Reflections After Reading This Time Together

This Time Together is Carol Burnett's memoir of her career in television and movies.  This is a delightful look at her career and life.  I love the fact that she shares so many behind the scenes secrets in the television industry and how her show was produced in the 1970s.

I remember watching re-runs of The Carol Burnett Show on TBS in the 80s when I was growing up.  Every afternoon after school I watched Carol Burnett, Vickie Lawrence, Tim Conway, and Harvey Korman crack up with each other.  I loved all the costumes.  My favorite sketches were 'Mama's Family' (that later became it's own sit-com) and the 'Gone with the Wind' episode.  Who could forget Scarlett's dress made from the drapes?

If Carol was producing her show today, I'm sure she would also have a behind the scenes reality show.  This Time Together is full of her memories that could easily be weekly episodes of that reality show.

One of my favorite things about this book is that it is written exactly how Carol Burnett talks.  You can 'hear' her voice as you read the tales.  It 'sounds' just like she is talking on the Today Show, Oprah, or any other TV interview show.

What I learned about my own writing while reading This Time Together was about maintaining my unique voice in my narrative.  I re-read some of the previous work I've done on A Place to Call Their Own and could distinguish how my 'voice' changed from the earliest pieces throughout the section I'm working on now.  I was able to go through and make some edits so my voice is consistent throughout the entire work.

Whether you're fan or not, I'm sure you'll enjoy this glimpse into Carol Burnett's career from her humble beginnings to the projects she's worked on more recently (who could forget her as Jamie's mom on Mad About You?  Especially the episodes preparing for Mabel's birth?).