Dear Cary audiobook

This book started out a little choppy but quickly became engrossing. I've had an interest in Cary Grant ever since I saw him in the comedy "Arsenic and Old Lace" as a kid. From the outside he appeared to have it all -- talent, sophistication, popularity, and money. But to be in a relationship with him was apparently a completely different thing.I had previously read Maureen Donaldson's "An Affair to Remember: My Life With Cary Grant," in which she mentions Dyan Cannon a couple times. (Donaldson dated Grant a few years after his divorce with Cannon.) She made it clear that Cannon had been a very important part of Grant's life (and was the mother of his only child), so when I saw that Cannon had finally written a book about the experience, I snapped it up.Although the writing is a bit light and fluffy for my taste at times, Cannon does a good job of taking us along for the ride as Grant courts her and ultimately marries her. But this is where the story takes a turn for the dark. Grant made it clear to her from the beginning that he had been married three times before and did not feel like he had another marriage in him. This, combined with the way he finally proposes to her, gave me the impression that he did not want to be married -- he simply did not want to lose her. Their marriage was doomed from the start.I will not spoil what happens next; suffice it to say that I became completely engrossed as the rest of the tale unspooled, and found myself living inside Cannon's head with her thoughts and feelings. She gives us a complete understanding as to why she would want (or NEED) to divorce one of the most desired men in the world.We are definitely only getting one side of the story here, but Cannon writes about Grant with love and compassion despite their hardships. There's no libel or gossip here, just the telling of one of the most pivotal and impactful periods in her life.Ultimately, I found this to be a very tragic series of events. These two people really could have had it all, but in my opinion it was Cary's dark side that prevented him from staying in most of his relationships for very long. Given all his accomplishments, I wish he could have been as happy as people thought he was.

As a fan of Cary Grant's, I really wanted to read this book. I started reading it yesterday and couldn't put it down until I finished it.I certainly learned a lot about a man I knew nothing about beyond his films. He, like many people, was flawed. He had issues. While I certainly can't speak for him, I would venture to say that many of his issues were a direct result of the trauma he experienced as a child. Imagine being 10 years old and told that your mom was dead. Then imagine 20 years later being told that it was all a lie, and that she was really alive. I think I would also have issues. But that certainly doesn't excuse the way he treated people. However, it does give you some food for thought.I admire Dyan Cannon for writing this book. I imagine that it was very difficult to write it. She told a story about a man she loved and about a man that people probably saw as GOD. She told that story with grace, dignity, respect, and above all else, the truth. It would have been easy to write a touchy-feely story about him. Instead, she told the truth. Good, bad, flaws and all, she put it all out there.As fans, we see celebrities as GODS who do no wrong. We always want to believe the best about them. But the reality is that they are just like us. They are people too. They hurt just like us. They deal with trauma just like us. They have issues just like us. This was a great book. I still love his films. But I have a new perspective on who he was. It doesn't make him evil. It makes him human.

This is how you write a celebrity memoir - don't start with where you were born, raised, etc., start with the most important moment - for Dyan Cannon that was when her agent phoned her in Rome and said get back to Los Angeles, Cary Grant wants to meet you. Fans of Cary Grant will want to read this - he was just as charming, polite, cultured in real life as he was on screen. At least he was as a boyfriend. As a husband he became a controlling, overwhelming figure who insisted that Cannon take LSD repeatedly until she had a "breakthrough". Grant himself took LSD quite often, at first under a supervised doctor, then later on his own.Cannon's life with Cary Grant ends about the way you would expect, not well, but beyond that the book has nice descriptions of Hollywood life in the 1960s. They have social get togethers with Alfred Hitchcock, Frank Sinatra, etc. There is a lot of humor as well; one funny story involves Cannon "cooking" dinner for Grant.

When she married Cary Grant, Dyan Cannon broke my heart. Never mind that my crush on her was obviously unrequited. One unanswerable question bedeviled my mind for days. Why? Yes, he was Cary Grant. And, no, no one else presented so much smooth charm. But still, the age difference... And he had to have faults, evil traits even, hidden behind that damned charm... If that’s really what she wanted to do... Eventually, of course, it all wore away. Imagine then, stumbling over her memoir of the whole thing. Aha, the chance to find out what was wrong with him. Former wives invariably make that pretty clear. And she does. “Control freak” is the current phrase for it. But she tells the story so personally, and surprisingly well, that she leaves you acutely feeling the tragedy of it.

