Book summary

Academy Award-winning comedic actress Goldie Hawn's career has encompassed the zany humor of the 1960s TV hit Laugh-In, her fine dramatic portrayal of a single-minded welfare mom in Steven Spielberg's SUGARLAND EXPRESS, and the goofy yet irrepressible army trainee Judy Benjamin in PRIVATE BENJAMIN. Her memoir, A LOTUS GROWS IN THE MUD, is a series of loosely connected episodes recalling her loving, affectionate family background, her early years of struggle in some of the seamier neighborhoods of '60s New York City (including an unpleasant "audition" for the carnally inclined artist Al Capp, the creator of the Li'l Abner cartoon series), and the anxiety attacks and depression she encountered upon achieving success in Hollywood. In an often hilarious but also sometimes surprisingly serious look back at her public and private past, Hawn reflects on the triumphs and tragedies of her life, revealing the spiritual, introspective personality at the core of her wacky public persona.