Summary of Ashley Judd's All That Is Bitter and Sweet

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 I consider it a blessing that I was born in California during one of the most turbulent springs in American history. I began to understand the dynamics of my past when I was thirty-seven years old and started on a simple and practical path of personal recovery.

#2 I have a deep sense of belonging in Kentucky, and I love going there to visit my family. I have a family history there that goes back several generations.

#3 My father, Michael Ciminella, was the son of Sicilian immigrants who had settled in western New York. He idolized his father, whom he remembered as outgoing, immensely competitive, hardworking, and honest. He never lied or cheated to make a sale.

#4 When Michael first met Diana, he fell in love with her and asked her to marry him. She said yes, but she never loved him. She was impressed by the comfortable lifestyle of the Ciminella family, which seemed luxurious compared with her family’s humbler circumstances.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822516151

IRB Media

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Insights on Ashley Judd's All That Is Bitter and Sweet

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 13

Insights from Chapter 14

Insights from Chapter 15

Insights from Chapter 16

Insights from Chapter 17

Insights from Chapter 18

Insights from Chapter 19

Insights from Chapter 20

Insights from Chapter 21

Insights from Chapter 22

Insights from Chapter 23

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

I consider it a blessing that I was born in California during one of the most turbulent springs in American history. I began to understand the dynamics of my past when I was thirty-seven years old and started on a simple and practical path of personal recovery.

#2

I have a deep sense of belonging in Kentucky, and I love going there to visit my family. I have a family history there that goes back several generations.

#3

My father, Michael Ciminella, was the son of Sicilian immigrants who had settled in western New York. He idolized his father, whom he remembered as outgoing, immensely competitive, hardworking, and honest. He never lied or cheated to make a sale.

#4

When Michael first met Diana, he fell in love with her and asked her to marry him. She said yes, but she never loved him. She was impressed by the comfortable lifestyle of the Ciminella family, which seemed luxurious compared with her family’s humbler circumstances.

#5

When my mother was a junior in high school, her brother Brian was diagnosed with a deadly form of Hodgkin’s lymphoma. She was pregnant, and the family had to decide whether to have an abortion or not.

#6

The first time my mother missed her period was when she was married to Charlie Jordan, and she was pregnant with my sister. She decided to identify Michael Ciminella as the baby’s father, and she and my father were married in a sad ceremony in Virginia.

#7

In 1964, my sister was born. In 1967, my parents moved to California, where my father was offered a job with Amphenol, an electronics company. They lived in Chicago while my father went through his training as a sales engineer. When he was finished, the company offered him a position in its plum office in Los Angeles.

#8

I was a happy, easy baby with hugely chubby cheeks, deep dark eyes, and olive skin. As I started to walk and talk, my father nicknamed me Ashley Famous—which, if you ask me, was an improvement over Fat Ashley.

#9

I had a very difficult time adjusting to my new family. My mother’s boyfriend, who was also her boss, was a heroin addict with a criminal record. He was abusive towards my sisters and me. My mother denigrated my father constantly, making him sound dangerous and untrustworthy.

#10

I loved my big sister dearly. She was my protector. I remember jumping into bed with her while our house on Larrabee Street shook during a big earthquake. When I was still too little to be in school all day, I would play in my sister’s room to feel closer to her.

#11

I had been bounced around from town to town, household to household, from Los Angeles to Kentucky to Northern California, while my mother roamed, developing her lofty dreams. I was taught to believe that our lifestyle was normal and never to question it or complain.

Insights from Chapter 2

#1

I was very feral, and it