Where Am I Now?

Mara Wilson is one of those child actors who hit puberty and more or less disappeared. For a while it felt like she was everywhere, though she really only had a couple of big movies. But man were they big movies. Matilda and Mrs. Doubtfire were definitely staples of my childhood. And then she grew up and I grew up and I honestly didn't give her much thought until she resurfaced in the public eye a few years ago.

She didn't make a big splash the way she did as a kid. She wasn't even really acting this time around. She was writing and becoming active on twitter. I started reading some her work and admiring her more. And then she wrote one of my favorite articles on the-toast (about Rizzo and Sandra Dee) and once I realized that I knew I had to get my hands on her book.

Reading her essays was a joy. She's a fantastic writer with a subtle humor that I really appreciate. The book runs the gamut from growing up on film sets to dealing with mean girls in high school to learning to appreciate casual sex. It also deals with some much heavier issues. Mara's mother died of breast cancer just after she finished filming Matilda, and she was diagnosed with OCD a few years later. But in the midst of all that there's a lot of joy.

Wilson fared better than a lot of childhood stars, mostly because her family was so supportive and did a good job of keeping her grounded. There's a beautiful ode to her relationship with her sister, and it's clear that her father and older brothers love her a lot. She talks candidly and openly about her struggles, and her honestly is balanced nicely with self-deprecation and lessons learned. I hope she writes a lot more. I'll definitely pick up any other books she releases.

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