The Beauty of Living Twice can best be described as a memoir. Written by Sharon Stone, it gives her side of the story of her life thus far.
Sharon Vonne Stone is an American actress, producer and former fashion model. Her other books are Something to Hold and Sharon Stone Photographs.
She was born in 1958 and became a popular sex symbol in the 1990’s. She is noted for playing “femme fatales”, and women of interest, on film and television. The role that most people recall immediately is from the film Basic Instinct. She has been the recipient of several awards during her varied career. She is also the mother of three sons, a role she takes great pride and joy in.
Stone’s character comes through strongly in the book and therefore makes for a strong, honest, and striking read. Particularly so because in 2001, when she was in her early forties, she suffered a stroke and a subarachnoid haemorrhage that bled into her brain, head, and spine. This occurred at a time when her boys were very young. She had to re-learn to walk, read, talk, see, everything that we take for granted. This has had a massive impact on her life, her career, and her family. To this day she suffers from the effects of this trauma.
The actress grew up an extremely bright girl in a small town in Pennsylvania. She was part of a family with several dark undertones that she has only been able to face up to and deal with in her later years. Her relationship with her parents and especially her mother was difficult, partially stemming from her mother being farmed out at the age of 9 into servant-hood, an act she says saved her life. Her mother’s greatest lesson to her two girls was to stand on their own two feet. The growth and appreciation of her family members has become a large part of her new life.
The book is also a journey of Stone’s life, her career, and of fame in a time when men dominated, where things were expected from women for them to progress. The #MeToo moments are real as you work your way through her memories. Other women were not always kind, given her looks, her attitude and her subsequent fame. Her choices may not have been popular, and she wasn’t always easy to live or work with. She admits this as she comes to a greater knowledge of herself, her family, her faith and who her real friends are.
My best insight from the book, “I have learned to forgive the unforgiveable. My hope is that as I share my journey, you too will learn to do the same.”
I can understand why this book was as well-anticipated as it has been - a fascinating insight into another person’s life, world, thoughts, and intent.
The Beauty of Living Twice is published by Penguin Random House UK – 2021: ISBN 9780525656760 - Christine E Hann
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