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Product Description A rare glimpse into the woman behind the mystique and the definitive guide to living genuinely with glamour and grace. “Living is like tearing through a museum. Not until later do you really start absorbing what you saw, thinking about it, looking it up in a book and remembering—because you can’t take it all in at once.”—Audrey HepburnOn many occasions, Audrey Hepburn was approached to pen her autobiography, the definitive book of Audrey, yet she never agreed. A beloved icon who found success as an actress, a mother, and a humanitarian, Audrey Hepburn perfected the art of gracious living. More philosophy than biography, How to Be Lovely revisits the many interviews Audrey gave over the years, allowing us to hear her voice directly on universal topics of concern to women the world over: careers, love lives, motherhood and relationships. Enhanced by rarely seen photographs, behind-the-scenes stories, and insights from the friends who knew her well, How to Be Lovely uncovers the real Audrey, in her own words. From Publishers Weekly A breezy but sometimes insightful read, this hybrid mini-biography/female empowerment manual goes down like a soothing tonic for the 21st-century woman attempting to juggle life, career, family and, if theres time, fashion. The waifish star and muse of Givenchy, Audrey could be quite the sage as well, turning out insightful phrases about working hard, living well and aging gracefully. Her simple, cautiously optimistic approach to life came as a result of her childhood in occupied Holland during World War II. The daughter of Baroness Ella van Heemstra Hepburn-Ruston, Audrey left Amsterdam for London as a teen to study ballet. Her dance aspirations, however, morphed into a Hollywood career. Hellstern arranges each chapter as instructive vignettes, with headings like "Be genuine," "Live without regret" "Listen well" and even "Get plenty of vitamin C"; these are followed by stories, anecdotes and quotes from Audrey and her admirers, and punctuated with b&w photos, both enchanting candid shots and glamorous stills. Enduring the challenges of womanhood-miscarriages, divorce and the balancing act of career and family-Audrey Hepburn exuded dignity and humility through her successes and failures. As Hellstern styles it, she ate what she wanted but still watched her figure, and devoted herself to global causes without becoming political. "I could never be cynical," Hepburn claimed. "I wouldnt dare. Id roll over and die before that." 68 b/w photos. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. About the Author An avid Audrey Hepburn fan, Melissa Hellstern is a freelance writer living in Chicago. She is the author of How to Be Lovely: The Audrey Hepburn Guide to Life and Getting Along Famously: A Celebration of Friendship. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Introduction When it comes to elegance and style, few women surpass Audrey Hepburn. She has become an adjective-ôso Audreyö-describing some ethereal combination of grace, elegance, charm, and wisdom. While her clothing style remains a grounding influence on fashion, it is her character that is certain to withstand the test of time. Audrey taught us that being a woman is as simple as knowing who you are, and who you are not. And somehow we suspected that if anyone would have the right answers, it would be her: ôAmazing the questions they will ask characters like us . . . the questions-all the way from what do I think of love or how does it feel to be a star, to enormous ones, even political, with as many prongs as a pitchfork. Here I am, an innocent little actress trying to do a job, and it seems that my opinion on policy in the Middle East is worth something. I donÆt say I donÆt have an opinion, but I doubt itÆs worth.ö To the world, she represented all that a woman could be, and we wanted in. We still do. By looking at her words from interviews ov