after it came out. This time I listened to her read it to me.

The Audible version is so much more intimate and leaves me continuing to wish that she had survived. I miss her funny characters and big smile. This isn't a sad book though. It's full of wisecracks and good humour.

This book is for Gilda Radner fans - current and future! watch the original seasons and you'll become one. I'm so glad she left us with a part of her talent.

Appreciate what you have

I grew up watching Gilda Radner on SNL like so many others. I knew she ultimately succumbed to cancer, but never knew just how much she endured while battling this awful disease.
It’s sad to know she passed so soon after the conclusion of this book.
I feel as though there is so much good information about available treatment, but I don’t know if I’d find this book inspirational if I were suffering from cancer. In fact, I’d find it devastating to know I could possibly go through the torture of invasive treatment and still not survive.
That said, it was wonderful to be entertained by Gilda one last time. She was a great talent taken from us far too soon. I take comfort in knowing that, now that Gene Wilder has also passed, they are hopefully reunited and entertaining huge crowds and basking in uproarious laughter.