The Legs Are the Last to Go audiobook

I hope this book was cathartic for Ms. Carroll, because while it is interesting, The Legs Are the Last to Go certainly does not put her in a favorable light. In alternate chapters, and sometimes in the same chapter, she is sympathetic, pathetic, vain, self-centered and selfish. Both boastful and contrite, she weaves an interesting tale in her memoir. Diahann Carroll occupies so many firsts in the African-American pantheon. Yet, for all her achievements, for all her intelligence, charisma, charm, and beauty, her inability to sustain or cultivate loving relationships repeatedly sabotages her own happiness; with help she discovers this. Unable to convince herself that she was worthy of a loving, reciprocal relationship, throughout her memoir she repeatedly allows herself to be subjected to treatment in her personal life that I cannot believe she would tolerate in her professional life. The Legs Are the Last to Go has huge gaps, and the reader may wonder where were her friends and family when she pushed aside her husband for a punishing and degrading 9-year affair with Sidney Poitier. As written, I am led to consider this book an explanation and apology to her daughter with whom she has thankfully reconciled. She discovers very late what Jacqueline Onassis once so eloquently stated: “If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do well matters very much.” With all that she has learned, this reader believes there are still other lessons awaiting Diahann Carroll, and this book is somewhat unsatisfying.

I really enjoyed reading Diahann's life story. She was very open and candid about her trials and tribulations. She told just enough to keep the respect she so eloquently displays. I loved this book! She's a great lady and aging perfectly!

I absolutely loved this book! Diahann Carroll was such a classy, beautiful and intelligent woman. I knew her from her role as Whitley Gilbert’s mother on a Different World, but I had heard about her role as Julia and her character on Dynasty from my mother. It was so wonderful hearing her talk about the life her parents carved out for her, the work she put into her craft, the mistakes she made and lessons she learned. I also really appreciated how honest she was about how her ambition affected her relationship with daughter. She took full responsibility for the fracture in their relationship and showed the reader how she was actively working fo repair it through her relationship with her grandchildren. I also loved how confident and honest she was about how she is perceived, as she talked about her journey with therapy and self love. There were also vivid descriptions about her husbands and lovers (Sidney Portier, wow…) and how her desire for romantic love cost her in many ways. She also takes responsibility for how she treated her daughter’s father who was by all accounts a wonderful father and husband. I appreciated how she consistently showed the reader that arrogance and naïveté led her to make some terrible dating and marriage decisions, but as of the writing of the book, she was able to reconcile them with a life lived boldly, with many lessons learned.She spoke in depth about her relationship with her parents and sister. The relationships were loving but complicated, especially as her star began to rise. She talked about the pain, anger and ultimate forgiveness between them and her candor, especially in regards to her mother, was shocking but refreshing.She also discussed her battle with cancer and how it forced her to slow down a bit. I do believe a second bout is what ultimately took her life many years later however, and I’m sure she and her bold spirit are sorely missed. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in black Hollywood and cinematic history. 5 stars!

I enjoyed this book. It revealed a great deal. The revelations could serve as inspiration and lessons for all. The Legs Are the Last To Go depicted the journey of an individual with dreams and a desire to soar. Whether she was reflecting on the character who played Julia or the one on Dynasty as Dominique.....she learned to lobby for herself and accept nothing less than what she thought she deserved. When speaking about not so pretty instances with family...she also did that with style.The book masterfully detailed her marriages, the ups and downs that were representative of her career (television and stage), the spat with Andrew Lloyd Weber as well as the racism that she encountered as she began her journey. I particularly like how she revealed the disagreements/views that were present with producers when filming Julia. Yes, the producers wanted to score big. Nevertheless, she wanted it to be educational and worthwhile (since it was new ground). She also wrote about the physical abuse that she endured from a significant other. It's a book of substance and laughter. Its humbling....a quick read.....wonderful story. Highly recommended.

I enjoyed this read. As someone who grew up watching Miss Carroll on the big and small screen, I appreciated this personal and retrospective narrative of her life. I liked her candid and sometimes comical memories as well as the darker and more emotional ones. This book gave me deeper insight into a performer who I always thought was talented, attractive and uncommonly dignified. Some of what she reveals is not so favorable. Some of it is endearing, yet, all of it is done with an admirable honesty and that unique flare she built her career upon. She's not a perfect person by any means but a wonderfully consummate and classy performer with a great career resume. The one thing you get most from this autobiography is that after all her life's experiences she has emerged wiser having come face to face with her shortcomings and her strengths, less enamored of the entrapments of fame and fortune and willing to change her ways for the sake of meaningful relationships, peace of mind and contentment.

I love celebrity biographies. The reason that I enjoyed this is because the author is pretty forthcoming. She gives you a nice little peek into the backdrop of television, Broadway and Hollywood. I enjoyed how she can admit her mistakes. She admits that she is a vain diva. And it was just funny in parts and pretty insightful. She is an inspirational woman and I am happy that she chose to share her experiences through this memoir.

Diahann Carroll takes a honest look back at her life and career. This is beautifully told in her own voice and that is was makes this listen so special. She has such an exquisite voice. She talks about her family life, love and her failure at marriage, her career and her love of beautiful things. I'm glad I took a listen.

