I Said Yes to Everything

A Memoir

By: Lee Grant

Narrated by: Orlagh Cassidy

Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

A memoir by Academy Award-winning actress Lee Grant, detailing her starring roles in Valley of the Dolls and Shampoo, her 12 years on the Hollywood blacklist, and a singularly unpredictable life.

©2014 Lee Grant (P)2014 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"The elegant theater and screen actress bares all of her insecurities and regrets.... But there’s also an intimacy and directness in how she shares—including numerous dishy, behind-the-glam anecdotes.... Grant has lived a long, full life. While she may prefer to be coy about precisely how long it’s lasted so far, I Said Yes to Everything serves as evidence that it’s been long enough to give her a meaty, multifaceted and compelling story to tell." (Jen Chaney, The Washington Post)

"[N]o-holds-barred.... Grant doesn’t make us read between the lines here; it’s all right there, on the page. When she was jubilant after winning an Oscar for her supporting role in Shampoo, we know it; when she was disgusted, as when a television network canceled her series without telling her, we know it, too; and, of course, when she was dismayed and bewildered and depressed when she couldn’t find work during her 12-year blacklisting, we know it for sure.... An excellent show-business autobiography." (Booklist, starred review)

"In this wonderful memoir, actor Grant charts her life from a childhood in New York City through her performance in Shampoo and beyond.... Whether recalling the traumas of her first marriage to screenwriter Arnold Manoff or sharing entertaining memories of her famous friends, Grant does so with a with a lively, approachable tone. Though famous for her achievements as a multi-award winning actor, director, and documentarian, Grant reveals herself to be woman unafraid of continual self-reinvention. These pages tell a gripping story full of drama, humor, and hardship, offering an intimate look into the singular life of one indefatigable protagonist." (Publishers Weekly)

Loved every bit of it! Beautiful and as life is heartbreaking at times.

It was a pleasure to listen to this book. What a life. So fascinating and amazing it is something I think I will listen to again. Thank you for sharing your life with all of us.

I say yes to this book!

What made the experience of listening to I Said Yes to Everything the most enjoyable?

The stories she tells of on-set antics and what the other actors were really like. Love hearing about who she liked working with and who she hated. She holds nothing back.

What was one of the most memorable moments of I Said Yes to Everything?

There are a few but the one that pops to mind is her at a party and chasing Shelly Winters up the stairs calling her the C word. That had me laughing big time. If you read the book you will find out why she does this and trust me, Shelly deserved it!

Which character – as performed by Orlagh Cassidy – was your favorite?

I would have to say, Lee.

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

She said Yes, to everything, in a world of NO's.

Any additional comments?

I liked this book very much but after a while, I got sick of hearing about her being blacklisted. I know that is the point of the book but even after it was lifted she seems to go on and on about it. She needed to let it go. I am talking 20 years later kind of thing. I also don't understand why Lee stopped reading the book and letting someone else read the middle section. I liked the woman who took over but it seemed strange.

All and all it is a great book and I would love to read more.

Brilliant read, middling narration

Any additional comments?

Orlagh Cassidy is a great reader, but Lee Grant's appeal is a take-no-prisoners style of speaking. When she delivers dialogue, you have to listen. Cassidy reading everything in a breathy, passionate swoon is a disappointment, the wrong direction to tell the tale of a woman who has always been so admirably forthright. Grant's opening and closing narration suggest it might have been a job she wasn't up for, but it's still a missed opportunity.

Very well written and elegantly revealing

If you could sum up I Said Yes to Everything in three words, what would they be?

I always liked Lee Grant but never knew her struggles and how she made her mark in documentary films. I wished she had narrated the entire book but completely understand why she did not. If you like stories about real women that happen to be beautiful and talented you will enjoy this.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Lee

What does Orlagh Cassidy bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

nothing

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

her struggles through the blacklist and how she made the decision early on to have her face lifted (came in handy later in her life)

thank you Lee Grant I'm a fan

my father was in the young Italian communist League his name was Moe Moskowitz he was also an actor his father grew up in the ghetto after immigrating from Austria worked in the Garment Factory twelve years old but had a fur shop on 5th Avenue both my uncle's we're Realtors.