About Your Father and Other Celebrities I Have Known
About Your Father and Other Celebrities I Have Known

Author: Peggy Rowe

Publisher: Forefront Books

Published: 2020-04-14

Total Pages: 121

ISBN-13: 194867744X

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Peggy Rowe is at it again—this time giving a hilarious inside look at growing up Rowe, both before and after Mike’s rise to fame. Since the day they said, “I do,” Peggy’s previous “doting” lifestyle met with her husband John’s minimalist ways and became the backdrop for years of adventure and a quirky sense of humor because of their differences. From thoughts of wearing headlamps in the house to save energy, to squeezing out the last drop of toothpaste with a workbench vise, Peggy learned to pick her battles and celebrate the hilarity in each situation. Once their boys were born, woodstove mishaps and garbage dumping tales were the seed for Mike’s obsession with doing dirty jobs and the comical presence he is known for today. As Mike rose to fame, Peggy was his biggest fan—who gave motherly advice and constructive criticism, of course. She baked cookies for Mike to take to Joan Rivers for a Christmas party hostess gift, and even wrote fan letters under faux names and mailed them from different cities to Mike’s producer. By the time Mike hits it big, Peggy and John retire to face more adventures, with a lightning strike in their condo, an elderly friend who ate marijuana leaves, and entering into celebrity status by making Viva paper towel and Lee jeans commercials, plus so much more. Peggy’s stories relive the details that intrigue and entertain old and new fans alike. So if you want a bigger, even funnier take on the Rowe family, About Your Father and Other Celebrities I Have Known delivers.

About My Mother
About My Mother

Author: Peggy Rowe

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2018-11-13

Total Pages: 255

ISBN-13: 1948677172

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A Message from Mike Rowe, the Dirty Jobs Guy: Just to be clear, About My Mother is a book about my grandmother, written by my mother. That’s not to say it’s not about my mother—it is. In fact, About My Mother is as much about my mother as it is about my grandmother. In that sense, it’s really a book about “mothers.” …It is not, however, a book written by me. True, I did write the foreword. But it doesn’t mean I’ve written a book about my mother. I haven’t. Nor does it mean my mother’s book is about her son. It isn’t. It’s about my grandmother. And my mother. Just to be clear.—Mike A love letter to mothers everywhere, About My Mother will make you laugh and cry—and see yourself in its reflection. Peggy Rowe’s story of growing up as the daughter of Thelma Knobel is filled with warmth and humor. But Thelma could be your mother—there’s a Thelma in everyone’s life. She’s the person taking charge—the one who knows instinctively how things should be. Today, Thelma would be described as an alpha personality, but while growing up, her daughter Peggy saw her as a dictator—albeit a benevolent, loving one. They clashed from the beginning—Peggy, the horse-crazy tomboy, and Thelma, the genteel-yet-still-controlling mother, committed to raising two refined, ladylike daughters. Good luck. When major league baseball came to town in the early 1950s and turned sophisticated Thelma into a crazed Baltimore Orioles groupie, nobody was more surprised and embarrassed than Peggy. Life became a series of compromises—Thelma tolerating a daughter who pitched manure and galloped the countryside, while Peggy learned to tolerate the whacky Orioles fan who threw her underwear at the television, shouted insults at umpires, and lived by the orange-and-black schedule taped to the refrigerator door. Sometimes it takes a little distance to appreciate the people we love.

About Your Father and Other Celebrities I Have Known
About Your Father and Other Celebrities I Have Known

Author: Peggy Rowe

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2020-04-14

Total Pages: 267

ISBN-13: 1948677458

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Peggy Rowe is at it again—this time giving a hilarious inside look at growing up Rowe, both before and after Mike’s rise to fame. Since the day they said, “I do,” Peggy’s previous “doting” lifestyle met with her husband John’s minimalist ways and became the backdrop for years of adventure and a quirky sense of humor because of their differences. From thoughts of wearing headlamps in the house to save energy, to squeezing out the last drop of toothpaste with a workbench vise, Peggy learned to pick her battles and celebrate the hilarity in each situation. Once their boys were born, woodstove mishaps and garbage dumping tales were the seed for Mike’s obsession with doing dirty jobs and the comical presence he is known for today. As Mike rose to fame, Peggy was his biggest fan—who gave motherly advice and constructive criticism, of course. She baked cookies for Mike to take to Joan Rivers for a Christmas party hostess gift, and even wrote fan letters under faux names and mailed them from different cities to Mike’s producer. By the time Mike hits it big, Peggy and John retire to face more adventures, with a lightning strike in their condo, an elderly friend who ate marijuana leaves, and entering into celebrity status by making Viva paper towel and Lee jeans commercials, plus so much more. Peggy’s stories relive the details that intrigue and entertain old and new fans alike. So if you want a bigger, even funnier take on the Rowe family, About Your Father and Other Celebrities I Have Known delivers.