Ms. Carroll didn’t always paint herself in the best light, but she was pretty honest, and that is what I appreciate about this memoir. I listened to the audio version of this book, as I often prefer to do with memoirs, and I am so glad that I did. She was a wonderful performer and listening to her felt more like listening to a story rather than just hearing her read. I’m aware that she had published her autobiography years prior to her publishing this memoir, but I felt that she gave quite a few details about her younger life to help catch the reader up to speed on where she was with her experiences later on in life.She talked about everything from her numerous failed relationships (I found myself very annoyed with some of her relationship choices and had a few moments where I caught myself saying, “Damn, Diahann!”), her strained relationship with her daughter, the fact that she often chose to pursue men and her career instead of being a more present mother, her battle with breast cancer, and aging in general. I love listening to the stories of my elders because I want to know how they managed to survive life and make it to their eighth and ninth decades.I was never bored listening to Ms. Carroll. At the time this book was published she was in her 70s and she seemed to have a good grip on who she was and she had come accept it. Despite the mistakes that she had made as a mother, as a wife, and as a performer, her life was one that was well-lived. While listening to her, she made me laugh and she spoke on some things that made me reflect. Her personality was very much that of a diva and she knew that. She eventually grew more humble with age and also became a little more down-to-earth as she worked to rebuild her relationship with her daughter and become a better mother and grandmother.My only complaint was that she jumped around in the chronology a bit, so I became confused about the timeline at times. Maybe I wasn’t paying as close attention as I thought I had been. I’m glad Ms. Carroll shared her story and I am glad that I listened to her narrate it. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.Originally published on my blog Life In a Few Words.

If you like reading about Hollywood, you will enjoy this book. Miss Carroll certainly was a formidable character. I listened to it, and enjoyed hearing her voice, her tone, her inflection of her memories. You certainly know who she is. She comes across vain, and she tells you several times throughout the book that she is, indeed vain, that her appearance, image is very important to her.She seems like truly a loving person, but her longest deepest relationship was with her mother and at times that was quite strained. It’s quite sad that she never found the ability to have a long-term relationship with a man. Although the book was detailed with some of her memories, it was quite general overall. I did enjoy getting another facet of Hollywood, how women were treated, and the racism and prejudice that she lived. She was a consummate professional, and no matter what hand was dealt her she seems to have had the confidence, fortitude and wisdom to rise above. I was impressed with her reflections on racism, and seeing a strong difference between true racism, and unintentional ignorance. In some ways this book would 2.5 for me because I would only recommend it to someone who loved her or enjoys old Hollywood.... but because I just enjoyed getting to know her, I rated it a 4. I think in real life I would like her. She pulled no punches, and with her I think you always knew what you were getting. I like that about her, I like that about anyone.

Fantastic memoir from a late, great legendDiahann Carroll's voice rings out loud and clear in this memoir. You feel as if you are hearing in the most honest terms about her life and career with all their ups and downs. She is inspiring and funny and candid. This book is full of great stories about her, her parents, her husband, her daughter and her fellow actors and singers. Diahann sounds like with age she has grown more comfortable with herself. This book is a just a joy to read. As a child, one of my first memories was watching her star in the TV series "Julia." That show was a cultural touchstone in many ways, but I hadn't followed her career closely after that. Not long ago, I was offered a discount offer on the ebook for just a few dollars and I decided to download it. I started reading it and was just entranced by the writing and her captivating personality in the first few pages. Sadly Ms. Carroll died only a few weeks later and I went back to reading her book and have just finished it tonight. What a wonderful experience it is to read this book and to have at least this contact with a very special performer and human being who has inspired many actresses who came after her.

I didn't LOVE this book but I really liked it a lot (as indicated by the rating). I read pretty much the whole thing in Diahann Carroll's voice, which made it even funnier. The interesting thing is I did see some parallels in her way of thinking & it was a sure sign for me to "be careful" about some things. Some might take offense to her vanity, but I think it's great that she knows who she is and what she likes. There's a freedom in being content with yourself, even if sometimes it costs you. It was refreshing to see someone admit and take responsibility for their actions as well as see where courage and drive can take a person in spite of their beginnings. I recommend this book for people who find value in the outlook of those from generations way ahead of theirs, because even though times may change some things will always be a matter of thinking ahead and appreciating what you have.

Whenever I read someone's memoirs I'm struck by their bravery. I cannot imagine telling the world my unfiltered truth. And, yet, here it is. Diahann Carroll's truth. She admits to being vain, controlling and self involved. She is proud of her accomplishments and saddened by her inability to enter into and maintain a long term romantic relationship. I've always admired the author's beauty, poise and voice. I discovered her on A Different World and my mom showed me her on Dynasty. I enjoyed hearing about how she began, what she learned along the way and her honestly regarding the unsavory parts of her life. In the end, we are all human. Some of us are just far better dressed humans (j/k).

This book was superb. I really enjoyed reading about her life. I listened to her read the book and the jazz music that served as her backdrop to each chapter was quintessential for the daughter of New York. It’s crazy that many aspects of her real life mirrored my favorite character that she played, Marion Gilbert on A Different World. The glamorous part of her persona, her love for fashion was notable when she was on Dynasty. I was intrigued hearing her own up to the mistakes she made with rearing her daughter. Excellent read. I miss her. RIP queen!

I'm not typically a fan of celebrity bios, but I truly enjoyed Ms. Carroll's book. I never expected her to be so funny and honest, particularly about all of her marriages or her 9 year affair with Sidney Poitier. She also confessed to having always been something of a fashion-obsessed, drama queen. Overall, it was an interesting and intimate look back at Ms. Carroll's life.

I am so happy I read this book. Diahann Carroll is a historical figure and I should have known who she was prior to reading this. It was wonderful to hear of a black woman's experience in the entertainment industry so long ago.