When I was younger and Shirley Maclaine was establishing herself as a nut, I never dreamed I would be reading one of her books, much less nodding my head in agreement to some of her metaphysical beliefs. In this book, most fleeting references to her philosophy of life are purposely oblique. She comes across as wise and well-grounded, at least as much as an actor can be. ;-) I didn't realize that she and her brother Warren Beatty came from a privileged, academic background. Or that Shirley Maclaine is about as unpretentious and uncertain about life as the average person. She reveals more of her vulnerabilities than her vanities in this book. As far as her spiritual beliefs, which are definitely not mainstream, sometimes it just boils down to, as she says, "I came to a crossroads in my life one day and my spiritual beliefs saved me."