Then Again

By: Diane Keaton

Narrated by: Diane Keaton

NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY
Janet Maslin, The New York Times • People • Vogue

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR
—Financial Times • Chicago Sun-Times
The Independent • Bookreporter
The Sunday Business Post

Mom loved adages, quotes, slogans. There were always little reminders pasted on the kitchen wall. For example, the word THINK. I found THINK thumbtacked on a bulletin board in her darkroom. I saw it Scotch-taped on a pencil box she’d collaged. I even found a pamphlet titled THINK on her bedside table. Mom liked to THINK.

So begins Diane Keaton’s unforgettable memoir about her mother and herself. In it you will meet the woman known to tens of millions as Annie Hall, but you will also meet, and fall in love with, her mother, the loving, complicated, always-thinking Dorothy Hall. To write about herself, Diane realized she had to write about her mother, too, and how their bond came to define both their lives. In a remarkable act of creation, Diane not only reveals herself to us, she also lets us meet in intimate detail her mother. Over the course of her life, Dorothy kept eighty-five journals—literally thousands of pages—in which she wrote about her marriage, her children, and, most probingly, herself. Dorothy also recorded memorable stories about Diane’s grandparents. Diane has sorted through these pages to paint an unflinching portrait of her mother—a woman restless with intellectual and creative energy, struggling to find an outlet for her talents—as well as her entire family, recounting a story that spans four generations and nearly a hundred years.

More than the autobiography of a legendary actress, Then Again is a book about a very American family with very American dreams. Diane will remind you of yourself, and her bonds with her family will remind you of your own relationships with those you love the most.

Critic reviews

“For anyone looking to join one woman’s—albeit a famous woman’s—touching and funny journey into the vortex that is the parent-child relationship, Then Again features an especially honest tour guide.”—USA Today

“[A] rich and ruminative autobiographical journey.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editor’s Choice)

“Although peek-behind-the-curtain moments are delicious—Woody Allen! Warren Beatty! Jack Nicholson! . . . this is a [memoir] about a mother and a daughter, with insights and confessions and lessons to which all readers can relate.”—The Wall Street Journal

“Both heartbreaking and joyful, [Then Again] covers the gamut of life experiences facing all women.”—Chicago Sun-Times

“A poem about women living in one another’s not uncomplicated memories. . . . Part of what makes Diane Keaton’s memoir, Then Again, truly amazing is that she does away with the star’s ‘me’ and replaces it with a daughter’s ‘I.’ ”—Hilton Als, The New Yorker

“This book feels like Diane Keaton. Which means it’s lovable.”—Entertainment Weekly

“As warm, funny, and self-deprecating as Keaton’s onscreen persona—[Then Again] traces a profound dramatic arc: that of a young woman coming into her own as an artist, and of a daughter becoming a mother.”—Vogue

“Then Again reads like the diary of an ordinary woman who suddenly became a movie star, who doesn’t quite believe any of it happened, but it did.”—Los Angeles Times

There's more than one reason to like Diane Keaton

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, Definitely.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Then Again?

The continuous reminder to 'Think'. I felt it was such a profound word and simple statement for a woman suffering from Alzheimer disease, during and before the disease started talking affect.

What about Diane Keaton’s performance did you like?

Her voice is always soothing but I think her realism really gets to me in this performance. Letting people know... it doesn't matter who you are... the things we all deal with in life are alike, though never the same.

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

Then Again... I might mirror my Mother but during her struggles, I found my own way to reflect in what has made me who I am... more a part of her than I realized and much a stronger self.

Meh.

I find her self depreciating speak seems somewhat inauthentic given how her stories always seem to be about even when supposedly about others. I also find her over the top flattery and romantic rose colored glasses view of Woody Allen a bit nauseating.

Once in great while

One son of while someone writes a book, a memoir, so poignant that there are no words. I admired Diane Keaton for so many years for being so original and so very herself. She has now written a memoir that is so original and so very much herself. I can only say thank you.

Coulda been better

Would you try another book from Diane Keaton and/or Diane Keaton?

I liked some of the book, but found Diane Keaton's voice/narration distracting. I felt like she was doing too much performing and laughing at her own jokes. If she weren't a famous actress, I doubt the writing alone would have gotten the book published.

It's as if Diane was sitting across from you.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Diane's story is simple, loving and you realize that she is just like any other woman. Great listening.