Managing Expectations by Minnie Driver

During the summer before my junior year of high school, I worked for a television casting agent named Bobby Hoffman. He was the kindest man, and his office was on the Paramount lot where he cast my dad's TV shows: "Happy Days," "Laverne & Shirley" and "Mork and Mindy." On those hot summer afternoons when I worked for Bobby, my job was to organize the head shots and call the actors into Bobby's office to audition. As I pulled out each head shot from the pile, and then called the actor's name, I was worried sick for them. The pressure. The rejection. The shear chaos and uncertainty of it all. I was sure of one thing: I did not want to become an actor because it was too darn messy. "Managing Expectations" by Minnie Driver is the memoir of an actress who taught herself to lean into the mess, and make a very successful career for herself. Driver's autobiography strings together a series of charming, witty, and very-engaging essays. We start with her bohemian childhood, where she shuttled between her mother's house in England and her dad's residence in Barbados. Along with her siblings, she had to grow up fast, and learned to take care of herself when no one else would. Her big break came in the movie "Circle of Friends," and later the cult classic "Grosse Pointe Blank."  The role and real-life-romance she is best known for is opposite Matt Damon in "Good Will Hunting." Although she and Damon eventually broke up, her part in the film earned her an Academy Award nomination. Despite growing praise for her work, the acting road ahead was not easy. She even gave up acting for a while to sell blue jeans in Uruguay, and also launched a successful singing career. Driver, however, has continued to survive in Hollywood by believing in herself, and taking care of her family. Some of the most heart-felt writing in the book are the pages about taking care of her dying mother, Gaynor Churchward, a model and fabric designer. Driver is now the single parent of a 14-year-old son, Henry. Together they live in Malibu with her partner filmmaker, Addison O'Dea. To buy this book on Amazon click here.