Goodbye, winter caps—hello, summer hats! It’s that glorious time of year where many of us can switch from content creators to content consumers. NYWIFT members Mellini Kantayya and Kathryn O’Kane have put together #SummerHours, a series of fun summer books, movies, and TV shows by or about women.
By Kathryn O’Kane
“I get to hear from a lot of different people about relationships and this got me trying to figure out why the divorce rate is SO high. It occurred to me that as one who has done it badly often, I might have some insight.”
— If Someone Says ‘You Complete Me,’ Run! Whoopi’s Big Book of Relationships
Whoopi Goldberg (NYWIFT Muse Honoree ’03) is a distinguished artist, humanitarian, and very funny person. Like fellow Muse Honoree Rita Moreno (’96), Goldberg is one of only 12 performers to win all four major artistic awards: the Oscar, the Emmy, the Grammy and the Tony. She is currently a host of the talk show The View.
Ms. Goldberg wrote the 2015 book, If Someone Says ‘You Complete Me,’ Run! Whoopi’s Big Book of Relationships, as a response to a recurring issue on her show — what she sees as the lack of self-care among her audience.
“Women seem to think that they don’t have time or can’t spend time working on themselves or deepening their relationships with themselves.”
The result is a lighthearted look at relationships in Ms. Goldberg’s singular voice, which disguises a more serious question: “Are you a fully realized person? If they [your partner] complete you, they can deconstruct you, too.”
No topic is off limits and all are delivered with a sense of humor and the ease of conversation, including:
- Why get into a relationship?
- How do you deal with your partner’s friends when they are scum bags?
- How to be friends with your ex.
- How do you tell your friend “Girl?!” without being mean about her relationship?
Do yourself a favor and listen to the audiobook read by the author. If you close your eyes, it’s as if Ms. Goldberg is dishing advice over coffee.
(Cover photo by Bridgette Matthews)
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