Product Description

Shirley MacLaine has found a perfect love in the furry bundle of canine charms that is Terry. With her winning terrier ways and an endless wellspring of love, Terry has succeeded in doing what no one before her ever has: slowing Shirley's peripatetic travels, shifting the actress and author's global axis to hearth and home. In fact, with Terry by her side, Shirley sees the world in new ways she never thought possible. Together, they explore the nature of love and of time, having shared at least one previous life together in ancient Egypt. Together, too, they seek to understand world events. And in a unique and delightful twist, we see Terry's point of view on Shirley's domestic and inner life, as the terrier's mistress continually questions the deeper nature of reality.

An utterly charming, witty, and ultimately wise memoir of a truly remarkable woman, Out on a Leash is an irresistible bonbon for Shirley MacLaine's fans and for dog lovers everywhere.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #396571 in Books
• Published on: 2004-11-02
• Released on: 2004-11-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .55" h x 5.56" w x 8.40" l, .49 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The latest addition to actress MacLaine's New Age/autobiography oeuvre (Going Within; My Lucky Stars, etc.) is an excellent example of what can happen when a book exists because of its author's fame instead of her dedication to the craft of writing. Wandering, incoherent and self-congratulatory, MacLaine's 10th book will not earn her new fans. The book alternates between MacLaine's own voice and that of her dog, Terry, with whom the author communicates in "humanimal," which, she says, is a "purer, more direct form of language" than English. Her devotion to Terry is somewhat unnerving; she calls the pet her "heart" and her "new daughter"; later she explains "I know Terry senses my thoughts" and avers that Terry is "holy." MacLaine uses Terry's 'voice' to point out what a good actress "Mistress Mother" is, to reveal their past lives together in ancient Egypt, and to articulate the opinions that "we never die" and that "nothing is evil." In her own voice, MacLaine shares more of her belief system-an apparent combination of Nostradamus' predictions, Hopi and Mayan prophecies, Edgar Cayce's channelings, Egyptian mythology and the Bible. Along the way, we get brief glimpses of MacLaine's life that might have proved interesting if they had been developed (e.g., "I missed a lot in my daughter's life but I did it to avoid imposing on her"), as well as her disconnected musings on nature, the Iraqi war ("I see signs that we are on the cusp of a new and devastating reality"), and dog and human sex. MacLaine's books have consistently sold well; no doubt those readers who enjoyed her previous volumes will find Terry's musings on life fascinating as well.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"Engaging...from the first chapter...to the last."

About the Author
Shirley MacLaine—Oscar, three-time Emmy, and ten time Golden Globe-winning actress—has appeared in more than fifty films, has been nominated for an Academy Award six times, and received the Oscar for Best Actress in 1984 (Terms of Endearment). Additionally, she was honored with the 1999 Golden Bear Award for lifetime achievement at the Berlin International Film Festival and the 1998 Cecil B. DeMille Award for outstanding contribution to the entertainment field. She has also won two British Academy Awards, two German Silver Bear and Golden Camera awards, two Volpi Cup awards at the Venice Film Festival, two Donatello awards in Italy, and New York Film Critics and Los Angeles Film Critics Awards. A longtime outspoken advocate for civil rights and literties, Shirley is the author of ten international bestsellers: Sage-ing While Age-ing, Out on a Leash, The Camino, Don't Fall off the Mountain, You Can Get There From Here, Out on a Limb, Dancing in the Light, It's All in the Playing, Going Within, Dance While You Can, and My Lucky Stars. She lives in Malibu, California and Santa Fe, New Mexico.