Turner has starred in films as diverse as Body Heat
and Romancing the Stone
; she's had rave reviews for her stage performances in The Graduate
and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf
. Now Turner, with the aid of Gloria Feldt, bares her heart to readers in an upbeat account of her life and work. Turner discovered the theater when she was a teenager living with her Foreign Service family in London; from then on, she took every opportunity to study acting and to perform. Eventually, she landed the steamy lead in Body Heat
. Playing such a sexually voracious female role might have typecast her, so she followed it with a comedy, The Man with Two Brains
. As she discusses the other acting roles she's chosen, she's emphatic that “the selection of material and characters I play reflects my values.” She's also been deliberate in her offstage life—her decision to marry, to have a child and to divorce. With great candor, she details some of her worst struggles, battling both rheumatoid arthritis and alcohol. In the end, she's realized it comes down to “taking the lead role” in her own life. While she may indulge in swear words a bit much for some readers, Turner's vision of life's many possibilities—even as she gets older—is surely inspiring. (Mar.)
