Well this is quite the article, if you haven't read the book yet: http://nerd-utopia.tumblr.com/post/116531084157
It's been a busy week and I haven't had time to go pick up a copy but after reading that article, I will make time!
It was a lovely evening. The Barnes & Noble that she appeared at is by Union Square in NYC. Union Square is a smallish park on 14th St - 17th St. in Manhattan. The weather was gorgeous and the area was teeming with people. I bought the book and was sent to the top floor. I found a seat a bit behind the reserved seating. I think that maybe around 100 people were in attendance. I was seated next to an older woman who wanted her OITNB cook book signed, although anything other than Kate's book we were told that she wouldn't sign. I told the lady to ask her anyway and she did. Kate was gracious enough to sign it for her. To my left there was a young woman who was a stage manager by profession. Kate appeared on time and there was a short talk about her book. The interviewer was the well known writer, Augusten Burroughs (Running with Scissors). Apparently they are friends. Kate read a few lines from her book and then sat to chat with Burroughs. He asked her about the process of writing and she said that she had loved it. Kate said that she had rented a house by the beach and worked every day on the book. She would start around 9 AM and finish at 5 PM. She did this for some weeks. Kate basically talked about what has already been reported; about growing up in IA in a large Irish family, the daughter she put up for adoption and becoming an actress. It was sad to hear her tell that a few days after giving birth, she had to deliver a moving speech on Ryan's Hope while holding a doll (her real life pregnancy had been included in the soap). She swore love and protection to the fake baby, all along knowing that she couldn't do the same for her own child. She said that during the monologue she kept telling herself not to lose it and cry. It was the hardest scene she ever had to do in her acting career, it was too close to real life. Overall, Kate was witty, articulate and funny. That section of the night lasted about 20 minutes and then the floor was open to questions from the audience. Someone asked her about playing Captain Janeway and she said that it was the most memorable role of her life. She responded to another that she only had rejected twice an acting role and that it was because they had required nudity. Some of the questions were about acting (there were some students from Stella Adler, where Kate trained in her youth). I had the last question of the night. Mine was about acting too. I told her that she had trained with Adler and I had trained around the corner at Lee Strasberg's and wanted to know if she was planning on holding an acting workshop to talk about the craft. She said that at the moment no. Kate had mentioned at one point that she was afraid to read the reviews of the book. I prepared before I went and read many reviews. So I told her that she didn't have to worry about reading the reviews because they all had been very positive (which is true). At that point the audience clapped and cheered. Kate laughed and joked that she wanted to talk to me afterward. We were guided up to the raised dais to get our photo taken and the book signed. She thanked me for my previous comment and I wished her luck in all future endeavors. BTW, she's prettier in person than on TV. She looks a lot more petite than she does on OITNB. I think that the baggy clothes on the show make her look bigger. I mention it because I have read some comments in the past about her having gained weight. Yes, she's not as thin as she was on Voyager, but she was tiny then. To me, she looked to be at a healthy weight. In the audience she had some of her friends, and of note, one of her sisters. Her sister is just as pretty and had long blonde hair. The actor that was in attendance and I recognized was Daniel Davis who played "Niles" on The Nanny. Some people went up to him and asked him for a photo. I left after Kate signed my book. So I don't know how late she stayed. I enjoyed myself and wouldn't mind meeting her again. She's a cool woman.
When I first heard weeks ago that this book was coming out, I didn't find out through the usual Trek channels (or even the OITNB crowd), but rather from the Land of Gazillion Adoptees website/facebook page about the myriad of topics regarding adopted children and their adopted parents. They eagerly anticipted the book because Mulgrew said she would talk about her history, but also because much of their staff are understandably Janeway fans as well But they've been looking forward to the book because it also sheds light on and encourages discussion about the complexities of adoption/being an adoptee, as well as the societal and historical contexts that go with it. It's not something that's discussed much in media.
I forgot to mention the first, and most poignant, question of the evening. A woman told Kate that she had been adopted through Catholic Charities and that it took her years to find her birth mother. She eventually did find her and it was a happy reunion. Kate looked moved, the ages of her daughter and this woman were quite similar.
You're welcome. It was an interesting evening and I learned a bit more about the real person behind the actress.
Beawild Thank you for the interesting report. To all who own the book already . Has Kate written some interesting things about the Voyagercastmembers, working together, relationsship between them?
I'm not that far yet, but I was surprised to discover that she's known/been friends with Rene Auberjonois since the late 70's/early 80's. Here's another favorable review. https://www.kirkusreviews.com/features/kate-mulgrew/ Hey, Beawild... do these look familiar? http://www.totallykate.com/kate-mulgrew-union-square-book-signing.html Here's a 24 min interview with her webmistress. (Ignore the ringing phone. ) https://soundcloud.com/totallykate-website/kate-mulgrew-interview-april-15-2015 They talk about her audio book reading... I don't think I could listen to her tell the story. Reading is about as intimate as I want to get with this story. ETA: I'm not reading this next article until I'm done with the book, but if you don't want to wait... here you go. http://www.people.com/article/kate-mulgrew-daughter-danielle-gaudette-tells-her-story
I actually went into a bookstore to see if they had it yesterday but of course they did not because our bookstores are crap. I was also looking for another book which was 12 dollars on booktopia and they did have it, for 32 dollars. As I said, crap.
Teacake, I'm more than halfway through and am enjoying it immensely (except for 1 chapter, as you might guess ). If your online booksellers are like ours, they already have "used" copies for sale that you can snap up for less than the 32 Australian dollar rate you've seen so far. For example, Amazon is selling for 18, but other sellers have priced as low as 13+ and the used versions are going for as little as 12 dollars American. http://www.amazon.com/Born-Teeth-Me...id=1429419775&sr=1-1&keywords=born+with+teeth
We don't really have online booksellers like that, most are linked to the US. I know someone who has ordered it so I will probably read hers. Maybe I should buy this instead.. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Born-wit...10?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item51cd32824a
Yeah, I saw that. "scarred with 45 wounds, all on the front" and laughed. "Sheez" I said to myself. "Doesn't the writer know it should be 47 times???" ETA: New interviews coming up. Today (interview or book review, I'm not sure,) http://www.cbsnews.com/sunday-morning/ Tuesday... interview. https://twitter.com/genadmissionchi/status/589507891008303105/photo/1
The "CBS Sunday Morning" segment was an interview with Kate and eventually with her daughter. It was great. Of course, after that was the memorial to Lauren Hill, the 19 year old Basket Ball player who died last week and I cried for a life lived in microcosm compared to most of us. Someone who was only 2 years old when Kate finally found her Danielle. http://www.cincinnati.com/story/spo...augherty-lauren-hill-never-gives-up/20439437/ Good Night, Sweet Princess and may bands of angels guide thee to your rest.
Well, I stretched it out as long as possible but eventually all good books come to an end. And yes, it was a very good book. On the CBS interview I mentioned above, the interviewer asked Kate why she wrote it, and she said simply "because I wanted to be known." http://www.cbsnews.com/news/kate-mulgrews-quest/ Not known as Mary Ryan, or Kathryn Janeway or eventually Galina Reznikov, but known as Kate Mulgrew. She accomplished her task. Now we'll sit and wonder if there will be a "volume 2". http://www.people.com/article/kate-mulgrew-daughter-adopted-meeting
I'll be honest, I was not that impressed with the book. It was a quick, fairly interesting read, but I did not care for all of the information about husbands/lovers.