Laurie Sandell's Blog, page 361

I'm taping the Dr. Oz show today

[image error]I got a call from a producer the other day, asking if I'd like to participate in a Dr. Oz show about…drum roll, please…Ambien addiction! A few years ago, I wrote about my insomnia and subsequent Ambien addiction for Glamour, and it got a huge response from readers–I was even invited to appear on The Today Show. Every once in a while, someone will contact me through my website to share their own harrowing tale of Ambien addiction, and to ask how I got off the stuff. In my case, the answer was ...

Precious: A fun holiday romp

[image error]You know when it starts to get chilly outside; you're done trimming the tree, and you're just in the mood for a light, funny film? Well, last night I treated myself to the Oprah Winfrey-produced Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire. And it did not disappoint: Not since The Santa Clause 2 have I laughed so hard and gotten so into the holiday spirit, all while stuffing my face with delicious, buttery popcorn.

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Mo'Nique, you kidder, you!

Gabourey Sidibe is simply hilarious as an obese...

A trip to Dakar, Senegal

[image error]I have been inundated with baby cuteness from my friends, lately–and here is a shot of the latest, four-month-old Tess, whom I just met for the first time yesterday afternoon. Is she ridiculously cute, or what? She's the daughter of my friend David Adler, a prominent jazz critic I met two years ago in Dakar, Senegal, of all places. We were there for the same reason–to interview the musician Youssou N'Dour (you've heard his mellifluous voice on Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes"). The trip so...

Holiday party season has officially begun

[image error]Last night I went to Jesse Pesta's holiday party in Brooklyn, and, like last year, it was my favorite party of the year. Jesse is a Page One editor at The Wall St. Journal, and the older brother of my good friend Abby Pesta, who is deputy editor of Marie Claire. His party is great for a number of reasons:

[image error]1. He lives in a stunning loft and has impeccable taste. His home is filled with furniture and treasures he's collected from all over the world (he spent a year-and-a-half in India, time in L...

Amanda Stern wins Paste Mag's "Booky Man" Prize

[image error]This must be what it feels like to have kids, because I am so proud of my friend Amanda, I feel like I won this award myself. Amanda, who I frequently mention in this blog, is a novelist (she wrote the brilliant The Long Haul), essayist, and curator of The Happy Ending Music & Reading Series, which Paste Magazine just dubbed "the most important series in America." Look what else they said about her! She is also one of my closest friends, one of the few people in the world who knows every...

My book has been nominated for a 2009 Goodreads Choice Award

[image error]I just got an e-mail from the features editor at Goodreads–The Impostor's Daughter has been nominated for a 2009 Goodreads Choice Award in the "Graphic Novel" category! That's kind of amazing; it's the first time the book has been nominated for anything. I'm hoping you, my ten faithful readers, can help me out by voting here; just scroll down to Poll #9 and click on The Impostor's Daughter: A True Memoir. Here's the rub: If you're not already a member of Goodreads, you have to become one...

Exciting news: I have an Italian publisher

[image error][image error]This is something I never expected to happen, since my book is expensive to print (it's full-color), and it'll have to be entirely re-hand lettered, since it's written in a different language. I am thrilled! My friend Nathan Englander, who wrote the extraordinary For the Relief of Unbearable Urges and The Ministry of Special Cases, always raved about his experience with his Italian publisher, and though I don't know if mine will actually bring me to Italy (it's a small press that specializes ...

My latest celebrity interview–revealed

[image error]It was Sarah Jessica Parker! I blogged about it a month ago, but couldn't reveal too many details, in case someone figured it out. You can read the story here, in this month's Glamour. This was my second time interviewing SJP for Glamour's cover; the first was a few years ago, before her twins were born. I assure you, I am not often star-struck, but man oh man, I love this woman. As I mentioned in my last blog post, the interview took place at the famed Claridge's Hotel in London, in its...

Liz Welch reads from The Kids Are All Right

[image error]My friend Liz and I have had the good fortune to publish memoirs at the same time, which means we've been able to lean on each other for support–and it's the kind of support only another memoir writer can offer. There are several layers of weirdness to publishing a memoir: First, there's the reaction of family and friends. Then you have to deal with public perception (reviews, bizarre questions at readings). Lastly, there's sales and marketing, something you never think about when you're...

My new obsession: The James Merrill House

[image error]Yesterday I drove three hours to Stonington, CT, to read at The James Merrill House, courtesy of the poet Cate Marvin. Cate is a friend of mine from Yaddo and is currently doing a four-month artist-in-residence stint there. She's living in the former residence of the poet James Merrill, who died of complications related to AIDS in 1995. (That's him in the black-and-white photo behind me and Cate's baby, Lucia.) I'll admit I'd never heard of him before, but apparently, he is quite important...