Actress Dyan Cannon shared the journey of her love affair with film legend, Cary Grant in this well written book. I don't think I've ever seen Dyan in any movies, however like most people about 40 years older than me, I've seen just about Cary Grant flick. I wanted to learn more about the boyfriend and husband side of Grant; albeit out of pure envy and dire curiosity of a man I've always had a crush on (yes I know, he died when I was about 7...). I was happy to read this book about their relationship and not necessarily about Cannon's childhood, school age years. Frankly, I did not really have any interest in learning about her favorite school subjects, girlhood friends, etc. I wanted to read and understand what the title implied and thank goodness, the book met my expectations. She begins the book with a cold call from Cary Grant while she was on holiday in Europe. From there, she recounts her meetings with Grant, then dating, then marriage. For me, I was elated to read Cannon's references to Grant's professional work at the time during their courtship. She was with him while he was making "A Touch of Mink," "Charade," "Father Goose," "Operation Petticoat," as well as several others. I could not imagine going to a film set to meet and hang out with Cary Grant, Doris Day, Audrey Hepburn, etc. I really think I should have been born in the 1920s-1930s. These are such fun and quality films for me. I felt like a fly on the wall during their marriage, which was not perfect, but was an honest portrayal of two imperfect people trying very hard to love. If you like old Hollywood, you will enjoy the book, especially a little vignette about a dinner at the Hitchcocks. Really gross and weird. All in all, this book delivered what I look for in a biography- honesty, love, and a few dirty old Hollywood secrets.

I've recently become an ardent fan of Cary Grant. Of course, it began with his beautiful face but my appreciation for his skill has gone beyond the screen and to the difficulties he overcame throughout his life as well. Perhaps it is all too common to romanticize celebrities, particularly someone as charming and debonair as Cary Grant. Yet, there is no refuting the fact that biographies often paint a deeply tortured image of the man. While his leading actresses will admit that his charisma and grace existed both on and off the screen, critics will write that the unexpected abandonment by his mother at a young age forever scarred the ambitious actor, propelling him to marry five times and select crowd-pleasing films (a decision which likely kept him from winning an Oscar). In a refreshing turn of events, Dear Cary offers a different side to the coin that is Cary Grant. Admittedly, many fans will dislike this nonfiction work as it presents darker aspects to the comedic actor but Cannon writes this biography with distinct flair. Not only does she admit to the romantic courtship that swept her off her feet, but she further admits that the difficulties in her marriage where caused by both herself and Cary. Cannon could not separate the image of Cary Grant the Actor from Cary Grant the Flesh-and-Blood Human. In one scene she confesses to her parents that she would die without Cary in her life; he had become her God. No man, not even the charming and sensational Cary Grant, is flawless and, above all, I read this as a piece of truth, but also as a piece of forgiveness. Moreover, I gravitate towards the effortlessly realistic tales. While I may, certainly, like to maintain the perfect image of Cary Grant I possess in my mind, I rather like these gems of truth seeping in to paint him in a more human light. Dear Cary isn't out to turn fans against Cary Grant; it's simply there to bring him down from his pedestal and, shockingly, even dearer to our hearts than before. I've seen a couple of documentaries on Grant's life as well and it's reassuring to know that just as Cannon, years after her messy divorce with Grant, found peace and serenity in her life and love, Grant too found that in both his daughter Jennifer and his fifth and final wife. For fans of Grant who yearn to peel back the layers of charm and sophistication to the flawed individual beneath, Dear Cary is ideal. For others, who wish to believe that Grant is just as perfect in real life as he is on the screen, skip this. I don't blame you at all.

I didn’t enjoy this at first and thought it was bogged down in too many details, but then the writing picked up and I was completely engaged. In her memoir, Cannon openly gives readers a view of a tumultuous relationship with an extremely controlling partner.

I fell in love with Cary Grant as a young child and I still remain in love with him these many years later. The beginning of the book almost seems to be written by Dyan as she would have as a very young women, and as the story goes along, the writing appears to mature as Dyan matured.Dyan Cannon did a wonderful job in telling their story without blaming Cary Grant for the failure of their marriage. It was doomed from the start. Cary made it perfectly clear he did not want a fourth marriage and "proposed" only because she forced his hand and he didn't want to loose her. They really did love each other and I suspect that Dyan still loves him to this day. The age difference was also a great factor in the failure of their marriage-an older, more mature woman would not have pursued marriage with a man so determined not to marry again. Mr. Grant's childhood certainly was a factor also.

