When I’m feeling down and in the need of a cheer up, streaming a few episodes of Smack the Pony usually does the trick. So I was really excited when Canongate Books sent me a copy of Doon Mackichan’s memoir.
I found it unusual as a memoir because it wasn’t just the re-accounting of somebody’s life with entertaining anecdotes are so many memoirs seem to be. This pulls a punch and has a point to make. I suppose you could call it a feminist memoir but I think it goes beyond that . It examine the place of women and how they are treated, certainly in the entertainment industry but you sense that it is much broader.
Doon is a force to be reckoned with. This is such a bold memoir, full of honesty and insight. The writer is unafraid to expose the misogyny that seems endemic and creates barriers for women in theatre, TV and films. She seems to have made an alternate career of sticking to her principles which I so admire.
But if all that sounds a little heavy, fear not, for this is also the work of a very witty author and there’s a balance between the good times and the bad times and there were plenty of both. I guess the account illustrates the price that can be paid for being bold enough to say no and calling out the bigotry.
However, it’s not all about show business. Doon speaks of her life outside of her thespian pursuits. Her early life and how she came to be involved in the performing arts. I found the account of her son’s leukaemia very moving indeed.
I also enjoyed the format of the book. Each chapter is prefaced with a casting call that gives you some hint of what’s ahead in that particular section and is a description of Doon Mackichan herself!
Thanks to Canongate Books
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