Daring: My Passages audiobook

This memoir takes us from Gail's childhood through to the present.She talks about her family: her troubled relationship with her father, her mother's battle with ambition versus expectations, her sister's struggle with addiction, her marriage and divorce, her off and on relationship with Clay Felker, and her daughters.She shows us how her career developed, who helped her along the way, and why she covered the controversial subjects she did.Clay started out as a mentor, became a lover, was distanced as she took her career in a new direction, and reentered her life as a true husband and partner.Sheehy is candid about her ambition, the risks she took, the passions that drove her, and the rewards that came with her success.She was one of the first journalists to embed herself in stories from conflicts to cultures, the first to write indepth character portraits of world leaders, and one of the first women to really make it in the male world of journalism.Her reflections are open, showing us both the highs and the lows, the successes and the failures, the joy and the sorrow.This is an amazing read about the life of an amazing woman.

Interesting memoir by bestselling author Gail Sheehy author of a great number of bestselling books and culture-defining articles. A bonus for publishing historians is the inside look at the height of new journalism and the age of the magazine through her relationship with Clay Felker.I read this book for the second time to update and expand the terrible Wikipedia article on Sheehy. She is important and deserved better coverage. I hope I've fixed that now.

This book is a great addendum to her Passages books. Brutally honest, she covers her life in a daring way. In parts, she writes about her husband and his work with magazine publishing and I found myself wishing she would reveal more of her view on what was happening rather than his take on the story. That's a fairly minor quibble, though. Definitely worth the time it took to read.

Given To Me For An Honest ReviewGail Sheehy's book Daring: My Passages: A Memoir is an interesting read. I remember reading Passages and that was phenomenal and beyond a bestseller. This one was interesting as it gave new insight on well known historical and popular persons and events. She shares with the reader her life from childhood through her adulthood. It is interesting and readable. I enjoyed reading it. I recommend it to all.

The book has some faults. It could be more reflective. That being said I enjoyed the book very much. It does a good job of telling what it was like to be a single mom and work in a man's world. I especially enjoyed the stories about Clay Felker and the many writers he nurtured.. If '"Passages" was one of those books that influenced you then you will enjoy knowing the author's story.

Like many other reviewers, I read Gail's book, Passages, years ago. What an incredible, full life she has led. I had no idea she was such a prolific writer whose path crossed with many famous and influential leaders and writers. She is an inspiration, still.

readably interesting Checked this book out from the online library because it was “available” and I really like her writing. Not only was it a memoir of her life, but a great look into current history. I learned a lot about world leaders from it.

I learned plenty about the life of author and literary journalist Gail Sheehy reading her memoir. I have to admit I skipped over some of the pithy details about the politics of publishing and the lives of certain politicians and public figures she met in the course of her career. What interested me the most was her personal life: her struggles as a woman in a man's world, as a writer chasing unconventional stories of interest to women, and as a single mother to two daughters, one of them adopted from Cambodia. I also enjoyed reading about her long romance with her mentor/best friend/sometime publisher Clay Felker. They married after almost two decades of an on and off (mostly on) relationship. The last chapters of the memoir leading up to Clay's death were heart-wrenching, yet wonderful. Gail was able to structure palliative care for Clay at home and ultimately, he had what you would call a "good death". Her role as his caretaker led her to write her most recent nonfiction book, Passages in Caretaking, and to an interesting job with AARP. Sheehy's landmark book, Passages, surely changed the world for the better. For many, reading Passages became a rite of passage. Reading about her colorful and extremely interesting life was my privilege and I am glad she took the time to write a memoir.

