Tuesday, May 6, 2008 Oprah Show: The Barbara Walters Interview
Barbara Walters was on the other side of the table today when Oprah interviewed her about the details from her new memoir, Audition. Sharing information on scandals from The View, on her secret affair with US Senator Ed Brooke and her struggles with her sister who was mildly disabled, a new side of Barbara Walter emerged.
It was nice to see a more human side of Barbara, instead of the typical tough interviewer and television personality. It was shocking to hear about her affair with an African-American man, especially in the 70s when the news breaking could have destroyed both of their careers. Seeing Barbara as a mother, I think, will connect her with so many people who didn't think that they had anything in common with "the first lady of television." Knowing that Barbara struggled having a daughter using drugs and running away like so many parents today, will help so many people know that if she can get through it, they can too.
Tomorrow on Oprah:
- "Viewers React: The Week in Review"
Comments
Barbara Walter’s life was influenced greatly by her older sister and she’s written a beautiful memoir about her life. I read another memoir of a life influence by a sibling that I recommend highly - I actually liked it even more. The memoir is “”My Stroke of Insight”" by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor. Dr Taylor became a Harvard brain scientist to find the cause and cure for schizophrenia because her older brother was a sufferer. Then, crazy as life can be, Dr. Taylor had a stroke at age 37. What was amazing was that her left brain was shut down by the stroke - where language and thinking occur - but her right brain was fully functioning. She experienced bliss and nirvana and the way she writes about it (or talks about it in her now famous TED talk) is incredible.
What I took away from Dr. Taylor’s book above all, and why I recommend it so highly, is that you don’t have to have a stroke or take drugs to find the deep inner peace that she talks about. Her book explains how. “”I want what she’s having”", and thanks to this wonderful book, I can!