Part Swan, Part Goose: An Uncommon Memoir of Womanhood, Work, and Family - Tapa blanda

"Part Swan, Part Goose is a brave and riveting book about family, fame, theater and life. It is witty, wise and irresistible. I loved it."
--Tom Brokaw

"I'm often asked, 'What's Swoosie Kurtz really like?' I say, warm, incredibly funny, grounded but spontaneous, irreverent but always kind, independent yet deeply rooted to her family. Swoosie has put her heart and her humor into these pages. Now when people ask, I can say, 'Here, read this!'"
--Melissa McCarthy

"Swoosie and her family have always been special to me. When you read this book, you will understand why."
--Warren Buffett

"I laughed and cried (sometimes at the same time) reading this extraordinary story about Swoosie and her parents and her work and her loves. Swoosie has the beautiful gift of a seasoned story teller. Her observations about love and loss had me dog-earing several pages to re-read again and again. I feel blessed to know her."
--Carol Burnett

"The Tony Award-winning actress certainly relates a lot of great anecdotes from her long career on the Broadway stage, in films and on such popular TV shows as "Sisters," "Pushing Daisies" and her current hit, "Mike & Molly." Yet, her book, co-authored by writer Joni Rodgers, is also a remarkable journal about Kurtz's extremely close relationship with her parents, and is a compelling saga about her recent journey as a loving caregiver for her mother as she's slipped into depths of dementia."
--Chicago Sun Times

"I thought I'd browse (Part Swan, Part Goose) and write a quick column. I couldn't browse. Swoosie kept dragging me in with another anecdote, and she writes in a freewheeling style that's almost like free-associating at times. One topic leads to another, facts are told out of chronological order, and yet it all makes perfect sense. People talk this way, and her voice is in the telling.
"I've always been a fan of Swoosie Kurtz the actress ...Now I'm a fan of Swoosie Kurtz the human being as well. Her streak of Midwestern work ethic is so familiar. And the piece of her heart left on the pages is impossible not to love."
--Bob Fischbach, Omaha World-Herald

"Comedic timing always has been Kurtz's hallmark and in "Part Swan, Part Goose," she proves she can write a line as humorously as she can deliver one. The book crackles with wit. The book lists Joni Rodgers as a co-author, but the candor, clever turns-of-phrase and hilarity seem very Kurtz-like." - The Buffalo News

"Part Swan, Part Goose: An Uncommon Memoir of Womanhood, Work and Family is indeed uncommon. Unlike some show business memoirs, it's neither a scandalous tell-all, nor an exercise in self-aggrandizement. Instead, it's a candid, engaging look at Kurtz's life and work, and especially her relationship with the two most important people in her life: her parents, Frank and Margo Kurtz."--Trudy Ring, SheWired

"Filled with entertaining stories, gut-wrenching experiences, and touching memories, actress Swoosie Kurtz' thoughtful memoir, Part Swan, Part Goose: An Uncommon Memoir of Womanhood, Work and Family celebrates her loving parents while documenting the formative events that shaped her stellar acting career. In particular, the book also reveals Kurtz's seven-year struggle dealing with her mother Margo's increasing dementia." - Tolucan Times

"Don't miss this....book of collected praise for parents who had it all together. And never miss seeing Swoosie, with whom you will inevitably feel a kinship -- on stage, screen or TV. There is not a saccharine note in this delightful memoir." - Liz Smith

In a wise, warmhearted memoir that celebrates her extraordinary life and stellar career, Swoosie Kurtz welcomes readers into her world, sharing personal misadventures and showbiz lore and candidly reflecting on the intimate journey of caring for an aging parent. Told with intelligence and Swoosie’s hallmark comedic timing, Part Swan, Part Goosemakes a powerful statement about womanhood, work and family.

Swoosie’s is the kind of memoir that doesn’t come without a fascinating back story: Enter the parents, Frank and Margo Kurtz. Frank, an Olympic diving medalist, later became one of the most decorated aviators in American history. He flew a record number of missions in a cobbled-together B-17D Flying Fortress called The Swoose,” now housed at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. Margo chronicled their early years together in her memoir,My Rival, the Sky, published by Putnam in 1945. The book ends with the young couple happily anticipating the birth of a baby to be named after the indomitable Swoose.

Today, Margo, who is approaching her hundredth birthday, lives with Swoosie. As Margo’s reality drifts freely between her morning coffee and a 1943 war bond tour, Swoosie struggles to stay ahead of her mother’s increasing needs while navigating the pitfalls and pratfalls of the entertainment industry. This precarious moment in time is bittersweet and occasionally overwhelming, but every day is oxygenated with laughter and love. The careful weaving of Swoosie’s story with passages fromMy Rival, the Sky creates a vivid portrait of the invincible mother-daughter bond between the two women.

Part Swan, Part Goose is that rare Hollywood memoir that takes us behind the curtain but doesn’t live there; its heart is solidly at home. It doesn’t pretend to tell all, but what it does tell is deeply resonant for millions caring for aging parents, timely and topical for book clubs and entertaining as hell for readers in general.