Reading is an integral part of our every day life, whether for enjoyment, enlightenment or information. 

This week, I read a biography, Home,  that prompted my admiration and respect for a person who I thought I knew a lot about…Julie Andrews. 

Yes, we know her from her movies as the upbeat Maria from Sound of Music or the practically perfect nanny in every way Mary Poppins, but her childhood was all but perfect. 

Her mother was a pianist with big dreams for herself; her stepfather, an Irish tenor with a habit for drinking and abuse.  She really didn’t know her own father.  Not a fairy tale start for someone destined for greatness.

Her way out was her voice, which was discovered by her stepfather at a very early age.  Training her the best he could, he toured with little Julie and her mother throughout England.   She relates, with dramatic detail, of her life on the vaudeville circuit, the Broadway stage, and the movie soundstages. 

Even though this book encompasses only half her life, it gives a very candid and interesting glimpse of an actress/singer we all thought we knew, including myself.