Wildflower

by Drew Barrymore Narrated by Drew Barrymore

Overview

Award-winning actress Drew Barrymore shares funny, insightful, and profound stories from her past and present told from the place of happiness she's achieved today.
 
Wildflower is a portrait of Drew's life in stories as she looks back on the adventures, challenges, and incredible experiences of her earlier years. It includes tales of living on her own at 14 (and how laundry may have saved her life), getting stuck in a gas station overhang on a cross country road trip, saying goodbye to her father in a way only he could have understood, and many more adventures and lessons that have led her to the successful, happy, and healthy place she is today. It is the first book Drew has written about her life since the age of 14.
 

Editorial Reviews

The New York Times Book Review - Stephanie Zacharek

…[this] mostly sunny sort-of memoir…is pure delight. If until now you merely liked Barrymore…you'll adore her once you read this series of personal essays…Laugh if you want: The moving lyricism of Barrymore's writing…defines her as anything but a flake. She's a blithe spirit who, at a not inconsiderable cost, has carved out a place of warmth in a pretty cold world.

From the Publisher

Praise for Wildflower

"Pure delight. . . . If until now you merely liked Barrymore . . . you’ll adore her once you read this series of personal essays.”—The New York Times Book Review

“The book is a deeply thoughtful and fun page-turner—like a rich dessert that also happens to be good for you.”—InStyle

“[Barrymore] brings honesty, sweetness, and humor to the tale of how she fought to earn the hard-won wisdom that steered her from being a twelve-year-old former child star to becoming a beloved actor. . . . A warm and inviting narrative.”—Publishers Weekly
 
"Barrymore’s book is a cheerful and happy examination of some of the ups and downs in her life."—Booklist 
 
"Heartwarming. Fans of the actress, her production company, makeup line, or girl-next-door demeanor, or anyone looking for a companion in book form, will enjoy."—Library Journal  

“An endearing, earnest, lightly cultivated garden of stories from the actress.”—Kirkus Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

2015-09-23
An endearing, earnest, lightly cultivated garden of stories from the actress. The voice of the woman who captured hearts as a child in E.T. is instantly recognizable in this sweet work. In her preface, Barrymore (Find It in Everything: Photographs by Drew Barrymore, 2014, etc.) shares hesitation at calling her book a memoir, a term that "seemed heavy to me, and I want this to be light." What follows lives up to her intention. It's a time-hopping assemblage of, among other things, sky diving with friend Cameron Diaz, exploring religion in India, and creating Flower Films, a girl-powered production company. We learn of her deep need for approval and a cycle of worry and relief pervading her professional life, but Barrymore has found happiness (the exclamation points prove it!), and there's no place for dirt in this garden. Barrymore perfunctorily addresses her unstable parents, wild child years, and famous relatives, an approach that creates unresolved questions. The few stories from her younger years that she does share are humble ("I really am so sorry and remorseful"), and readers get the sense that she is writing in full knowledge that her two daughters will be reading this someday. Accordingly, it's writing to and about her daughters and motherhood where Barrymore shines. She allows herself to be vulnerable and overcome with wonder, just like the girl America fell in love with decades ago. Although she is a flower child, free and thriving, in several instances, the book would have benefited from a heavier editorial hand—e.g., an office that's described as "warm and truly lived in" is again called "warm and utterly organized" two sentences later. It's easy to like Barrymore, and even if her life isn't quite an open book, we get an often funny, occasionally tear-jerking picture of a woman who has replaced past darkness with love and light and who just wants everyone to be happy.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169061840
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	10/27/2015
Edition description:	Unabridged

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