My Extraordinary Ordinary Life

By: Sissy Spacek

Narrated by: Sissy Spacek

Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

In her delightful and moving memoir, Sissy Spacek writes about her idyllic, barefoot childhood in a small East Texas town, with the clarity and wisdom that comes from never losing sight of her roots. Descended from industrious Czech immigrants and threadbare southern gentility, she grew up a tomboy, tagging along with two older brothers and absorbing grace and grit from her remarkable parents, who taught her that she could do anything. She also learned fearlessness in the wake of a family tragedy, the grief propelling her "like rocket fuel"; to follow her dreams of becoming a performer.

With a keen sense of humor and a big-hearted voice, she describes how she arrived in New York City one star-struck summer as a 17-year-old carrying a suitcase and two guitars; and how she built a career that has spanned four decades with films such as Carrie, Coal Miner's Daughter, 3 Women, and The Help. She details working with some of the great directors of our time, including Terrence Malick, Robert Altman, David Lynch, and Brian De Palma - who thought of her as a no-talent set decorator until he cast her as the lead in Carrie. She also reveals why, at the height of her fame, she and her family moved away from Los Angeles to a farm in rural Virginia.

Whether she's describing the terrors and joys of raising two talented, independent daughters, taking listeners behind the scenes on Oscar night, or meditating on the thrill of watching a pair of otters frolicking in her pond, Sissy Spacek's memoir is poignant and laugh-out-loud funny, plainspoken and utterly honest. My Extraordinary Ordinary Life is about what matters most: the exquisite worth of ordinary things, the simple pleasures of home and family, and the honest job of being right with the world. "If I get hit by a truck tomorrow," she writes, "I want to know I've returned my neighbor's cake pan."

©2012 Sissy Spacek (P)2012 Hyperion (packaging elements only)

Critic reviews

" My Extraordinary Ordinary Life is the book version of Sissy: warm, heartfelt, and very real. Perhaps most remarkable is that Sissy's life-from the ordinary experiences of growing up in and raising a close-knit family to the extraordinary thrills of starring in some of the most iconic roles in Hollywood-unfolds as gracefully on the page as it does on the big screen and, as all of her readers will soon learn, in everyday life." (Kathryn Stockett, New York Times best-selling author of The Help)
" My Extraordinary Ordinary Life describes a remarkable woman's journey from a baton-twirling East Texas gal to an Academy-Award winning star. Sissy Spacek tells her story with warmth and grace, never straying far from the small-town roots that shaped her." (Jeannette Walls, best-selling author of The Glass Castle and Half Broke Horses)
"[A] warm narrative...Like a folk song, Spacek's storytelling is tender and unhurried." ( Publishers Weekly)

your life

great book loved it smart sweet kind wonderful delightful charming it was the best thanks.

Loved it!

After listening to this book I have a newfound respect and admiration for Sissy Spacek. Her narration is outstanding.

An Extraordinary Listen

This is a wonderful joyous celebration from an outstanding actor. I have always enjoyed Ms. Spacek and I truly enjoyed listening and learning about her life's journey. The stories of her early childhood in Texas are delightful and heartwarming. Her Hollywood tales provide insight and a laugh as she discovers her acting instrument and the love of her life. May we all be blessed with an extraordinary ordinary life.

A Great Listen! Sissy Spacek is Just Cool!

From her laid back delivery of the narrative to the story. This book is chockful of charming stories told in her distinctive voice that keeps you listening. There isn't one negative thing I could say about this one. I highly recommend it!

Refreshing

What did you love best about My Extraordinary Ordinary Life?

It was simple to listen to and so refreshing to hear about a celebrity without all the drama and negative past.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Both of her parents but if I have to choose one, Sissy's mom. I love her positive outlook on life. I was very touched when Sissy speaks of her mom in chapter 13, when Mom was looking around the living room.

What about Sissy Spacek’s performance did you like?

Sweet voice, just the right amount of country without sounding like Reba McEntire.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

A beautiful star, inside and out, who never lost sight of her roots.

Any additional comments?

This was a very welcome and much needed listen (My last two books were Camina Salcido's devastating memoir and one other book that was so bad I couldn't get past the first few chapters). I felt cleansed after listening to Sissy's.

Wonderful!

loved it, Sissy Spacek is a wonderful story teller.
really enjoyed listening to her.
thank you for telling your story.

Delightful…

Enjoyed this audible book so very much… Sissy’s narration was wonderful… Everyone should listen to this book.
Also listen to her narration of “To Kill A Mockingbird “, also fabulous…

Such a funny, heartwarming book!

Listening to this was just like sitting down with Sissy Spacek in her living room have a chat about her life. Wonderful and down to earth! Absolutely loved it!

Charming and lovable

What made the experience of listening to My Extraordinary Ordinary Life the most enjoyable?

Sissy Spacek is so endearing and so genuine, you feel her kindness and spirit through this great book. The love she has for family and career really shows through here. Wonderful.

Spacek succeeded too well.

Sissy Spacek is a major movie star who wanted to show how ordinary she is. (See the title.) After reading the book, I am impressed with how she has managed to maintain a fairly normal life -- long-term marriage, children, living a life outside of Hollywood. The problem is that I found the details of her ordinary life rather dull. She is a competent writer, but not a great one, so the ordinary details of her life are just not that interesting. Much of the book is about her family background, her childhood, her pets and her relatives and neighbors. The stories, the way they are told, would be of zero interest if they weren't about a movie star. I did enjoy hearing about the making of her movies -- the unordinary part of her life -- but that constituted no more than half the book, and probably a lot less. I also was not impressed with her performance as a reader. I know this may be an unfair criticism ... after all, she's the author talking about her own life! But she has a slow southern drawl; I kept wanting to tell her to speed it up. To sum it up, I liked Sissy Spacek, it was interesting hearing about her experiences making movies, but she succeeded too well in showing how "ordinary" her life is.