Lilyville: Mother, Daughter, and Other Roles I've Played

Tovah Feldshuh isn't exactly a household name, but her numerous appearances as fiery defense attorney Danielle Melnick in Law & Order, and her unforgettable turn as Rebecca Bunch's overbearing, critical mother on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend made me a fan. Unfortunately, Feldshuh's memoir is not so memorable. Much of the focus is on her complex relationship with her own mother, Lily, who embodied the upper middle class Jewish housewife of the 1950s. I would have preferred fewer descriptions of Lily's stereotypical critical, emotionally withholding behavior and more about Feldshuh's interesting and diverse career - she starred in Hello Dolly! on Broadway and had a major character arc on The Walking Dead! Also a lot of the book flaunts her rich, white privilege, and she makes a tone-deaf Anne Frank remark that shocked me with its tastelessness. Sometimes it's better not to know too much about the famous people you admire.