Synopses & Reviews
“More than anything, we are remembered for our smiles: the ones we share with our closest and dearest, and the one we bestow on a total stranger who needs it right then, and God has put us there to deliver.” — Carrie Hamilton
You are about to meet an extraordinary young woman, Carrie Hamilton. The daughter of one of television’s most recognizable and beloved stars, Carol Burnett, Carrie won the hearts of everyone she met with her kindness, quirky sense of humor, and wonderfully unconventional approach to life. Living in the spotlight of celebrity, but in an era when personal troubles were kept private, Carrie and Carol made a brave display of honesty and love by going public with teenager Carrie’s drug addiction and recovery. Carrie lived her adult life of sobriety to the fullest, enjoying happy and determined independence and achieving a successful artistic career as an actress, writer, musician, and director. Carrie’s passion for life and her humorist’s view of the world never wavered as she aggressively battled cancer. Carrie died at the age of 38.
Carrie and Me is Carol Burnett’s poignant tribute to her late daughter and a funny and moving memoir about mothering an extraordinary young woman through the struggles and triumphs of her life. Sharing her personal diary entries, photographs, and correspondence, Carol traces the journey she and Carrie took through some of life’s toughest challenges and sweetest miracles. Authentic, intimate, and full of love, Carrie and Me is a story of hope and joy that only a mother could write.
Review
“It’s hard to put into words just how deeply this book touched me. It made me laugh, cry and everything in between. Simply wonderful. A beautiful tribute to a remarkable daughter written straight from the heart by the mother who loved her. If you have ever loved a child, read this book. Heartbreakingly funny, sad and wise. Both mother and daughter will live in your heart long after you finish reading.” Fannie Flagg
Review
“Through her openness and honesty, Carol Burnett is an inspiration. While reading Carrie and Me, I’d think, How can a person who gave the world so much pleasure have had to endure so much pain? No, life isn’t fair, but in Burnett’s wonderful book we are reminded of what gets us through: love.” David Sheff
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"A poignant tribute...pulling no punches...an intimate portrait of a sometimes challenging, always loving mother-daughter relationship." author of Beautiful Boy and Clean
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"Intimate...heartbreakingly moving." < -="" i="" -=""> - < -="" b="" -=""> - Reader's Digest - < -="" -=""> - < -="" -="">
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"A poignant and, of course, funny look at a life cut too short." < -="" b="" -=""> - < -="" i="" -=""> - New York Post - < -="" -=""> - < -="" -="">
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"Intimate...heartbreakingly moving." < -="" i="" -=""> - < -="" b="" -=""> - Reader's Digest - < -="" -=""> - < -="" -="">
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"Loving, poignant." < -="" i="" -=""> - < -="" b="" -=""> - People - < -="" -=""> - < -="" -="">
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"Hauntingly beautiful and heartfelt." < -="" b="" -=""> - FoxNews.com - < -="" -="">
Synopsis
The
New York Times bestselling memoir from legendary comedienne Carol Burnett is a "loving, poignant" (
People) tribute to her eldest daughter, Carrie Hamilton.
The daughter of one of television's most recognizable and beloved stars, Carol Burnett, Carrie Hamilton won the hearts of everyone she met with her kindness, her quirky humor, and her unconventional approach to life. After overcoming her painful and public teenage struggle with drug addiction in a time when personal troubles were kept private, Carrie lived her adult life of sobriety to the fullest, achieving happiness and success as an actress, writer, musician, and director before losing a hard-fought battle with cancer at age thirty-eight. Now Carol Burnett shares her personal diary entries, photographs, and correspondence as she traces the journey she and Carrie took through some of life's toughest challenges and sweetest miracles. Authentic, intimate, and full of love, Carrie and Me is a funny and moving memoir about mothering an extraordinary young woman through the struggles and triumphs of her life.
Synopsis
In this beautiful and poignant tribute to her late daughter, award-winning actress and New York Times bestselling author Carol Burnett presents a funny and moving memoir about mothering an extraordinary young woman through the struggles and triumphs of her life.Despite her busy schedule, Carol Burnett always made time for her three young children. But her oldest daughter, Carrie, faltered in adolescence, losing the self-esteem that had fueled her popularity and success in school and hiding her pain in a downward spiral of addiction. As Carrie became lost to drugs, Carol found herself with a daughter in grave danger and a marriage that was bending under the pressure.
Carrie eventually broke free from her addiction. Like her mother, she had a wonderful sense of humor and became a successful actress, singer, and writer, even writing a play about Carol’s childhood. But tragedy struck again when Carrie was diagnosed with cancer. She died at the young age of thirty-eight, leaving a legacy of kindness, creativity, and joy along with a short story that mirrors her own journey, published for the first time in this book.
In Carrie and Me, Carol Burnett shares her personal diary entries and correspondence revealing her anguish as a mother of a troubled teenager, the epiphanies that helped her help her family, and the grief and then the hope she felt after Carrie’s death. Through Burnett’s inimitable voice, we get a portrait of an unforgettable young woman that will bring hope to anyone struggling with raising or losing a child.
About the Author
Carol Burnett is widely recognized by the public and her peers for her work on stage and screen, most notably The Carol Burnett Show, which was named in 2007 by Time magazine as one of “100 Best Television Shows of All Time.” As a highly acclaimed actress for her comedic and dramatic roles on television, film, and Broadway, Carol has been honored with twelve People’s Choice Awards, eight Golden Globes, six Emmy Awards, the Horatio Alger Award, the Peabody Award, and the Ace Award. She has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, is a Kennedy Center honoree, and has been inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. Carol has also penned two New York Times bestsellers.