Handbook for an Unpredictable Life, Rosie Perez
Handbook for an Unpredictable Life, Rosie Perez
7 Rating(s)
List: $24.00 | Sale: $16.80
Club: $12.00

Handbook for an Unpredictable Life
How I Survived Sister Renata and My Crazy Mother, and Still Came Out Smiling (with Great Hair)

Author: Rosie Perez

Narrator: Rosie Perez

Unabridged: 11 hr 41 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/25/2014

Synopsis

Oscar-nominated actress and star of the new musical drama Rise, Rosie Perez’s never-before-told story of surviving a harrowing childhood and of how she found success—both in and out of the Hollywood limelight.
 
Rosie Perez first caught our attention with her fierce dance in the title sequence of Do the Right Thing and has since defined herself as a funny and talented actress who broke boundaries for Latinas in the film industry. What most people would be surprised to learn is that the woman with the big, effervescent personality has a secret straight out of a Dickens novel. At the age of three, Rosie’s life was turned upside down when her mentally ill mother tore her away from the only family she knew and placed her in a Catholic children’s home in New York’s Westchester County. Thus began her crazily discombobulated childhood of being shuttled between “the Home,” where she and other kids suffered all manners of cruelty from nuns, and various relatives’ apartments in Brooklyn.
 
Many in her circumstances would have been defined by these harrowing experiences, but with the intense determination that became her trademark, Rosie overcame the odds and made an incredible life for herself. She brings her journey vividly to life on each page of this memoir—from the vibrant streets of Brooklyn to her turbulent years in the Catholic home, and finally to film and TV sets and the LA and New York City hip-hop scenes of the 1980s and ‘90s. 
 
More than a page-turning read, Handbook for an Unpredictable Life is a story of survival. By turns heartbreaking and funny, it is ultimately the inspirational story of a woman who has found a hard-won place of strength and peace.

About The Author

ROSIE PEREZ is an Oscar-nominated actress, whose credits include Do the Right Thing, White Men Can't Jump, Fearless, and The Counselor. She is the Artistic Chair of Urban Arts Partnership and sits on the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Howard on May 17, 2021

5 Stars for Handbook For An Unpredictable Life: How I Survived Sister Renata and My Mother, and Still Came Out Smiling (With Great Hair) (audiobook) by Rosie Perez. I had no idea. I thought that there might be some serious stuff and lots of funny stories. There’s not much on the light side in this s......more

Goodreads review by Stephanie on February 25, 2014

This review first appeared on Young Adult Hollywood. *I received an ARC copy of this book from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review* **SPOILER ALERT** I really loved this book! Reading it was effortless! Kind of like sitting with Rosie, having a drink, and chatting with you, like you were a......more

Goodreads review by Erin on May 18, 2014

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! If Charles Dickens wrote about New York in the 1970s, he would've penned Rosie's story. Also, there's absolutely no question -- you NEED to listen to the audio. Rosie's voice is filled with so much emotion, passion, and humor that you'll immediately fall in love with her. Can't......more

Goodreads review by Tricia on January 12, 2023

I watched an interview Rosie did with Nicole Wallace where she touched on mental illness and some of her struggles in early life. Her kindness and strength came through so much and I really didn't know much about her but knew I had to know more; this lady has some important stories to tell. Boy was......more

Goodreads review by Ash on March 15, 2014

A friend of mine, who had read this book before me, had warned me that the book is "too ghetto." I replied with that it's Rosie Perez and, if it was indeed ghetto, that means it was authentic. I'm in no way trying to disparage Perez in any way but if he wanted the technical venacular of Sonia Sotoma......more

Quotes

“I read Rosie Perez's magnificent, very real, and heart wrenching book with equal parts joy and horror--horror that the world can and routinely does inflict its terrors on its children, and joy that Rosie made it out to become not only the superior, iconographic artist she is, but the magnificent woman this book reveals her to be. Her voice is the captivating instrument here: forthright, funny, and utterly her own.”—Hilton Als, staff writer, The New Yorker 

“Rosie Perez's Handbook For an Unpredictable Life is a shockingly brave, honest book, filled with so much grace, forgiveness  and humor that you feel invigorated reading it. A deeply moving story, told with unapologetic courage and heart.”-- George C. Wolfe
 
“Reading this story I was shaking my head in amazement that Rosie is even walking around on the earth, still smiling, let alone creating, contributing and caring about the world.  I know lots of artists who had to persevere and overcome a lot to get where they got and do what they do, but Rosie takes the prize for triumph of a spirit undimmed.  Charles Dickens never dreamed up a more incredible hard-knocks story.”--Edward Norton
 
“Rosie Perez has written a brave, hysterical, wise and compulsively readable chronicle of growing up and surviving the dual challenges of a crazy family and crazy life in Hollywood.  Like Running With Scissors before it, Handboook For an Unpredictable Life is ultimately a story of survival and will inspire us all.”—Liz Garbus

“With refreshing candor and sass, Perez transforms the painful details of her life into an inspiring reminder that even the most unforgiving of personal circumstances can be overcome.  A spunky and heartfelt memoir.” —Kirkus

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