Perspective

My Mother Was Nuts is a memoir by Penny Marshall who wrote her story in the first person. Penny Marshall is a talented comedienne and infuses a good deal of humor, irony and cynicism into the account of her life and career. Although the title would lead one to believe that the book is a diatribe against Marshall's mother, it isn't that at all. She does relate the ups and downs she had with her mother. But in the end, there was love and caring between them. Penny and her siblings saw to it that their mother was cared for until she passed away after a losing battle with Alzheimer's disease.

A good portion of the book is devoted to her career as an actress, producer and director. She relates her experiences in being an "overnight success" after being cast in one of the leads of a smash...