Reading My Father
Reading My Father

Author: Alexandra Styron

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2011-04-19

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 1416595066

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PART MEMOIR AND PART ELEGY, READING MY FATHER IS THE STORY OF A DAUGHTER COMING TO KNOW HER FATHER AT LAST— A GIANT AMONG TWENTIETH-CENTURY AMERICAN NOVELISTS AND A MAN WHOSE DEVASTATING DEPRESSION DARKENED THE FAMILY LANDSCAPE. In Reading My Father, William Styron’s youngest child explores the life of a fascinating and difficult man whose own memoir, Darkness Visible, so searingly chronicled his battle with major depression. Alexandra Styron’s parents—the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Sophie’s Choice and his political activist wife, Rose—were, for half a century, leading players on the world’s cultural stage. Alexandra was raised under both the halo of her father’s brilliance and the long shadow of his troubled mind. A drinker, a carouser, and above all “a high priest at the altar of fiction,” Styron helped define the concept of The Big Male Writer that gave so much of twentieth-century American fiction a muscular, glamorous aura. In constant pursuit of The Great Novel, he and his work were the dominant force in his family’s life, his turbulent moods the weather in their ecosystem. From Styron’s Tidewater, Virginia, youth and precocious literary debut to the triumphs of his best-known books and on through his spiral into depression, Reading My Father portrays the epic sweep of an American artist’s life, offering a ringside seat on a great literary generation’s friendships and their dramas. It is also a tale of filial love, beautifully written, with humor, compassion, and grace.

Grateful American
Grateful American

Author: Gary Sinise

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Published: 2019-02-12

Total Pages: 305

ISBN-13: 1400208130

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Discover the moving, entertaining, never-before-told story of how one man found his calling: to see that those who defend this country and its freedoms are never forgotten. As a kid in suburban Chicago, Gary Sinise was more interested in sports and rock 'n' roll than reading or schoolwork. But when he impulsively auditioned for a school production of West Side Story, he found his true purpose--or so it seemed. Within a few years, Gary and a handful of friends created what became one of the most exciting and important new theater companies in America. From its humble beginnings in a suburban Chicago church basement and eventual move into the city, the Steppenwolf Theatre Company launched a series of groundbreaking productions, igniting Gary's career along with those of John Malkovich, Joan Allen, Gary Cole, Laurie Metcalf, Jeff Perry, John Mahoney, and countless others. Television and film came calling soon after, and Gary starred in Of Mice and Men (which he also directed) and The Stand before taking the role that would change his life in unforeseeable ways: Lieutenant Dan in the Academy Award-winning Forrest Gump. The military community's embrace of the character of the disabled veteran was matched only by the depth of Gary's realization that America's defenders had not received all the honor, respect, and gratitude their sacrifices deserve. In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, this became Gary's new calling. Grateful American, now a New York Times bestseller, documents Gary's dedication to working tirelessly on behalf of those who serve this country, sharing stories about how he has: Entertained more than a half million troops around the world playing bass guitar with his Lt. Dan Band Raised funds on behalf of veterans Founded the Gary Sinise Foundation with a mission to serve and honor America's defenders, veterans, first responders, their families, and those in need Grateful American is the moving, entertaining, profoundly gripping story of how one man found his life's work: to see that those who defend this country and its freedoms are never forgotten. Praise for Grateful American: "Gary Sinise writes as he lives, and as the artist and actor he has always been: with American authenticity, purpose, and a conviction that is inseparable from his nature." --Tom Hanks, actor and filmmaker "No entertainer alive today has visited and performed more for our troops at veterans hospitals and military bases all over the world than Gary Sinise. For years his foundation has built 'smart homes' for our troops that were severely wounded in combat. The book is called Grateful American, and I promise that after you read it you will be grateful for what Gary has accomplished and contributed to our country. He's truly one of a kind." --Clint Eastwood, actor, director, producer, and musician

The Way I Heard It
The Way I Heard It

Author: Mike Rowe

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2021-10-19

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 1982131470

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Emmy-award winning gadfly Rowe presents a ridiculously entertaining, seriously fascinating collection of his favorite episodes from America's #1 short-form podcast, The Way I Heard It, along with a host of memories, ruminations, illustrations, and insights.

