The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man: A Memoir

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Danger ejected him from this state of anaesthesia. Hence his obsession with racing cars, which began with a movie role as a grand prix driver in Winning but took him “outside that fictional experience into something real and quite primitive”. More culpably, he also urged his son, Scott – an addict and an unsuccessful actor, with whom his relationship was “a dance of death” – to take high-speed risks on the road. At one lacerating moment, Newman recalls that he considered shooting himself to rid Scott of “the affliction that was me”; in the event, it was the unhappy Scott who died prematurely. Then all this was put together for a book about Paul Newman, contributions and stories from his co-stars and directors.

His intention was to bare his soul and be real in ways that expose his truth – his life, and thus he could feel right that he left his story the way he needed it to be said. Mostly for his children. And then for those who cared to read it, too. And in this way, we would learn about the man, the actor, his flaws, his imperfections, and the realness of him. As well as all the people that surrounded his life. I felt no closer to understanding Newman after reading this book than I did before. He would agree with my assertion and nod and shrug.

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I have been a huge fan of Paul Newman since I saw my first of his movies, The Long Hot Summer, which also happened to feature his wife Joanne Woodward. Those baby blues led to my major infatuation on my part and even to this day, I consider Paul Newman to be a celebrity crush. When I heard a posthumous memoir was created from his writing and interviews, I knew I needed to get my hands on it. Newman often had a shitty opinion of himself - spent time in therapy examining his life, his marriage to Joanne Woodward, his parenting, his acting, etc. You read a celebrity biography/autobiography you would like to know the person, the personality, Newman shows not much personality, a very private and quite person, no mention of co-stars, many films not mentioned at all, no mention of The Towering Inferno at all. Newman at his best...with his self-aware persona, storied marriage and generous charitable activities...this rich book somehow imbues his characters' pain and joy with fresh technicolor." -- The Wall Street Journal Newman was predisposed to addiction and alcohol. He compensated his drinking with physical fitness and long saunas.

I'm about halfway through the audiobook, and I cannot stop listening. My respect for the man is not even slightly diminished by knowing about his personal struggles. His honesty and integrity manage to shine throughout his revelations about his battle with alcoholism and self-doubt. I'm so glad that I chose to listen to the audiobook because it is impeccably done. I suspected that I was going to enjoy learning more about this very private man's life but I had no idea that the book was going to be so excellently executed. My very sincere thanks to his family, friends, and coworkers - and to everyone else involved in the production of this outstanding combination autobiography/biography. It does this extraordinary man justice. The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man is revelatory and introspective, personal and analytical, loving and tender in some places, always complex and profound.also a director, race car driver, husband, father, philanthropist, (went further than most actors), business owner of a non-profit ‘Newman’s Own’ (salad dressings, etc.), struggled with alcohol, was often lonely, a private man who needed to have a lot of people around him…..