La Lucci

All My Children star Lucci (All My Life) discusses grieving her husband, TV producer Helmut Huber, in this heartfelt memoir. Huber died of a stroke in 2022, when he was 84; he and Lucci had been married for 53 years. The shock of his death brought "a ferocious river--make that a flood--of emotions running toward me that I never expected to experience, let alone share," Lucci explains. Nevertheless, she pushes past her penchant for privacy to offer dispatches from the other side of acceptance and provide comfort to readers experiencing similar losses. In addition to her account of sleepless nights and spiritual searching after Huber's death, Lucci reaches further back in time, recalling the joys of mothering two children after a devastating miscarriage, the 2011 cancellation of All My Children (she was "blindsided"), and her Broadway debut in the 1999 revival of Annie Get Your Gun. With conversational candor, the actor provides an unsentimental road map for moving on in the face of profound personal (and professional) loss. Even readers unfamiliar with Lucci's TV work will find this worth a look. Agent: Mel Berger, WME. (Feb.)

Daytime television's most recognizable actress digs deeper in this second memoir. Her career-defining, four decades--long stint on the daytime soapAll My Children as the villainous Erica Kane has made Lucci a recognizable household name in daytime television circles. In this sophomore effort, comprised of a vivid and engaging collection of anecdotes and adventures, the actress reveals more intimate details of her struggles as well as her personal life and professional career. From the time she began performing in high school stage musicals, Lucci admits to always wanting to be onstage. Working through chronic shyness, her self-motivation and spirit drove her to pursue an acting career despite the many disappointments, callous dismissals, and various roadblocks that stood in her way. She expresses an open admiration for her parents, fellow performers who mentored her up the Hollywood ladder, and Muhammad Ali, who "owned his excellence," as models of inspiration. Other sections reflect on her time as a working mother, the tricks to "growing old gracefully," and how her faith, quest for joy, love of reading, and zest for life continue to sustain her. In an effort to create a more balanced memoir, Lucci also opens up to candidly share several sad and unsavory moments like being told she should probably abandon a career in television because she was too "ethnic looking"; the devastating dayAll My Children was canceled; the near loss of her son, Andreas, as an infant; and the feeling, upon the death of her husband, Helmut, in 2022, that the light within her "had gone out forever." However crushing these events in her life were, they were counterbalanced with uplifting triumphs and only served as motivators to continue pushing forward to seek out the success and happiness she knew she deserved. With verve and perseverance, Lucci gleefully boasts about her starring roles in off-Broadway hits and concurrent film roles, yet, in her late 70s, she remains deeply grateful and humble and shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. Lucci's legion of fans will adore this gracious nod to her career longevity and positivity. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.