I went to the book signing at Princeton's Barnes & Noble last night for Brooke Shield's new book, Down Came the Rain, about her struggle with post partum depression.
I don't have a lot of time to comment right now, but I will say that Brooke looked really skinny and I noticed that her eyes were terribly bloodshot when she signed my book. She looked really tired, but she remained gracious to all who approached her.
I met a lot of characters on line, while waiting for her to sign the book, which made the wait fly by and worthwhile, as it gave me lots of material for interesting characters.
I was annoyed that Brooke insisted on NO PHOTOS at all, because that's the whole point of going to these things -- to photograph yourself in the same room as a celebrity -- and then post to your blog of course. I did manage a quick shot as I was leaving the store -- which is terribly blurry because I didn't use a flash (for fear of being noticed) but I figured I had to at least attempt to get some image -- for the sake of the blog.
Anyway, I appreciate the fact that Brooke is using her celebrity to talk about post partum depression, but I was diappointed the way her people handled the signing.
Brooke DID SIGN every book, but it was a quick assembly-line version where Brooke signed books as her assistant handed to her, while simultaneously chatting with people and trying to quickly acknowledge those of us standing before her.
I have to imagine this is greatly unsatisfying and exhausting for the one signing the book. Book signings should allow for the writer to connect with his or her readers, instead of bombarding them with such cursory and unfulfilling connections that most likely leave her head spinning and feeling even more unconnected to the crowd around her.
I mean, her celebrity CLEARLY is what drew the crowd.
Personally, I would have loved to join Brooke for a couple of beers, a plate of nachos, and some juicey momtalk at TGIF's after the book signing.
Maybe next time.
Postraptum depression is a serious issue and it worths talking about.There are many pills for this problem but unfortunately many of them have some side effects.
Posted by: Cara Fletcher | Wednesday, September 19, 2007 at 04:22 PM