Added 7/7/15.July 2015 - My Life with Cary Grant by Dyan Cannon. A very touching and readable memoir. It reads like a novel and is very compelling.(view spoiler)[Evidently, Cary Grant wasn't easy to live with. He was fine before they married but he changed afterward. When Diane came home from the hospital with their new baby, she found that Grant had given away her beloved dog without consulting her. She never saw the dog again. He said he was worried about the baby being harmed by the dog who might be jealous. I will always feel different about Cary Grant after reading this book, even though Dyan Cannon said many nice things about him. But she also told of the dark side of his personality. A sad story. (hide spoiler)]

I grew up watching Cary Grant movies and have always been fascinated by him. I've read a few things here and there about him over the years, so I knew he wasn't perfect and had his problems. Although the beginning of the book was a bit slow, I enjoyed Cannon's account of her years with Grant. Yes, it does paint a not so nice picture of Grant (and herself) at times, but they are both real people and had real problems. Cannon doesn't put all the blame on Grant for their disastrous relationship. And I don't like Cary Grant and his movies any less after reading this book. This is a memoir after all and I really felt Cannon did her best to tell her story the way she remembers it.

Could not put this down. This story hit every emotion. I'm curious to read their daughters view of Cary grant to get a different perspective.

When I first heard Of this book's release, I made strong statements against reading it. Being a dedicated fan of Cary Grant's, I was not interested in anything that might be disrespectful to him. I kept my vow for quite some time until my curiosity got the better of me. After reading the book, I am glad I broke my vow. I could not put this book down until I finished it. Ms. Cannon's candid, often painful words Captured my full attention and compassion, not only for her but Cary as well. I recall Ms. Cannon stating during an interview on one of the morning shows that she did not write the book to trash Cary but hoped people would love him even more. I am one of those in the latter category. In the first few chapters, I had a disgruntled attitude towards Ms. Cannon but as I continued to read, somewhere I began softening my opinion and began to view her not as just Cary Grant's wife but as a woman who struggledBetween love, and what was best for her. I laughed, got very angry during some parts- at both of them, laughed again, and cried. Two people, very much in love, but obviously were not good for each other. Anyone who has experienced loss in love due to a bad relationship will be able to relate to both Ms. Cannon and Mr. Grant. There are lessons to be learned through Ms. Cannon's words but only if one is able to see past a biased love for CG. I was not a first hand witness to their relationship, therefore, I cannot even begin to say what is true and what is not. I did believe it to be realistic. We all know Cary Grant was not a saint. We may want to believe he was, but we know better, or should anyway. He had his faults just as we all do. While Ms. Cannon relayed these to us, she also told of his loving, kind heart and actions of such. I thoroughly enjoyed all the darling anecdotes of Cary. The ones that make us love him in the first place. Points that shine: Their love for Jennifer, Ms. Cannon's journey from severe depression to pulling herself up and out of that depression, making peace with herself and her mistakes; her very emotional letter in the end. Throughout the chapters, Cary Grant is humanized through accounts of his very human behavior. I believe this is the reason readers and fans of Cary will love him even more than before when he was put high on the pedestal; he still shines. Whether one is a fan of Cary Grant and Ms. Cannon or not, anyone who has loved, lost, experienced life's emotional hardships and battled to rise above them, this book is for you.

Well written in-depth loves and how to surviveLet me say, I adored Cary Grant, the actor. I will watch a movie simply because he is in it. Cary Grant was a remarkable actor in all the various genres he chose. Like many, I was interested in getting Dyan Cannons' viewpoint of her romance, love, marriage, and life with the movie star, Cary Grant. She gave us so much more. Most ppl are complex individuals and evolve based on all their experiences, gene pools, education, and opportunities. Cary Grant had an unfortunate and sad childhood. It colored his outlook on life and his relationships with others despite his outward appearance of happiness and success.Dyan Cannon brings you as a reader into the Hollywood glamour and shiny created world of movie stars. It's a psychological profile of both herself, her much revered husband, and the extreme differences two people can have when they attempt to build a permanent, loving relationship. She spares no one as she reflects on the loss of herself as an independent human being and the demise of her love and marriage to Archibald Leach/Cary Grant. Dylan Cannon's story brings to light how easily a person can lose themselves to their partner's mental abuse and cruelty in the name of love and one sided promises. Without pointing fingers or making declarations, this story shows there are no boundaries when it comes to dysfunctional relationships or continuing negative generational life cycles. It's well worth reading.