Secrets of a Sparrow

Ilene Cooper

Why are people saying such terrible things about Diana Ross? People like fellow ex-Supreme Mary Wilson, who, in her own book, cut Diana into small chunks and roasted her on a skewer. Or all those gossip columnists and former employees who say Queen Elizabeth would have trouble appearing regal next to Miss Ross (as she prefers to be called). Well, Miss Ross has written her memoirs to tell you she's a kind, gracious, loving woman, concerned for all. She loves her family, her husband, her former husband, her associates, and her former associates (even the ones, like Wilson, who've done her dirty). All these revelations are presented, by the way, in very short, heavily illustrated chapters written in an almost laughably affected tone. Sentences such as these appear two or three to the page: "Through the burden of my celebrity, I have learned certain ways to carry myself and my loads. I always try to see the bigger scheme of things and in so doing find a form of grace with which to live my life." Ross seems to want the Miss changed to Saint. To that end, she also describes her spiritual journey through the years, offering hackneyed bits of advice for those less fortunate than her: "Change is an essential part of life." Unfortunately, even with all the aphorisms and all the poetry (yes, we're also treated to Ross' versifying), there's nothing very revealing here, either in terms of personalities or events. Books like this are the reason for unauthorized biographies.