In Pieces

By: Sally Field

Narrated by: Sally Field

A Sunday Times Book of the Year

‘A memoir as soulful, wryly witty, and lyrical as it is candid and courageous’– Booklist, starred review
‘Impressive, candid and vivid’ The Times
‘Beautifully written’ Sunday Times

Sally Field is one of the most celebrated, beloved and enduring actors of our time, and now she tells her story for the first time in this intimate and haunting literary memoir. In her own words, she writes about a challenging and lonely childhood, the craft that helped her find her voice, and a powerful emotional legacy that shaped her journey as a daughter and a mother.

Sally Field has an infectious charm that has captivated audiences for more than five decades, beginning with her first television role at the age of 17. From Gidget’s sweet-faced ‘girl next door’ to the dazzling complexity of Sybil to the Academy Award-winning ferocity and depth of her role in Norma Rae and Mary Todd Lincoln, Field has stunned audiences time and time again with her artistic range and emotional acuity. Yet there is one character who always remained hidden: the shy and anxious little girl within.

With raw honesty and the fresh, pitch-perfect prose of a natural-born writer, and with all the humility and authenticity her fans have come to expect, Field brings readers behind the scenes for not only the highs and lows of her star-studded early career in Hollywood, but deep into the truth of her lifelong relationships including, most importantly, her complicated love for her own mother.

Powerful and unforgettable, In Pieces is an inspiring and important account of life as a woman in the second half of the twentieth century.

Critic reviews

‘A memoir as soulful, wryly witty, and lyrical as it is candid and courageous… Eye-opening and deeply affecting… Arresting in its dark disclosures, vitality, humour, and grace, Field’s deeply felt and beautifully written memoir illuminates the experiences and emotions on which she draws as an exceptionally charismatic, empathic, and powerful artist.’

‘Impressive, candid and vivid’

‘Sally Field’s was one of the most revelatory memoirs of the year’

‘Written by the actor over seven years, without the aid of a ghostwriter (a crutch often used by celebrity authors), this somber, intimate and at times wrenching self-portrait feels like an act of personal investigation — the private act of a woman, now 71, seeking to understand how she became herself, and striving to cement together the shards of her psyche that have been chipped and shattered over the course of her life.’

‘Field fuels this aching, lyrical memoir with frankness about her emotional childhood, her conflicted relationship with the late Burt Reynolds, and how acting helped her interpret life in all its pain and beauty.’

‘Field’s “pieces" are raw, heartbreaking, sometimes maddening but each builds insight to who she is — and that’s the point. This work, as she thinks of it, is meant to reveal her, not to name-drop or tell unimportant tales about movies made long ago.’

‘Beautifully written… vividly captures the people who have meant most in her life… All come to life as if they are walking into the room where you are reading.'

'Blisteringly honest'

'In Pieces is a book that feels wrenched from its author's soul.'

'The revelations come thick and fast…Field is a real writer, her prose uncluttered and direct…beautiful in its descriptive simplicity.'

'In Pieces feels like a lengthy therapy session in which Field is tough on herself and the people around her… This is far from a typical showbusiness tale and some Field fans may regret the lack of coverage of many acclaimed films from her career. Instead, this is a painfully honest attempt to confront and understand all the personal heartbreak… An unusually intimate, heartfelt voyage of self-discovery’

In pieces by Sally Field

Powerful! We are always more than we think we are. Sally, like most of us, needed many years of gaining wisdom to realise that. Thank you Sally for revealing your soul.

Fabulous

I was sad when this finished

A remarkable story well told

Highly recommend this to anyone

Touching insight

I fully enjoyed this book, it is a profound insight of a great actress career. As well as a moving account of family relations. Thank you Isabel

Raw courage, enduring love and beautiful honesty

Fast paced eloquently told and read story of a life of courage, strong family bonds and healing. Raw honesty that is beautiful. I also loved the insights into acting skills and the life of an actor.

Great book.

Great book, very humble memoir and a beautiful story of a mother and daughter relationship