Age shall not wither her...

I read the book a few weeks ago and was entertained for the night. While some of the humor pressed uncomfortable boundaries, I would push past the things I didn't find particularly funny until I found a "day" in her life that made me smile at her keen observations. Isn't life like that, though? Our years are filled with all different things, like a smorgasbord that we can pick and choose, and return to savor. I really liked Joan Rivers. Reading her book, was like a window into her fast paced world. The daily observations dragged me though her hectic schedule, the things that ticked her off, and the people she loved. I always knew I liked her. After all, she has been in my living room dozens of times throughout my life from the time I was a little girl. Joan Rivers was only a year older than my mother. I remember rooting for her when she bravely tried to restart her life after it was shattered by the loss of her husband and her career at the same time. I watched as she reinvented herself in a hostile male dominated environment, creating a whole new industry of red carpet interviewers. It's hard to start over when you're looking at the backside of fifty, competing with fresh young faces. I admired that she always included her daughter, sharing her success and making it a family affair. It's hard to work with family, and they were gracious to each other. Lastly, I bless her for showing that older women can be important, productive, beautiful, and useful in our youth obsessed society. Joan Rivers was a first class act, who lived by her own example. While she did sometimes say something that made me squirm,(Yes, the Ann Frank parts were not my favorite), she was groundbreaking in her humor. So, if I had so suffer with one or two jokes that didn't work, the rest was worth it.


Carole P. Roman