I, Rhoda

Written by Valerie Harper

Narrated by Valerie Harper

2014 Audie Award Finalist for Narration by the Author

The heartwarming memoir of beloved television actress Valerie Harper, best known for her role as Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and on Rhoda.

Valerie Harper was an unknown actress when she won the groundbreaking role of Rhoda Morgenstern, Mary Tyler Moore’s lovable and self-deprecating on-screen best friend. Bold and hilarious, the native New Yorker and struggling working girl was unlucky in love and insecure about her weight—in other words, every woman’s best friend.

Harper represented a self-reliant new identity for women of the 1970s. She fought for equal rights alongside feminists Gloria Steinem and Bella Abzug; and her incredible showbiz journey, which began on Broadway with Lucille Ball and Jackie Gleason, led her to four Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe.

Harper is upbeat and funny, and her inspiring life story is laced with triumphs and transformative obstacles. This beloved actress’s incredible pluck, indomitable spirit, and warm and generous heart have touched our lives and kept us entertained for decades.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Jan 15, 2013
• ISBN: 9781442361942

Valerie Harper

Valerie Harper is best known for her role as Rhoda Morgenstern on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and on Rhoda. The winner of four Emmys, as well as a Golden Globe for her starring role in Rhoda, Harper has been celebrated by fans and peers alike for her work in television. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband.

Reviews for I, Rhoda

[Ellen Hanes · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was so entertaining! Just love to hear these adventures of the actors I grew up with. Sad it’s over!

[Ellen Wilts · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great listen! Read by author she does a super job. What a life well lived

[kerryreis57 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In January 2000, I was in the middle of overseeing a very busy electronic junket schedule for ABC TV programming at the Winter Press Tour, which included interviews for the upcoming television reunion movie, Mary & Rhoda, when Valerie Harper expressed her concern for my inability to stop and have something to eat for lunch. She fussed over me for several minutes instead of concerning herself with the press interviews she was in the middle of doing for the promotion of the movie which revisited her most famous character, Rhoda Morgenstern, reuniting with her friend, Mary Richards. It was this same voice of concern and idealistic optimism that I recognized while reading this touching and positive memoir. This is not a gossipy tell-all, but rather a celebratory relating of a positive life and career with a lot of appreciation for the friends who supported her along the way. Enjoyable and easy to read.

[mcelhra · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I love celebrity biographies and autobiographies because I love getting the inside scoop and dirt of what really goes on in the entertainment world. Although I have ,of course, seen Valerie Harper on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rhoda, I chose this book because I primarily wanted the details of when she was fired from her sitcom Valerie (that show is more of my time than MTM.) I was disappointed that this period of her life was glossed over and not much detail was given at all. That was actually a running theme with this book. Valerie told her story as mostly a timeline of her life, without going into too much detail on any event. She did drop plenty of names, which is GREAT with me, but she didn’t really have much to say about any of those names except that they were great, amazing, beautiful, etc.That was another thing that bothered me. She talks about her work with the feminist movement and the ERA but at the same time she is very focused on her own appearance and the appearance of other women. Usually positive in the case of other women and negative about herself. That seemed contradictory to me.One last criticism. Valerie narrated the audio book herself and I thought she spoke too slowly and overemphasized too many of the words. I did enjoy the various accents that she used when imitating people though.Even though I had some issues with this book, I still enjoyed it for the most part and I’m glad I read it. I had no idea that Valerie started as a dancer or that she had an active career after Valerie that included being nominated for a Tony Award. There is no mention of her recent brain cancer diagnosis but I was surprised that she survived a bout with lung cancer a few years ago. Valerie Harper seems like a positive person and I wish her all the best in her remaining days, weeks or hopefully, years.