Becoming Yourself

At 74 years old, Academy Award®-winning actress—and six-time nominee—Ellen Burstyn, is one of the true Hollywood legends. Some of her most famous films include The Exorcist, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Same Time, Next Year and, most recently, The Fountain. Now she's expanded her résumé with the memoir Lessons in Becoming Myself, a brutally honest examination of her life, including an abusive childhood, and her painful and sometimes tragic relationships.

In her book, Ellen shares what she has learned from her unconventional life...but when she began to write, she didn't intend to reveal quite so much. "As I wrote it, I thought, 'My goodness, there are so many things here I'm embarrassed to tell,'" Ellen says. "But I just decided that I would be honest. That if my life was worth anything at all it had to be the honest story. And I had to stand for my life."