Liking Myself Back
Liking Myself Back

Author: Jacey Duprie

Publisher: Harlequin

Published: 2022-06-07

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 0369715985

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Entrepreneur and lifestyle influencer Jacey Duprie shares her inspiring journey of going from farm girl to fashion icon and her lessons about personal growth and self-made success. With millions of followers and a thriving lifestyle brand, Damsel in Dior, Jacey Duprie is one of today’s top fashion influencers. Her beautiful Instagram photos capture a life of glamour, luxury and elegance. But Jacey’s life offline has been far from perfect. In this candid memoir, Jacey reveals that behind her gorgeously curated photos was a woman struggling with deep insecurities. She shares intimate details of a difficult childhood growing up in rural Texas with an alcoholic father and her own battles with PTSD and mental health. Through resilience, hard work and self-reflection, Jacey eventually triumphed to become the strong, empowered woman she is today. In Liking Myself Back, Jacey takes readers behind the scenes into the seductive world of fashion and influencing, and reveals how she overcame hardship to achieve her dreams. With raw emotional honesty, Jacey shows that conquering self-doubt and embracing your imperfect, authentic self is not only possible, but is the true key to happiness.

Ghetto Celebrity
Ghetto Celebrity

Author: Donnell Alexander

Publisher: Crown

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13:

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Donnell Alexander grew up sideways in the cramped spaces of Sandusky, Ohio, the son of a devout mother and a dad named Delbert, a protean genius who jacked a thousand identities—from pimpin’ them hoes to preaching the gospel—but skipped out on fatherhood when his son was in diapers. Donnell unwittingly replayed Delbert’s tragedy as farce until he finally wrote himself his own story, becoming a star of California’s freewheeling alternative press, spreading the gospels of punk and hip-hop in print. After finding a career and starting a family of his own, Donnell was drawn to reconnect with the vanished Delbert, and when he did, things fell apart, as they tend to in the grip of ghetto celebrity. Told in multiple voices, freestyle raps, and a graphic interlude, this is the riotous story of one writer’s mission to find truth in the margins and an engrossing tale about phantom fathers and the sons they leave behind.

Little by Little
Little by Little

Author: Rich Little

Publisher: Dog Ear Publishing

Published: 2017-01-25

Total Pages: 254

ISBN-13: 1457544393

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“How did I become an impersonator? Perhaps my mother was conceived by a Zerox machine!” So, how did a kid from Ottawa, Canada, growing up in the ’50s become an impressionist? No one in our family had ever been in show business. No one ever had “show biz” yearnings. My father was a doctor. My mother was a housewife. So where did my desire to become an impressionist come from? I’ve often asked myself this question. I didn’t know the answer, but I did love the movies. As a boy, I would go every weekend, sometimes staying to see the show twice. Just going to the movies and getting so involved in the storytelling and the characters made me want to be that person up on the screen, never dreaming that I could turn it into a career. The glory days of Hollywood and their icons, like no other, have remained as indelible images in our hearts and minds for decades. I, like many, idolized these giants of the screen and comedy, but was so fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet, work with, and get to know many of them along the way during my career. From the genius of Jack Benny, the unmatched humor of George Burns, the debonair, handsome Cary Grant, the unforgettable John Wayne, the king of late night hosts Johnny Carson, and the former actor-turned-president Ronald Reagan to name a few. In this gem of a book are insights into the likes of many of these great people I’ve had the privilege and fortune to meet and imitate, shining new light on our beloved stars. This is really not a biography, but more of a humorous glimpse of the people I’ve impersonated and some of the funny stories that happened along the way.

If He Had Been with Me
If He Had Been with Me

Author: Laura Nowlin

Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.

Published: 2013-04-02

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 1402277849

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If he had been with me everything would have been different... I wasn't with Finn on that August night. But I should've been. It was raining, of course. And he and Sylvie were arguing as he drove down the slick road. No one ever says what they were arguing about. Other people think it's not important. They do not know there is another story. The story that lurks between the facts. What they do not know—the cause of the argument—is crucial. So let me tell you...