Call Me Anne

February 17, 2023

Emmy Award--winning actress Heche, who died at the age of 53 in a car crash in August 2022, left behind an unfinished memoir, which would have been her second. Her first, Call Me Crazy, was published in 2001; it included details about her rise to fame, her childhood history of sexual abuse, her father's death from AIDS, and her relationship with Ellen DeGeneres, which led to societal and professional backlash. This follow-up is a combination of memoir and inspirational life lessons. In each of the book's 11 chapters, Heche shares personal anecdotes, such as meeting Harrison Ford and an alleged sexual misconduct incident with Harvey Weinstein. The anecdotes are followed by a self-acceptance "practice" and a challenge to readers to explore life-enhancing activities, such as enjoying music or cultivating strength. Heche's story is compelling but sad; she overcame adversity only to have her life end tragically and early. Interestingly, the memoir's final chapter is called "Live: The Practice of Joy." The book, nearly completed at the time of Heche's death, was finished by friend and fellow podcaster Heather Duffy (Heche and Duffy's podcast was called Better Together); Duffy also writes the book's epilogue. VERDICT A candid, vulnerable insight into Heche's life that will appeal to fans and to those who have been abused.--Rosellen "Rosy" Brewer

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2023
The late actor offers a gentle guide for living with more purpose, love, and joy. Mixing poetry, prescriptive challenges, and elements of memoir, Heche (1969-2022) delivers a narrative that is more encouraging workbook than life story. The author wants to share what she has discovered over the course of a life filled with abuse, advocacy, and uncanny turning points. Her greatest discovery? Love. "Open yourself up to love and transform kindness from a feeling you extend to those around you to actions that you perform for them," she writes. "Only by caring can we open ourselves up to the universe, and only by opening up to the universe can we fully experience all the wonders that it holds, the greatest of which is love." Throughout the occasionally overwrought text, Heche is heavy on the concept of care. She wants us to experience joy as she does, and she provides a road map for how to get there. Instead of slinking away from Hollywood and the ridicule that she endured there, Heche found the good and hung on, with Alec Baldwin and Harrison Ford starring as particularly shining knights in her story. Some readers may dismiss this material as vapid Hollywood stuff, but Heche's perspective is an empathetic blend of Buddhism (minimize suffering), dialectical behavioral therapy (tolerating distress), Christianity (do unto others), and pre-Socratic philosophy (sufficient reason). "You're not out to change the whole world, but to increase the levels of love and kindness in the world, drop by drop," she writes. "Over time, these actions wear away the coldness, hate, and indifference around us as surely as water slowly wearing away stone." Readers grieving her loss will take solace knowing that she lived her love-filled life on her own terms. Heche's business and podcast partner, Heather Duffy, writes the epilogue, closing the book on a life well lived. A sweet final word from an actor who leaves a legacy of compassion and kindness.

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