I don't tend to read any autobiographies, but I felt I had to check out 'Where Am I Now?'
I'd admired Mara Wilson before, for as long as I can remember watching films. She was a childhood icon of mine, nearly the same age as me. Like any kid in the nineties, I could recognize her in every film she's been in, such as the universally-beloved 'Mrs Doubtfire', her big debut at just five-years-old. 'Matilda' was one of my absolute favourite films growing up, and the book will always be my favourite from that time too. It had such a wonderful impact on my life. 'Matilda' is feminist and empowering without even trying, just like Mara Wilson herself.
Reading her autobiographical book, 'Where Am I Now?: True Stories of Girlhood and Accidental Fame', is a heartwarming and cathartic experience. Mara is so relatable! As well as being a fantastic writer, she's funny, yet insecure and has spent her life battling her self-image-and-esteem issues in an unfair and callous world, like a true comedian. In all the glitz and glamour of Hollywood and the pressures that naturally come for all child stars, Mara grew up with anxiety, OCD, constant worries and doubts, and had learned about adult subjects very early on in her life (making up for both the funniest and most tragic moments of the book). Acting is about constant rejection, and typecasting. Even the lucky ones have huge difficulties finding work - the roles they want - after a period of time, and for child actors this is no more apparent.
Mara is a writer above all else, however. Storytelling is what she's wanted to do all along, after a childhood of acting, singing and dancing, with mixed results.
'Where Am I Now?' is about her life - her family, her friends, the celebrities she met and worked with, her co-stars before they were famous, and about how her experiences as a starlet who always wanted to be taken seriously and rarely got the chance has shaped her in her teenage and adult years. This book is honest; Mara has no problem including adult content in every one of her essays/chapters, like coarse language, and her sexual awakening and partnerships. She is not a little girl anymore, no matter what some people want to remember her as. Even "cute" loses all meaning for growing child stars.
In spite of everything, Mara is a mature, down-to-earth woman. Now she tells her life stories in a funny light for a living.
'Where Am I Now' begins, weaves throughout, and ends simply but beautifully. Perfectly. The past is concrete, but the future isn't. And that's okay. We as human beings don't know where we'll be, no matter who we are or who we used to be. Everyone changes, everyone learns, and Mara Wilson effortlessly brings this philosophy to life. I'd look up to her, and I do, but I think she and I would prefer to be seen as equals on the same level and path together.
Not merely an icon, she is now one of my heroes.
Final Score: 5/5
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