Kitchen Privileges : A Memoir

Rating:
Summary: Touching book by a wonderful author
Review: I've been reading Mary Higgins Clark's well-woven tales of mystery since I was a little girl. I long admired and enjoyed Mrs. Higgins Clark's gift for writing entertaining mysteries with characters that still seemed like "real people". When I saw her memoir available I scooped it up immediately and read it in one afternoon. Several times I laughed out loud and cried tears of sorrow reading about her life from its humble, beautiful beginnings in the Bronx to her struggle as a young widow with five small children. I had no idea that the author had undergone such a road in her life to reach the success and fame she now well deserves. I highly reccomend this book to any Mary Higgins Clark fan, or anyone who would like to read an account of a resourceful, tender on the inside, tough as nails on the outside lady. Bravo!

Rating:
Summary: great autobiography
Review: Mary Higgins Clark has been a best selling author of suspense for what seems forever though her first book was a bio of George and Martha Washington. Ms. Clark returns to the world of non-fiction with an autobiography that may be her best work to date. Ms. Clark warmly discusses her life growing up in the Bronx, a very harsh one due the Depression. Even more heartwarming is her "courtship" and first marriage that should have turned Ms. Clark into a romance writer instead of the queen of suspense. She follows this up with the tragedy of suddenly raising children, as a widow with income problems until her first sale brings in needed cash. Finally, she discusses her second chance at love with her second marriage.

Throughout the book, Ms. Clark displays her love for writing without padding fluff or an outrageous scandal. Instead the author's myriad of fans and readers who enjoy a well written insightful biography will take delight with this encouraging story that does not apologize for Ms. Clark following her dreams and encourages others to do likewise. For attaining one's dreams is how to attain happiness.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Clark's voice comes through clearly
Review: The voice of Mary Higgins Clark comes through clearly to her many readers in "Kitchen Privileges." Her story-telling skills are on display as she relates the events through the decades of her life. Populating the story are family and friends, dear to her, and a theme throughout (though understated) is her warm Irish pluck, that courage that enabled her to raise five children when she was left on her own as a young widow. Clark is modest about her highly-honed writing ability; also, she never overplays her unfolding story. Instead she carries the reader along in a highly competent, yet matter-of-fact style---it's like she's
refusing to take the role of heroine. The woman we meet in these pages is modest, immensely likable, and still young in spirit after all these years and all these best sellers. Clark's memoir deserves the highest recommendation.