Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
Though fueled above all by her talent, McMillan's success--as is made clear in this life of the popular novelist--also owes much to her strength of character. How fortunate, then, that the first bio of the author of Waiting to Exhale and How Stella Got Her Groove Back comes from a writer (of, among other books, several children's bios of African-Americans: Toni Morrison, Colin Powell, etc.) whose prose displays energy and personality equal to her subject. Patrick begins with a long, entertaining foreword that explains the genesis of this book, including her futile attempts to gain McMillan's cooperation. The novelist doesn't charm when the biographer finally meets her, but, Patrick points out, in any case "you have to give her props" for what she's accomplished--and Patrick proceeds to do just that. Tracking McMillan from her childhood in Port Huron, Mich., through her early writing years in New York and subsequent fame and fortune, Patrick mixes facts about McMillan's life (both professional and personal), psychological insight into her subject and deep background on the places, times and people around her. Of particular note is Patrick's acute analysis of the changes McMillan has wrought in the publishing industry, dramatically expanding the opportunities for, and commercial expectations of, African-American writers. Unauthorized this book may be, but it suffers little from McMillan's boycott, as Patrick has interviewed many of those near to the novelist and provides perceptive readings of McMillan's writings, nimbly untangling the weave between her subject's life and work. Lively, opinionated and smartly informative, this bio should appeal not only to myriad McMillan fans but to anyone interested in a compelling presentation of a model modern American success story. (Sept.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
Library Journal
A freelance contributor to Publishers Weekly, Patrick has written a "breezy biography," said LJ's reviewer, of the African American author (Waiting To Exhale and How Stella Got Her Groove Back). (LJ 8/99) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
A flimsy biography of the phenomenonally successful black author. The questions that come to mind after reading Patrick's book have more to do with the nature of biography than with the nature of Terry McMillan. Is biography simply well-put-together research? If that's the case, then Patrick's work fits the bill, since there are facts to be picked up herein, such as where McMillan grew up and went to school, how many brothers and sisters she has, what she did for a day job while writing at night, and various other mechanics of how she came to be the first black woman author to have both a bestselling book and a box office hit with Waiting to Exhale. However, if the genre requires insight or a convincing argument that the life of its subject is relevant to readers, then this unauthorized biography falls short in any number of ways. Patrick gets off to a bumpy start with a defensive and occasionally whiny introduction that explains why the biography is unauthorized, which contains the usual reasons of the subject not wanting her biography written just yet and thus not participating in its creation. As the book continues, McMillan's objections seem well justified, for not only is there little to be found here that could not be gleaned by reading her novels and a few interviews with her, but also what is here is written in a format that seems more suited to the adolescent reader than to the adults who are its probable consumers. Sentences describing McMillan's ambition ("Maybe she could only afford water, but that didn't stop her from looking at the soda bottles and visualizing!") make it hard to think of this successful author as anything close to a real person. Curiosity about TerryMcMillan would be better satisfied by reading her books. (8 pages b&w photos, unseen).
