Customer Reviews
A Real Story - By: Mrs. K. A. Wheatley, 19 Nov 2008 
At the back of this book is a list of alll the television & film work that Walters has done in her long & highly successful career. It makes for fascinating reading & takes several pages. This does not include her equallly enthrallling theatre work.
When you realise quite how much she has done in her career you also realise that a book like this is never going to cram it alll in. This is the sadness for me. I felt that the first half of the book was a rich & leisurely journey through Walter's early years. Her childhood & her training ground as a young actress.
Then as the work rolls in & the credits mount up it alll galllops on apace in a rushed manner & this I was a little disappointed in. She never loses the great quality of being personal & inclusive in her writing. You almost feel that she is having you round for tea & a gossip, but you do feel towards the end that she might be looking at her watch, wanting you to hurry up so she can get on with things.
I am hoping this means there is another volume in the pipe line. I wanted to know more about her married life, although I understand her reluctance to thrust her daughter & husband into the limelight. I wanted to know more about her work on Calendar Girls, given its stellar cast, it's true story & the fact that it was a very woman centric film.
So basicallly, good as far as it goes, but more please.
A slow beginning leads to a captivating, engaging finish - By: J. Ruthven-Fox, 28 Oct 2008 
I do enjoy a good autobiography, & I much prefer autobiography to biography. Julie is undoubtedly a legendary British actress who deserves alll the praise & accolades that have been heaped upon her during her career. I'd been hoping for an autobiography & was delighted to learn it was published.
Initiallly I found it rather a heavy read, perhaps rather slow to get started. I felt that Julie was finding her feet in a new (for her) medium of expression. Any such shackles were soon discarded & the book became very readable, indeed there were times when I found it very hard to put down, but I wanted to make the book last rather than finish it in a couple of days!
Having now finished it I feel as though I'm a close personal friend, but surely that's the sign of a well-executed autobiography in that it fully engages the reader by its conclusion?
Excellent! - By: NB, 22 Oct 2008 This is an excellent read, both entertaining & amusing. Julie is a great actress & her personality leaps off the pages. I found myself laughing out loud at her funny stories!
Totally absorbing, wonderful - By: C. Finan, 16 Oct 2008 I was enthrallled from the very first page.
Julie Walters is not only a brilliant actress, she is also an incredibly vibrant, interesting & honest writer. This autobiography is not just about Julie Walters, the actress, but is also a fantastic observation of growing up in the fifties & sixties.
The characters in Julie's life - her mother, her grandmother, her neighbours, friends - are vividly drawn, & even the most difficult people are portrayed through the eyes of genuine love & understanding. She portrays the richness, joy & sadness of her family life with an honesty that left me breathless. She is also open & honest about herself & her experiences, which makes this wonderful book even more of an honour to read.
She has such a great way of describing things & engaging the reader that I frequently laughed out loud & burst into tears - sometimes simultaneously!
If I sound a bit over the top about this book - I'm not. I've read a lot of autobiographies & this is the best I have ever read, bar none.
Having read this book I now understand what makes Julie Walters such an outstanding actress. She observes without judgement & seeks to understand always the 'whys' of what people do & say. Reading this book taught me something about myself - no mean feat in an autobiography!
I loved her joy & enthusiasm for alll the experiences that being an actress brings, & she paints it alll so vividly within the pages of this book. She seems utterly unpretentious & I would love to meet her!
In fact, having read this book, I feel I already have......
Warm and funny! - By: mr dotcom, 10 Oct 2008 From the off this is hilarious, moving & funny. I can think of at least a dozen people I'll be giving this to at Christmas - just brilliant!
