Customer Reviews

It's Always Something

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On Sunday, May 21, 1989, I was dining at a favorite restaurant, poring over the front page of "The Kansas City Star." When I saw the cruel headline ("Gilda Radner Dies at 42"), my appetite vanished - and I felt as if I had lost a very close friend. Two months later, battling my own chronic illness, I was given a copy of "It's Always Something" while hospitalized with major depression. I had always loved Gilda from "SNL", but now I loved her even more.

The gifted comedienne's gripping, poignant, wrenching (and, yes, at times humorous) account of her fight with Ovarian cancer touched my heart, and I mourned her death even more fully. Ovarian cancer ended Gilda's life, but Radner's tragedy didn't begin and end there. The medical community failed Gilda. Her maligancy was not diagnosed until TEN MONTHS - that's right - nearly a near - after her symptoms began. By the time she underwent surgery in October 1986, she was at Stage IV in the illness - a time in which survival rates are distressingly low.

I'm angry. I was angry in July 1989 - and I'm still angry nearly 15 years later.

But the sorrow and regret do not mitigate the joys and beauty of Gilda's wonderful book. Her vulnerability, endearing childlike innocence, her abundant wit, her lovable nature, and her enduring kindness pervade "It's Always Something." And that's probably why I loved this book, even at the lowest point in my own life, when I was facing potential long-term hospitalization.

Luckily, I didn't have cancer, but I still relate - in spades - to Gilda's frustration with the medical establishment. I'm still fighting the condition diagnosed 15 years ago, and I still love and revere the beloved comedienne who inspired such loyalty from so many.

I adore Gilda Radner, and "It's Always Something" I'll carry in my heart.....forever.

I have always loved Gilda Radner's sense of humor, but this book showed me there is much more to her than just her ability to make people laugh. This book was written by Gilda herself and chronicles her battle with ovarian cancer. She goes into detail about certain procedures she had done, about how she reacted when she lost her hair from chemo and about how the Wellness Community helped to keep her sane when she could no longer cope with having cancer. I had tears in my eyes thoughout the book, but I was able to smile and rejoice along with Gilda when she managed to put a positive spin on a bad situation. It doesn't matter if the reader can relate to her experiences or not. This book will touch your heart either way.

I read this book during the big blackout (using my trusty booklight), and it really affected me. Such a vital, funny, and brilliant young woman who was lost to ovarian cancer much too soon. It made me laugh, cry, and all the emotions in-between. A must-read book!

I could not help feeling a sense of sadness hovering over me while reading this book. After all, I knew the end already. This made it even harder to go through the passages where Gilda is full of hope, or when she receives good news about her remission. It was very courageous of her to put her thoughts on paper, and I am sure so many people have benefited from reading about her experiences. It always amazes me how people can be so candid about their "dirty laundry". For example, her cancer had a negative impact on her marriage. There were fights, some very ugly, and yet she is able to bare it all. I am sure it was not with a voyeuristic sense, but to show what havoc cancer can run in your life, and how you are not alone in your feelings. Ultimately this is what she found at The Wellness Community, and what she wished to give back. Good for her.

I read this book for the first time about 10 years ago. It touched my heart, made me laugh and made me cry.
10 years later, I still tell people what a wonderful book this is.
Gilda left us so many gifts, this is definately one of them!

When I found out I had to do a project on Gilda Radner I was stunned. It was for my American history class. I had never been a huge Gilda fan, but seen a few of her SNL skits, so I thought to myslef 'how did she change history'. I had no idea, until I read this book. Not only did Gilda change comedy forever, but she gave many cancer patients a reason to try and live. My Aunt had ovarian cancer durring the 80's, and told me that with out Gilda's advice, she would have wanted to die. Gilda wrote this book while she had cancer, what an amazing thing to do. She wrote a beautiful book that truely I wouldn't put down. I read the book 4 times, and still wanted to read it again. Gilda finds a way to tell her story as your own. She touches something from your past or future. It's such an amazing book, and i recomend it to people of all ages.

The book tells of her fight with cancer. I don't know if the abridged version left out a lot of funny parts, but when she reads it in her own voice and you know she dies a month later, you have to feel for her. Her spirit does shine through the book and it is very touching but it is not the kind of book to pep a person up. The writing style is similiar to a journal and she rarely changes much inflection in her voice, which only confirms that she must be going through a lot of pain when she tells you about her life. This book was enriching but I would not "entertaining".

I've always been a fan of Gilda Radner.She was the greatest new comedian to come from the 70's.Just to look at her face doing skits on S.N.L. had me laughing out loud.I was so happy when it seemed Gilda was winning the battle over cancer.When she appeared on Gary Shandling's show,and made jokes about it.She looked fantastic.They even had a special lunch for Gilda,thinking she was cancer free,but she knew it was back again.Gilda still didn't give up. There's a part in the book when Gilda was walking down the street,and a car splashes muddy water on her.She starts yealing something about being "Cancer Women." Its the funniest part of the book.Gilda also write's about her childhood,and the S.N.L days,and her life with Gene Wilder.This book is very helpfull for anyone who has Cancer,and what to do if cancer runs in you family like it did in Gilda's.If only she knew,everything would have been different,but Gilda and her family have saved so many lives through Gilda's place. This is a beutifull book,and its not sad.Gilda's last gift to the World.

I have read this book at least 5 times and every time I do, I am reminded that God could take me at any time and I need to live life to the fullest. Gilda Radner was a wonderful comedian, a beautiful person and she was very brave. She fought for love and she fought for life. I lost my grandmother to lung cancer in June, and reading this book really helped with the healing process.

I read this book without knowing why--five years before my wife developed ovarian cancer. If you know someone who has the disease or would like to know about its effects and treatments (most of them haven't changed much), I highly recommend this book. If you want to read about a love affair that lives beyond the limitations of illness and death, I recommend this book. If you just want to read about someone who lived and died with courage and dignity, I recommend this book. And if you want to deepen your faith in the strength and courage of the human spirit, I recommend this book. I'm glad I read it before my wife and I followed an almost identical path until she died in January of 1998.