I Will Survive: The Book

With memoirs the current genre du jour, it was only a matter of time before Gaynor took pen in hand. The result is a chatty but fairly selective walk down memory lane with the ""Queen of Disco."" In some ways, hers is a familiar tale. Gaynor was born into poverty, got her big break when a club manager by chance heard her singing, got sidetracked by drugs and too much partying and ultimately found salvation by giving her life over to God and Jesus. In between chronicling her life, Gaynor offers advice on everything from weight loss--she has battled the scale her entire life--to how readers can find themselves through God. Never overtly preachy, the book is at times frustratingly short on details. In a section on her husband, Linwood, and their excessive carousing for instance, Gaynor teases the reader by noting she had allowed things to happen that shouldn't have happened but, ""I'll say no more than this: Linwood and I gave a lot of parties, we took drugs, we spent a lot of money... and we drifted apart."" In abbreviating major experiences like these, Gaynor misses out on the chance to make her book an effective cautionary tale. Ultimately, her story is a lot like her hit song of the same title: a fast, frivolous dance whose impact ends with the last chord. Photos not seen by PW. (Oct.)