Fonda divides her "life so far" into three "acts," writing about her
childhood, first films, and marriage to Roger Vadim in Act One. At once a
picture emerges: a child born to the acting legend Henry Fonda and the
glamorous society princess Frances Seymour. But these early years are also
marked by profound sadness: her mother's mental illness and suicide when
Jane is twelve years old, her father's emotional distance, and her
personal struggle to find her way in the world as a young woman.
By her second act, Fonda lays the foundation for her activism, even as
her career takes flight. She highlights her struggle to live consciously
and authentically while remaining in the public eye as she recounts her
marriages to Tom Hayden and Ted Turner, and examines her controversial and
defining involvement with the Vietnam War. As her film career grows, Fonda
learns to incorporate her roles into a larger vision of what matters most
in her life-and in the process she wins two Academy Awards, for Klute and
for Coming Home.
In Fonda's third act, she is prepared to do the work of a lifetime-to
begin living consciously in a way that might inspire others who can learn
from her experiences. Surprising, candid, and wonderfully written, Jane
Fonda's My Life So Far is filled with universal insights into the personal
struggles of women living full and engaged lives.
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