Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me by Whoopi Goldberg

I spend a lot of time in my car, and while I like my car, I do not like the silene that ensues when I don’t have an audiobook. So, one morning I was mining the available offerings on the free Libby library app when I found this lovely book, “Bits and Pieces’ by Whoopi Goldberg. While I have admired her as a comedian for years, I didn’t really know very much about her. She has won many awards and helms a popular talk show, but this book provides a glimpse into her upbringing. This book is about Whoopi, before she became Whoopi. Growing up in the projects of New York City, Whoopi was named Caryn Johnson and lived with her mother Emma and her beloved brother, Clyde. The family was very poor, but Whoopi and her brother did not know that. While their dad was absent, their mother treated them to trips to Coney Island, the Ice Capades, museums and Christmas mornings filled with presents. Despite the lack of money, magic permeated the relationship of Emma and her children. Eventually Caryn changed her named to Whoopi when she started acting. However, despite her rise to stardom, she stayed very close to her mother and brother even living with them in Northern California. But everything changed in 2010 when her mother died suddenly, and then her brother died 5 years later. The family unit that gave Whoopi so much energy and strength was suddenly gone, and she was at a loss as how to move forward without their support. This sadness and grief were the motivating force behind writing “Bits and Pieces.” She found that to write about Emma and Clyde, and share their story, was to honor their memory and their life together. They experienced tough times, but more than anything else, theirs was a house filled with laughter. At the end of the book, Whoopi provides advice on dealing with the loss of a loved one, and I found her attitude practical and spot on. For example, go through your late parent's belongings with a sibling or friend, not alone. “Bits and Pieces” is not only a memoir but also a guidebook to managing the loss of a loved one. Dealing with the death of both her mother and brother has enriched and informed Whoopi's future forever, and made her wiser, too. To buy this book on Amazon click here.