Book Reviewed: The Wall of Life: Pictures and Stories from This Marvelous Lifetime by Shirley MacLaine

A life in pictures In this remarkable book of pictures, author Shirly MacLaine shares over 150 images (B&W) from her personal archive accompanied by a brief narrative. There are numerous pictures from her childhood with parents and brother Warren Beatty, several pictures with members of “Rat Pack,” Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davies, Jr. with whom she had lasting friendship, in addition, Clint Eastwood, Jack Nicholson, Sydney Poitier, and many others including Morgan Freeman to whom she once propositioned. She also met many American presidents like Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and Geroge McGovern. She led a life of political and personal activism. There is a photograph on page 242 depicting a woman dancing on the top of a cliff. This image is a self-portrait capturing MacLaine herself in a moment of expressive dance against a dramatic natural backdrop. It reflects her lifelong dedication to dance, performing arts, and her adventurous spirit that is deeply connected to Oneness with nature. It is a visual representation of her artistic journey and personal philosophy, a harmonious blend of art with the natural world. Shirley MacLaine explored Vedanta philosophy of Hinduism, and profoundly impacted by the themes of interconnectedness, self-realization, and the nature of Pure Consciousness, Paramātmā, the Absolute Atman or Supreme Soul where all personality/individuality, spacetime, matter and energy vanishes. MacLaine was deeply immersed in this metaphysical thought in which a universal consciousness gives rise to everything that exists in the cosmos. Reincarnation, a concept of Hindu philosophy fascinated MacLaine and she reflects her thoughts about past lives, dharma, karma, and attainment of Jnana yoga. MacLaine was married to producer Steve Parker from 1954 to 1982 with an unconventional relationship, an open marriage, allowing both partners to explore other relationships. She admits to affairs with her costars Robert Mitchum, French actor Yves Montand, comedian and actor Danny Kaye, George Huvos, her first love, and Andrew Peacock, her last love. There were also relationships with journalists, Pete Hamill, and Sander Vanocur, and of course she also admits that she once propositioned actor Morgan Freeman, but he declined her advance. In one section of the book, she discusses being nominated for best actress for the film Apartment, but on Oscar night, she was in Japan filming Geisha. She believes that Elizabeth Taylor won the award in best actress category for Butterfield 8 because the award was a sympathy vote for Taylor who was dying of pneumonia that year. MacLaine felt disappointed but agrees that her best friend Elizabeth Taylor was a brilliant actress, The Apartment is still one of her favorite films. There are pictures from India she visited; she flew to New Delhi, rented a car, and drove south to Chennai (Madras) by herself ended up on the west coast of India. She was exhilarated by the spirituality and culture. In 1994, she walked the Camino de Santiago, a five-hundred-mile trek across Spain in thirty days by herself, and her meeting with Stephen Hawking at Cambridge discussing cosmology. She speaks warmly of her friendship with members of the Ratpack, especially Sammy Davis Jr. This is a wonderful book which I very much enjoyed, and I strongly recommend this to readers interested in her life.