Rating: 
Summary: A beautifully written and truly honest life story.
Review: As an author, Suzanne Somers reveals her true talent. Keeping Secrets is an honest tell-all account of her life beginning with her first recollections of childhood and growing up in an alcoholic family. Living in constant fear of her father's physical and verbal abuse, Suzanne Somers manages to barely survive as a teenage mother in a love-less marriage, her son's near-fatal accident, her siblings falling one-by-one into alcohol abuse, her arrest for cheque fraud, and a torrid love affair with a married man. Suzanne Somers' story is a "must read" not only for those who have experienced alcoholism in some way but to anyone who has the desire to learn from one's mistakes and be a better person. Suzanne Somers is a wonderful example of honesty and strength - the desire to overcome past mistakes and go on to personal and professional success.
Rating:
Summary: Heartwarming and Insightful!
Review: I didn't know what to expect when I first picked up this book. Suzanne did a superb job in how she handled the many delicate issues in this book. She spoke very frankly about many aspects of her life. Not just about her alcoholic family, but about her husband Alan Hamel, her two stepchildren, her son Bruce, and her Three's Company co-stars. Suzanne has been through a lot in her life, and it is inspirational in that she is a survivor, she is a smart businesswoman, caring person, loving mother, and most of all, NOT a shallow Hollywood airhead. If you are a fan of Suzanne or just want to know more about her, this is a good read. I commend her for her honesty!
Rating:
Summary: life saver
Review: I would like to personally thank Susanne Somers for writing this book that changed my life. Unfortunately I can't do that so I would like to express my gratitude with this review. I read the book "Keeping Secrets" because it is about being a child of an alchoholic which I am. Little did I know that this book would open my eyes to the disease of alchoholism from which I myself suffer and lead me into the rooms of Alchoholics Anonymous which was what saved her family. I have been sober now for 31/2 years since I finished the last page of her book and went to an AA meeting. I have been given a second chance at life. My family has been repaired and I am a new person. My life is so blessed today thanks to the education I recieved in this enlightening auto biography. Thank you so much Susanne!
Rating:
Summary: Forgive and Love Again
Review: I would like to personally thank Susanne Somers for writing this book that changed my life. Unfortunately I can't do that so I would like to express my gratitude with this review. I read the book "Keeping Secrets" because it is about being a child of an alchoholic which I am. Little did I know that this book would open my eyes to the disease of alchoholism from which I myself suffer and lead me into the rooms of Alchoholics Anonymous which was what saved her family. I have been sober now for 31/2 years since I finished the last page of her book and went to an AA meeting. I have been given a second chance at life. My family has been repaired and I am a new person. My life is so blessed today thanks to the education I recieved in this enlightening auto biography. Thank you so much Susanne!
Rating:
Summary: a life changing book
Review: I'm sure I don't have anything all that new to say about the experience of reading this book...but I'll add my story. Reading this story, even though our experiences were different, the feelings I had as a child of alcoholics, were so vividly expressed in this book. It was affirming and life-changing to read it. Thank you, Ms. Somers for sharing your story so you could help others heal.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: Most of us tend to think of "Stars" as glitzy, shallow people that we enjoy watching when we need entertainment, but never really consider them as real people who have anything valuable to teach us. The opposite is true of Suzanne Somers. I cried when I read her book. I identified with the "dysfunction" and it was very helpful in making me realize how many "Adult Problems" have resulted from my own family "Secrets." It gave me hope for the first time that these things really can be resolved.
Rating:
Summary: When your little world is out of whack!!
Review: My initial intention on this book was to skim it. Soon, I was engrossed in Suzanne Somers before the fame, and her life with a severe alcoholic parent. She shares vivid details she endured at the hands of her father, low self-esteem, shame, fear, anger, violence, craziness, hostility, chaos and more. As she describes her pain and emotional feelings, she backs up what she says to give the reader some better understanding of behavior by her or the alcoholic. One example is when her father ripped her nicest clothes she wore attending another school. With a heavy object, she almost cracked his head open and feared he was dead; she blamed herself and begged that he not die. Asking herself why she reacted with violence over simple clothes, her response was that the clothes were a mask that hid who she really was and a mask to the shameful crazy sick homelife. She helps the reader by explaining thoughts and actions taken. The story begins when she was a child and follows Suzanne after she left home and reveals a financially struggling young woman with a kid, married, affairs, adultress, abortion, therapy, and so on. Fortunately, she and Alan Hamel, a Canadian producer, resolved their edgy relationship combining two families and they lived happily ever after, since she is still married to him.
At the time of her book, alcoholism was never called a disease that could spread throughout the family. Someone has to STOP a loved one immediately. And in Suzanne's case, her mother was not a drinker, therefore, I firmly believe it is the ADULT in the family to STOP the drinking. Yes, I know it isn't easy, but how can a loving mother ever, and I mean ever, allow a man be cruel to her children, to destroy their spirit and soul? No, I didn't grow up like this so it baffles me! The final notes Suzanne Somers shares come from a dinner/entertainment act sponsored by the Alcoholics Anonymous, initiated by her sister Maureen, who has recovered. Two brothers followed the path of their father also. Somers feels grateful that her entire family has recovered or is in the process. This book was published in 1988 and her father had been free of alcohol for 10 years. All seems happy now. This is a very well-written book.... MzRizz
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read for anyone in ACOA
Review: Recognizing your own behavior and the behavior of you family members is only one of the ways that you can learn from this TERRIFIC book! I have so much respect for her after reading this!
Rating: 
Summary: Keeping Secrets
Review: Suzanne Somers' book, Keeping Secrets, is written in a straightforward style that is very easy to relate to and makes the reader feel like hiding in a closet just as Suzanne and her siblings did during their unbearable childhood, suffered at the hand of a rock-bottom alcoholic father. Suzanne is huanted by the sickness of alcoholism and co-dependency well into adulthood. For anyone who is a child of an alcoholic, this book is highly recommended. The triumph of the entire family over alcohol and disfunction is inspiring.
Rating:
Summary: Heart warming!
Review: What a miraculous life Suzanne Somers has led. Before reading "Keeping Secrets", I tended to view her as a shallow and superficial Hollywood blond. This book has given me insight into her painful past, and I now feel a great deal of respect for her. Her story is painful at the beginning; she vividly describes her miserable home life with an alcoholic father. Sommers' narrative contains no trace of self-pity or exaggeration. She tells the unfortunate details of her father's alcholism in a stark, honest fashion. As she grows into adulthood, we see her flounder at first, and then gradually make the incredible journey into self-discovery and healing. At the same time, her career begins to take off. I was so pleased to read about her triumphs and successes - I can't think of a more deserving person. This story is truly inspirational.
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