Book Review: "Keeping Secrets" by Suzanne Somers

Continuing my current trend of checking out biographies from that little-used section of our library, I decided it was time to read this book, which had been recommended to me several years ago by a friend. After the first few pages, I wasn't sure I could finish reading it. Suzanne grew up with a violent, abusive, alcoholic father, and her vivid description of her early years was almost too painful to read. I cannot imagine living that way. None of her family came through the experience unscathed: her three siblings became alcoholics, while Suzanne and her mother suffered mentally and emotionally.

Suzanne was born in 1946. In 1956 alcoholism was first defined as a disease, but in the '50s and '60s it was still not frequently diagnosed and few knew how to treat it. Alcoholics Anonymous was in existence, but was not as widely known and accepted as it is today. A drunk was someone to be ashamed of, someone to hide, someone to placate. Co-dependency wasn't a word in most people's vocabulary. So her childhood and youth were framed with secrets, lies, and evasions.

Perhaps if I had been more fascinated with Hollywood personalities over the years, I might have already known more of the difficulties Suzanne faced in her life, including an unplanned and before marriage pregnancy, an awkward marriage to the baby's father, affairs, divorce, unemployment, debt, abortion (which resulted in near death for Suzanne), and even an arrest for writing bad checks. When her son was injured in an accident and needed counseling, Suzanne ended up getting counseling as well, and began to slowly recover from the damage done by growing up in an alcoholic home. It was after this that she finally had her breakthrough in the entertainment world, and the happy, silly Chrissie of "Three's Company" made her truly famous.

Even though the first few chapters were difficult to read, I am glad I made it through this book. It's tempting to look at folks in the entertainment industry and assume their lives have always been easy, while the opposite is more likely true. I highly recommend checking this one out from your local library.