Never Say Never

Finding a Life That Fits

By: Ricki Lake

Narrated by: Ricki Lake

Length: 5 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

From the beloved teen star, talk-show host, and media personality, an uplifting and revelatory memoir about turning 40, losing weight, and reinventing oneself at any age. Readers first met Ricki Lake as Tracy Turnblad in the original Hairspray. They fell in love with her as the spunky, no-holds-barred host of The Ricki Lake Show. And they came to respect her as the executive producer behind The Business of Being Born, a groundbreaking documentary on childbirth in the United States. Now, Ricki’s many fans will get to know her in a whole new way.

In this intimate, bold, and relatable memoir, Ricki takes readers into her childhood home in Westchester County, where her parents—once liberal Jews—became born-again Christians. She’ll reveal the sexual abuse she endured, and the subsequent food issues and weight problems spawned from that trauma. She’ll pull back the curtain on her life as a celebrity, from Hairspray through her decade-long talk show to the reinvention of herself as an author and filmmaker on the subject of alternative childbirth. Along the way, Ricki has weathered near bankruptcy, a brutal divorce, and a string of broken romances, while also giving birth to two sons and raising them as a single mother—circumstances that would knock some of the strongest off their feet. But not this fighter.

Timed to coincide with Ricki’s return to the television screen with a brand-new talk show in 2012, this inspiring memoir gives readers an empowering example of the way one woman learned to take responsibility for her emotions, trust her gut, and turn an unconventional life into an unparalleled triumph.

©2012 Ricki Lake (P)2012 Simon & Schuster

Open

Wonderful that it’s open. Great story. I related to a lot. If the reader is not interested in the journey for a chubby girl to find self acceptance then this is not the book for you. But, it still could be. I enjoyed it a lot.

Okay, but narration kind of rushed

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Maybe. It was fun to hear her story, but no real "takeaways"

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Wrapped things up nicely

Would you be willing to try another one of Ricki Lake’s performances?

Maybe. She needs to slow down and add some emotion to her reading. It really seemed as if she rushed through it

Did Never Say Never inspire you to do anything?

Sorry to say it, but no

Any additional comments?

Enjoyed the story and "no holds barred" approach, but felt she needed to "tell" the story, not just quickly read through it

This should be required listening.

If you could sum up Never Say Never in three words, what would they be?

Heartfelt. Real. Fascinating.

Have you listened to any of Ricki Lake???s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes! I almost did. Listened twice in 24 hrs, the first keeping me awake until after 2am.

Any additional comments?

The messages of this view into the private thoughts of this public personality demonstrate so clearly the impact all of our actions, criticisms and failures-to-act can have on the lives of those close to us. If you listen to this moving account, I assure you names will come to you: you will want someone you know to have a copy. Well done!

I'll Second You Ricki Lake

Completely Understanding With Weight 🙋
All I Can Say Is,
Biggest Hugs Ricki Lake ✨💓💫
You Are Awesome!

Horrible Narration

What would have made Never Say Never better?

Having someone that could do a better job narrating than Ricki Lake.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

You would think that having the author herself, (especially considering that author is also an actress) read the book would undoubtedly be the best choice, but that is certainly not the case here. I am an avid listener of audiobooks, as in there is NEVER a time when I'm not listening to SOMETHING but unfortunately, in this instance I was unable to even get through the first few chapters because Miss Lake's "narration" was so disjointed, uncomfortable, unemotional & honestly just completely lacked of ANY inflection or feeling whatsoever that it was a TOTAL distraction from the story itself.
There have only been a handful of times in the YEARS I have been listening to audiobooks where I've felt the narration was so completely distracting that I had no choice but to turn the book off & unfortunately, Miss Lake's book was one of those times. As a matter of fact, she was the first & as of yet the only narration read by the author themselves where this has occurred.
I should have heeded the warnings of the other reviewers that experienced this same issue but I've always liked Ricki Lake & genuinely wanted to hear her story. I mistakenly thought, how bad could it be? It's HER OWN STORY & she is a professional actress after all. I heard how bad it could be, pretty darn bad.

I liked Ricki Lake before listening to this

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I do think listening to this book was time well spent, otherwise I would have carried on believing that Ricki Lake was a nice person.I found her to be selfish, spoiled, intolerant, judging and just plain stupid. Where does she get off looking down on people for not being like her? or judging other people on their looks if they aren't thin, beautiful and as lucky as she was to find a career she didn't deserve?

What do you think your next listen will be?

Nothing to do wh Ricki Lake

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Been a nicer person

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No