Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
Bits and Pieces
Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me | Whoopi Goldberg
5 posts | 5 read | 3 to read
From multi-award winner Whoopi Goldberg comes a new and unique memoir of her family and their influence on her early life. If it werent for Emma Johnson, Caryn Johnson would have never become Whoopi Goldberg. Emma gave her children the loving care and wisdom they needed to succeed in life, always encouraging them to be true to themselves. When Whoopi lost her mother in 2010and then her older brother, Clyde, five years latershe felt deeply alone; the only people who truly knew her were gone. Emma raised her children not just to survive, but to thrive. In this intimate and heartfelt memoir, Whoopi shares many of the deeply personal stories of their lives together for the first time. Growing up in the projects in New York City, there were trips to Coney Island, the Ice Capades, and museums, and every Christmas was a magical experience. To this day, she doesnt know how her mother was able to give them such an enriching childhood, despite the struggles they facedand it wasnt until she was well into adulthood that Whoopi learned just how traumatic some of those struggles were. Fans of personal memoirs such as Finding Me by Viola Davis and In Pieces by Sally Field will be touched by Bits and Pieces: a moving tribute from a daughter to her mother, and a beautiful portrait of three people who loved each other deeply. Whoopi writes, Not everybody gets to walk this earth with folks who let you be exactly who you are and who give you the confidence to become exactly who you want to be. So, I thought Id share mine with you.
LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
review
CaliforniaCay
post image
Pickpick

This is one of those books I think is I better listening to because of Whoopi's unique voice. I know Whoopi from some of her movies but never knew anything about her personal life. This was very insightful, not just because of her musings on her memories of her mother and brother but because of her perspective on life and death after losing them both. Good for Whoopi fans and for people grieving the loss of a loved one 🎧

51 likes2 stack adds
quote
Bookpearl
post image

The most important opinion is what you think of yourself and how you live your life. —-Whoopi‘s mom

review
Marklieberman
Pickpick

Whoopi‘s mother passed away in 2010, and her brother Clyde passed away in 2015. This book is about the influence they both had on her. Let me rephrase, it‘s primarily about her mother and her and their life growing up together. I did enjoy reading about how she got discovered; Mike Nichols first and then The Color Purple. How cool is that!!!

review
readswellwithothers
post image
Pickpick

Really wonderful audiobook! A love story, really, about family and the bonds unbroken even after the deaths of her mom and big brother. So much to enjoy here! From Whoopi‘s chuckling and humorous digressions (there is no way print can compare to the audio version) to the expression of deep, enduring love and respect for how and by whom she was raised, this was personal in all the best ways. Memoir without tragedy! It‘s a thing! Try it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

review
Kris10H
post image
Pickpick

I've always loved Whoopi - I'm pretty sure it has something to do with how many times I watched the Sister Act movies as a kid. In her own words (paraphrased), she wrote the book as she talks - and I have a suspicion that when she "read" the audiobook, she added and paraphrased rather than just reading it. Listening to it was very much like sitting down for a conversation with her. She is such a good storyteller.