Gail Sheehy was a trail blazer, affecting the world with her writing. In her biography she chronicles the years of finding herself in the life and times of her world and in love with an incredible man, who encouraged her in her freedom of expression.Being an exceptional writer, she summarizes he full life quite beautifully. This book flows very nicely and is a pleasure to read. She describes the passages of her own life, as she has made a career of describing passages. She describes one of her earliest passages as she covered the NRA in Ireland and found herself in the middle of Bloody Sunday in Belfast.Her life was full as she interviewed the likes of Bobby Kennedy, George Howard Bush, Mikhail Gorbechev, and Hillary Clinton among many others. She wrote about wide ranging subjects from Cambodian refugees of Pol Pot to the unspeakable subject of menopause and turned it into a bestseller.She was very candid about her loss in the fight against cancer in her late husband, her late development of alcoholism. I was thoroughly engaged as well as touched by this book. 5 stars for me.

Gail Sheehy is a well-respected magazine solumnist who made a name for herself through serious in-depth research jounalism. Her breakthrough book "Passages" showed people, especially women, that they were not alone in their life choices and changes. She followed that with a series of additional Passages-type books, in addition to her detailed political biographical reportage, and lifestyle items for The Daily Beast. She worked for New York magazine, where she met editor Clay Felker, the on-again-off-again love of her life; for Vanity Fair under two great editors, Tina Brown and Graydon Carter; and as a freelancer throughout. Becoming a high powered high flyer seems the end-game for Sheehy. Altthough her final chapters are about Clay's illness and death, her alcoholism and renewal, and a new love, the name dropping is endemic throughout the book, some of it gratuitous. Enjoyably readable, yes. Enviable, no.

Gail Sheehy seems like a fascinating person, and she's led a really interesting life. I'm really surprised that I've never heard of her before. Apparently she's best known for Passages, a book I'm fairly certain my mom had on her bookshelf in the '70s. She worked on some interesting magazines with fantastic people such as Tom Wolfe. She had a dinner party for Henry Kissinger. She was in Derry for Bloody Sunday. She meditated with the Maharishi. She adopted a Cambodian refugee. Like I said - fascinating. It got a little rambling and name-droppy at times, but I suppose that's a pitfall of a memoir - what it's supposed to do. I have to admit that I even got a bit verklempt towards the end, but I don't want to give anything away. It was an enjoyable and very interesting read. 

I enjoyed the author's recollections and stories of her life, her challenges/triumphs and especially the stories about the media, issues, politics etc. It was particularly challenging for me to read the chapters on the death of her husband, as I had gone through a similar passage in my life. I admired the honesty and insights, but the pull of emotions was painful. Her courage and strength came through in a way that can encourage and inspire others. The pure honesty of her self-reflection was to be admired. Personally, I could have done with a little less name-dropping; that's more a reflection of personal style than a criticism of the author.

What a fascinating life Gail Sheehy is living.I wasn't aware of her remarkable career until I saw this book on one of the daily deal emails. However, I became instantly intrigued and placed it on hold with the library as soon as I read the blurbs.This book should be a must read for writers of any genre. She has a beautiful voice and I was right away intrigued by Ms. Sheehy's story. She is now a role model to me as a writer and a pioneer in feminism. I especially enjoyed the parts about the Kennedy family and her insights behind the writing of her political pieces.Read this book. You won't be disappointed.

Gail Sheehy is probably best know for her book Passages(1976.) Besides being the author of 17 books she is a journalist. She covered Robert Kennedy's campaign as a young reporter, studying transcendental meditation, reported on The Black Panthers, Gloria Steinham and the birth of Ms. Magazine. She interviewed many political leaders including Margaret Thatcher and Hillary Clinton. She also talks about her personal life with Clay Felker founder of New York magazine and takes on the subjects of feminism, motherhood, menopause and caregiving. A fascinating read of a very dynamic woman. Excellent audiobook reader.

I read this memoir because I enjoy the history of the 60s and 70s and the development of new journalism, of which Sheehy was a contributor, and her account of her life during this time period did not disappoint. She certainly led an interesting life and rubbed shoulders with some literary, publishing and political giants, such as Tom Woolfe, Henry Kissinger, Gloria Steinem and her husband Clay Felker. This is a gossipy, name-dropping memoir which is tacky perhaps but it makes it much more fun to read. It is boastful and self-congratulatory and she comes across as being both egotistical and very insecure but I applaud her honesty and her writing style.