My Lucky Life in and Out of Show Business

My Lucky Life in and Out of Show Business by Dick Van Dyke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When I was picking something to listen to on a road trip with my parents, this brought back memories of watching the Dick Van Dyke show with them (in reruns) when I was little. I have also loved Mary Poppins since I was a child, and mom loves it too. I thought my dad would enjoy this one, too, but his review was: "eh. I like books better." Ha.

I loved the stories from the past, both of his childhood and the early days of trying to make it as entertainer any way possible. My favorites were the stories of the making of Mary Poppins, as well as that of the Dick Van Dike show.

It's hard to hear his view of spirituality, especially of how he was turned off from organized religion - bigots have no place in a church, and I'm sad that turned him off.

A lot of these racially-charged and political stories from the 60s and 70s are much more personal to my parents, and I think it's harder for them to listen to stories from that time than it is for me, because to me it's just history, and it's interesting to hear his perspective as a relatively famous entertainer.

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