In Pieces

While many celebrities cherish their time away from the press, the paparazzi, and the public eye, some eventually seek to correct misperceptions or wish to share their experiences, whether for themselves or to help others. Memoirs are a popular way for them to do so. Some of the most renowned celebrity memoirs are those that reveal painful truths about their lives and their struggles before or during their rise to fame. Their reflections not only give insight into celebrity life but also make them more relatable.

For example, Al Pacino’s Sonny Boy (2024) reveals the hardships that Pacino experienced in his youth and his struggle to overcome self-doubt. The Woman in Me (2023) by Britney Spears describes the effects of her rapid rise to fame as a child and her struggle to claim autonomy through her music. Barbra Streisand’s My Name Is Barbra (2023) aims to set the record straight on the many rumors surrounding her career and describes the challenges of working in a male-dominated industry. In Finding Me (2022), Viola Davis reveals the severe childhood trauma she endured and explores the interrelationships among poverty, race, and trauma. Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run (2016) portrays how deeply Springsteen’s life informed his music and how his music helped save his life. Contrary to the celebrities’ personas, such stories reveal individuals who often had humble beginnings and faced daunting challenges yet remained resilient and persevered to find success.

Field’s memoir In Pieces, which she authored without a ghost writer, stands out as more literary than most, inverting the usual focus on “successful” moments. For example, she describes how acting eventually helped her emotionally reckon with her childhood trauma. Her memoir has received critical acclaim as a particularly vulnerable and honest self-portrait. It received positive reviews from literary critics and the public applauded her courageous decision to reveal her childhood trauma and the personal pain she has coped with in her life and career. For example, the review site Pajiba calls Field’s work “raw, brutally honest, [and] introspective” (Mieka Strawhorn, “‘In Pieces’ by Sally Field Is a Celebrity Memoir With Substance.” Pajiba, 16 Oct. 2018). Likewise, readers have expressed their appreciation for Field’s bravery and vulnerability in sharing her story as well as the heartfelt and soulful beauty of her prose. While Field’s memoir presents acting as her greatest love, she reveals that becoming an author was a challenging and gratifying process. In her book’s “Q and A” interview, Field reveals that she relished learning how to express herself in writing, saying, “I wanted to learn a new craft, and I know that to learn any craft takes many miles in the saddle […] I’m always writing, always reading, and being dazzled by words on a page. I hope I write another book” (593, 595).