Skywriting: A Life Out of the Blue

New York: Ballantine Books, 2005. 1st Ballantine Paperback Edition. Mass Market Paper. Very Good +. “Truth arrives in microscopic increments, and when enough has accumulated–in a moment of recognition, you just know. You know because the truth fits. I was the only member of my family to lack the gene for numbers, but I do need things to add up. Approaching midlife, I became aware of a darkening feeling–was it something heavy on my heart, or was something missing? Grateful as I am for the opportunities I’ve had, and especially for the people who came into my life as a result, I couldn’t ignore this feeling. I had the impulse to begin a conversation with myself, through writing, as if to see if my fingers could get to the bottom of it. It was a Saturday morning eight or ten years ago when I began following this impulse to find the answers to unformed questions. Skywriting is what I call my personal process of discovery.”And so begins this beautiful and surprising memoir, in which beloved broadcast journalist Jane Pauley tells a remarkable story of self-discovery and an extraordinary life, from her childhood in the American heartland to her three decades in television. Encompassing her beginnings at the local Indianapolis station and her bright debut–at age twenty-five on NBC’s Today and later on Dateline–Pauley forthrightly delves into the ups and downs of a fantastic career. But there is much more to Jane Pauley than just the famous face on TVs. In this memoir, she reveals herself to be a brilliant woman with singular insights. She explores her roots growing up in Indiana and discusses the resiliency of the American family, and addresses with humor and depth a subject very close to her heart: discovering yourself and redefining your strengths at midlife. Striking, moving, candid, and unique, Skywriting explores firsthand the difficulty and the rewards of self-reinvention. "Jane Pauley, that intelligent ray of sunshine, AND bipolar disease? The news dropped me in my tracks. Here was a trusted, normal face on a condition I've always looked upon as a scary problem to run from. I, who almost never reads celebrity memoirs, scooped up Skywriting immediately to learn more. Skywriting begins with the 2001 bipolar episode, a side effect of a heavy dosing of steroids for persistent hives. If the news stopped me, just a television viewer who does not know Pauley personally, imagine what it did to her, a person who always seemed to be sailing forward in her busy public life. As she healed, she began experimenting with what she calls "skywriting," starting out with an image or memory and seeing where the pen took her. When she was done, she had revisited her childhood, adolescence, career in television and family life. She invites readers along on her journey to self rediscovery." -- review by C. Ebeling. Book is in very good condition, minimal edge wear, rubbing along edges and with tips of corners bumped. Faint crease to front cover and harder crease to back cover corner.