My First Five Husbands...And The Ones Who Got Away by Rue McClanahan

I am not sure that most of the Abingdon Book Group would recommend this book. If you are a fan of the Golden Girls, and want to learn more about Rue's life then you will no doubt enjoy this narrative. If you are a fan of stage and screen then this may also be a good read for you. However, most of the group thought it reflected poorly on the author. She appears self-involved, selfish and often erratic. She certainly has had a lot of husbands and lovers and some readers may be offended by her behavior. The group also questioned her treatment of her son, whom she looks after at times and at others, appears to just dump on her parents. She is very lucky to have supportive parents and as far as we could tell her son suffered no lasting harm. Perhaps Rue had to be so focused on her work in order to 'make it' as an actress. It was obviously a very difficult path to follow as a career choice as there is so much competition. She does stick to her belief that she can succeed and in the end she has both fame and a happy marriage.
The group thought the book was not very well written and we got terribly confused over which men were her husbands and which were not. She also makes much of her numerous jobs and goes into a lot of detail about these that becomes a little tedious. It seems like a list of everything she has ever done.
We were very sorry about her cancer, and the latter half of the book, as Rue matures, seems to read better and be more favorable.
This is not a book to dismiss for anyone who likes the inside scoop on their favorite stars, but we were a little disappointed, feeling that with better guidance & editing it could have been a better book. Note: One or two really enjoyed reading this. We all hope she has good health in the future.

From Publishers Weekly
The youngest Golden Girls star offers a chatty, thoughtful and effervescent tour of her surprisingly turbulent professional and private life. Like her TV alter ego Blanche Devereaux, McClanahan charts her experiences through the men in her life (and isn't shy about assigning ratings to the life in her men—she gives enthusiastic "A"s to Benson's Robert Guillaume and Brad Davis, who at the time was nine years older than her son). Days after giving birth, she was abandoned by her first husband and pushed into a second marriage (before her divorce was final). She remembers a photo taken of the event: "We looked happy. Much like smiling travelers waving from the deck of the departing Titanic." Both men continued to play large roles in her life as she navigated through numerous affairs and six marriages. After much stage work, she found success in her late 30s on TV's Maude. Later, "languishing in Love Boat limbo," she was rescued by The Golden Girls, which brought her an Emmy and financial security. Fans will relish her sweet and tart memories of friendships and tensions filming that show. A breast cancer survivor, she ends the book happily celebrating an active career and a decade with husband number six. Photos. (Apr. 10)
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