All That Is Bitter and Sweet: A Memoir

This book is not for certain people. Before you purchase it you might want to ask yourself what you're looking for in a "memoir" to begin with. By definition a memoir is an account of one's personal life and experiences....an autobiography.When a person, whomever it may be, writes a memoir then it is up to them to chose what they want to tell. If you don't like that idea - then you might not like this title. However, if you understand that concept and want to hear a good story then you might just really enjoy this one.Ashley Judd decided to talk to us about her childhood, a little bit about her grandparents, parents and her one sibling. She touched on her movie career just a little bit (apparently not enough for some readers). Obviously her job as an actress isn't what she wanted to talk about. She went on to describe some of her emotional issues and how she got help for that to make "her" life better.Ashley has done lots and lots of work on herself. She can't fix her Mom or her sister - only herself. In order to tell her story though she had to tell about her family members too. They were a part of her life and still are. She was honest and she told her truth as fairly and compassionately as was possible given the circumstances.We all can chose to be emotionally sick or healthy. In Ashley's case she wanted to try and rid herself of her particular demons. I feel she was pretty darn successful. It's still a work in progress as it should be. Oh and I did read the entire book from cover to cover by the way - unlike some! How can a person give a book report on a book they only read part way?Ashley didn't have to share with the whole world about her anger or depression. Yet she did. I call that brave. I also call it helpful because there will be people out there who will benefit from what she has written in this book. Sadly there are women out there who don't think one thing is wrong with them and they just aren't interested in hearing about therapy or healing or bettering yourself. So all talk of personal growth will be lost on those types I'll admit.Too bad it's not mandatory in our country to take courses in HS about how to cope with our emotions. Maybe we wouldn't have so many alcoholics and drug addicts and abusive people in our midst if everybody got help early on. I think we'd all be better off. But that's just me.For people who have written reviews criticizing Ashley for what she chose to tell us about her life in this book - I feel they are being shallow and ridiculous. I am shocked to have read what some of you had to say actually. Human beings never fail to surprise me with their ability to hurt and be cold hearted.And then there is the matter of Ashley telling us of her service work. Many people did not like this section of her book. I find that pretty amazing. This is a big part of her life and for her not to comment on it would not have been true to herself or informative to me and to others who wanted to get to know her as a real human being.I didn't want to know about her movies or Hollywood. I'm sick to death of all that. I thank God I didn't have to hear about it. However, I would have read it if she had put it in there because that would have been her choice as to what to share. Personally I think if you want to read about actors and such then read People magazine or some other movie mag that specifically deals with those folks and that topic.I've been to other countries myself and seen different cultures. Even if you don't go into the slums of India it is still a culture shock coming home from other countries. If you haven't traveled much then you probably don't know this. You do have to have down time when you get back home in many cases. Just from jet lag if nothing else.To read reviews where people are saying she is being self serving and patting herself on the back for doing the work she has done is just incredible to me. Here she is a pretty lady, an intelligent lady and she could do anything she wanted to do in life. But she chose to do this. I applaud her for her time and effort she has spent working for others less fortunate. You do get burn out though and I'm sure she can't keep it up forever. It takes a toll.However, if she never visited a slum during her entire life-time then nobody would say a word. Yet, here she goes to try and do some good by lending her name and her face and giving of her time to these organizations. Her desire was to promote these groups so that they could raise money for clean water, mosquito nets, doctor care, education, and much more. And people would fault her for that? Come on. Really?Some on here have complained that she should have adopted some of these kids - or given more money ( how do you know how much she may have given - you don't ). Plus, how would she choose a child? She loved them all. It would be too hard to pick. She explained that rather well I thought.Others complain that she talks about herself crying too much. Wow. I'm so happy she has feelings and is able to cry. She saw horrible things on her journey's in Africa & India. I'd be crying too if I saw what she saw. Others are ragging on her for having money and being famous. So what? In our society some are rich and some are poor. If you didn't want to read about a rich famous person then why buy the book in the first place? Duh?For those of you who say Ashley is a negative complaining person and that this book is not worth the money or the time...and you gave it one star...then I have to totally 100% disagree with you. I loved this book. I saw so much heart in this story. I'm going to read it again and give copies to my sister and friends.Well, all I can say is that if you are a kind hearted soul and you want to read about the life of a kindred spirit - then read this book. You will be moved by her honesty and humor and tears.If you want to read a gossip rag - a tell all about who's who in Hollywood and about the makings of movies and such then this is NOT at all the book to buy.If you are a big fan of "The Judds" and you want to know about Wynonna or Naomi then read their books. This is Ashley's turn to write about her own life. She is not them and they are not her.Okay, I'm sorry this is so long but I had to say something to counteract all the nasty reviews I saw on amazon.com - I don't want people who might be interested in this book to put off reading it due to what others have said. It is very well written and touches on many of today's very important social problems. Just read the 5 star reviews and you'll get more of an idea how great this book truly is.

*****This is not a typical celebrity memoir. It is a book about social justice, recovery from trauma, and about how to live in this world. It changed my life.I bought this book on Kindle in order to receive and read it quickly. I have since bought two hardcopies, one to keep, one to give away. This book is for anyone who cares about our world, and how to deal with the suffering, the grief, and the despair that occurs all over the world--for anyone who wants to make a difference--while at the same time not being dragged down by their own sadnesses, inadequacies, and grief. It is for anyone who wants to care about others and still care for themselves so that they can keep on making a difference and not live out of woundedness.I wanted to read Ashley's memoir after seeing her performance in "Helen" thinking it would be about depression. It is--sort of--but it's more about living with whatever scars you have from childhood, and thus would appeal to anyone serious about living as a compassionate person.The book starts off with difficult details of Ashley's upbringing and how she was affected by various people in her life, including her mother Naomi and her sister Wynona. This is not a smear of these much-loved family members, however, but a realistic portrayal of how Ashley (and we) can come to terms with how we reconcile with those who have caused us pain throughout our lives. Ashley dealt with neglect, molestation, and abuse, and emerged a severely traumatized adult.The book continues with how she became an activist and why. It very movingly describes details of her activism work throughout the world, including combatting sex slavery and sex trafficking. Ashley writes about spiritual issues, including a profoundly moving experience related to her taking on the suffering she saw instead of allowing God to do so. In many ways, this book is a spiritual memoir.It is a challenging read as the reader shares the author's view as her eyes are opened to the world's pain...and to her own pain. It inspires you to look at what you can do to heal the world and yourself.The author writes about how she has begun her healing journey from depression and childhood issues, especially codependency, starting with an intervention and in-patient treatment at a rehab facility. This was my favorite part of the book. Brutally honest, raw, and moving (like the rest of the book), I had to take several breaks in reading it because it was so painful. But good, at the same time. I understood.The remainder of the book was about how Ashley pursues her advocacy and activist work now, since she has embarked upon her own recovery, and how she integrates her recovery with the rest of her life helping others, with her family, and in her creative endeavors. How everything fits together.This is a book for those who are (or who want to be) courageous in dealing with social justice issues and their own personal lives. Only those who are expecting a typical celebrity memoir will be disappointed in this deep and earnest read. Everyone else will, I'm betting, have their lives profoundly impacted and greatly changed, as I have.Highly recommended.*****