Autobiographies that sound better than they read, 2024

A Pocketful of Happiness | Richard E. Grant

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Summary: Richard E. Grant emigrated from Swaziland to London in 1982, with dreams of making it as an actor. Unexpectedly, he met and fell in love with a renowned dialect coach Joan Washington. Their relationship and marriage, navigating the highs and lows of Hollywood, parenthood, and loss, lasted almost forty years. When Joan died in 2021, her final challenge to him was to find a “pocketful of happiness in every day.” This honest and frequently hilarious memoir is written in honor of that challenge–he shares raw detail of everything he has experienced: both the pain of losing his beloved wife, and the excitement of their life together, from the role that transformed his life overnight in Withnail and I to his thrilling Oscar Award nomination thirty years later for Can You Ever Forgive Me? I was particularly moved by the importance his version of the Marvel character Loki was given out of all his permutations.

Recommendation: As moving as I have found other autobiographies, I never anticipated my reaction to Grant’s. I recommended it to a family member who is facing the end of her long and beloved marriage due to cancer. It’s uproariously funny, heart-rending, hopeful, and comforting at the same time. I found an audiobook version just to hear Grant’s voice tell me in his own words how magnificent his life has been (so far). A pleasant name-dropper, you feel the regard with which he considered his real friends and contacts.

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Beyond the Wand | Tom Felton

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Summary: Felton shares his experience growing up as part of the wizarding world while also trying to navigate the muggle world. He tells stories from his early days in the business, reflects on his experiences working with cinematic greats, discusses lasting relationships made over a decade of filming the Harry Potter series, and covers the highs and lows of fame and navigating life after such a momentous experience.

Recommendation: What a trouble maker! Seeing how young this man still is, I couldn’t imagine what would be filling the pages of an autobiography – surely it would be short and scanty? But from the introduction of his family life and the rebellious nature he never quite kept in check, Tom Felton entertains as well as informs. Something of a relief after the depths of Richard E. Grant’s work, Felton reminds us what it is to be a kid growing up.

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What Have We Here? | Billy Dee Williams

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Summary: From Harlem to Hollywood, Williams enjoyed his life traveling from one artistic entertainment to another. He painted, he studied, he sought opportunities to grow and learn. He landed some of the most amazing parts (Brian’s Song, Lady Sings the Blues) and had an equally impressive real life in the meantime. Full of swagger and smooth charm, Williams is relatively unapologetic for his decisions, wise or otherwise.

Recommendation: Being a geek of a certain age, Williams will always be the original Lando Calrissian to me. And I like to think he’d be proud of that fact. The swashbuckling and heroic man of action he wanted to be ended up representing HIM! Learning about his family was heartwarming while watching his struggles as a student actor and young man were achingly painful. To hear him tell it, over a glass of fine wine, his life was just as magical and powerful as those of his characters.

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