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    Losing It: And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time
    Losing It: And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time
    Losing It: And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time
    Audiobook (abridged)4 hours

    Losing It: And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time

    Written by Valerie Bertinelli

    Narrated by Valerie Bertinelli

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    The New York Times #1 bestseller (3 weeks running) is now available in paperback. Losing It is popular actress, Jenny Craig spokeswoman, and America’s sweetheart Valerie Bertinelli's headline-making account of her complicated past and how she took control of her own life to gain self-esteem and happiness.

    Valerie Bertinelli, then: bubbly sitcom star and America's Sweetheart turned tabloid headline and rock star wife. Now: actress, single working mother of teenage rock star, and weight-loss inspiration to millions.

    We all knew and loved Valerie Bertinelli years ago when she was girl-next-door cutie Barbara Cooper in the hit TV show One Day at a Time, and more recently when she starred in numerous TV movies and co-starred in Touched by an Angel. From wholesome prime time in America's living rooms, Valerie moved to late nights with the hardest-partying band of the decadent eighties when she became, at twenty, wife to rock guitarist Eddie Van Halen. Losing It is Valerie's frank account of her life backstage and in the spotlight: the ups and downs of teen stardom, her complicated marriage to a brilliant, tormented musical genius, the joys of motherhood, and her very public struggle with her weight.

    Surprising, uplifting, and empowering, Losing It chronicles Valerie's journey as she finds new love, raises a terrific kid, and motivates other women to take back their lives.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateFeb 25, 2008
    ISBN9780743572156
    Author

    Valerie Bertinelli

    VALERIE BERTINELLI is an actress and TV personality, best known for starring in the 70’s sitcom One Day at a Time. She now hosts the Emmy Award–winning Food Network show Valerie’s Home Cooking as well as Kids Baking Championship. She is the author of Losing It: And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time, and the follow-up Finding It: And Satisfying My Hunger for Life without Opening the Fridge, as well as Valerie’s Home Cooking and One Dish at a Time.

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    Reviews for Losing It

    3.5/5

    167 ratings14 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Fantastic. It’s like istening to a friend in all the best ways. Brave amd strong.
    • 5/5
      Valerie’s honesty was amazing. Listening to her, reminded me, we are all human with similar struggles. This book is a gift to listen to with an authenticity that few writer’s share. Thank you Valerie!
    • 5/5
      Growing up in the 70s I feel as though Valerie is someone I know. Of course that’s not even close to true but TV has a way of tricking the mind into a false sense of reality.

      Hearing Valerie share a glimpse of her life did bring a closer understanding of her and yet, I’m left wanting to know more. I realize I’ll never likely get that depth of why she was so hooked on Eddie, why she truly struggles with her weight or so many other questions but there is a passion, drive, longing, damage and pain that all adds to our lives and it is usually a bit mysterious.

      I know this, she has a sparkle that connects with many people and that may be more about us than her but she holds that role with as much grace and class than many others could ever do and for that alone she deserves many blessings.
    • 2/5
      This is more of a memoir than an autobiography. While it does go chronologically Valerie only tells bits and pieces of her life. Running throughout the book she talks about her poor body image even as a skinny teenager, though she didn't start dieting until she started gaining weight at a much older age. I was very disappointed in this book.Valerie's acting career is skimmed over mercilessly. One Day at a Time gets a brief discussion, Touched by an Angel gets even less page time and her many made-for-TV movies are only mentioned by name. Most of the book is spent talking about Eddie Van Halen's various drug and alcohol problems along with his volatile relationships with the various lead singers of the group. Valerie talks of how this affected her and her family but there is so much of it that it became boring especially since I have absolutely zero interest in this rock group to begin with.Valerie's weight loss and Jenny Craig experience was relegated to the last two chapters and very quickly told from the first phone call to the final results. I was hoping this book would be an inspiring weight loss story, instead I found her words made it sound so easy and fast and simple to lose weight. "Hey, just call Jenny!" ... yeah, right.I will give her credit for being candid in this memoir. She didn't skip over the ugly parts and talks about her own drug use and adultery. I was surprised with the profanity in the book, though. This probably won't bother most people but there was more than I was comfortable with. I do not like swearing in narratives and I guess I just didn't expect Valerie to be the type to cuss so much.If you want to read the story of a woman who survived a rock star marriage and an alcoholic and drug abuser husband then you will probably enjoy this book. But if you are looking for the story of Valerie's acting career or looking for weight loss inspiration this is not the book for you.
    • 4/5
      This is a gossipy book about the girl next door and her tumultuous marriage to a rock star. Valerie Bertinelli, star of “One Day at a Time”, writes of her dysfunctional marriage to Eddie Van Halen. The couple always seemed to be going in different directions with their careers, never taking time to be together and work on their marriage. Valerie suffered from body image problems from her teens into adulthood. She learned she always tried to solve her problems with food. She later became a spokeswoman for Jennie Craig and learned to love herself as she was.
    • 5/5
      Fantastic story of one young woman's rise to stardom, but of also losing faith and self-confidence.Heartache of a marriage failed.But the confidence and love of a son that helped to pull her through the toughest of times.Bertinelli, just a few months younger than myself, married at an early age. She and her spouse did basically the same as my own story of young marriage... they grew up and apart. Each defining their own goals for life, and finding that although there was strong feelings for one another, it wasn't enough.To fill a void, Bertinelli turned to food for comfort and solace.This is a journey about finding an alternative to fill the void. To finding one's self. And loving one's self, and one's self-image.Bertinelli gives us her journey in a candid, no holds barred, manner.And she tells us what has worked for her.I give this book five stars and my thumbs up award!DISCLOSURE: This book was borrowed, and was under no obligation for review.
    • 4/5
      I thought this was a fun, quick read. It's more of a biography than a weight loss story though as far as biographies go this talks a lot about weight issues. I was initally drawn to this book because of her public struggle with weight. Valerie Bertinelli, her acting career, and her relationship with Eddie Van Halen is all a little before my time so I identify her as the Jenny Craig spokesperson. I have to admit I am intrigued by celebrity life and celebrity relationships so this was somewhat of a guilty pleasure especially when reading the train wreck that was Valerie and "Ed's" relationship. I feel like there were three parts to this book with weight thrown in throughout. The first part involved her acting and time on the sitcome that made her famous, the second part her marriage, infidelity, and son, and the third part her relationship with her current husband. Nothing was really explained in depth as I was really intrigued with her relationship with her co-star Mackenzie Phillips and would have liked to have read more about that and the disfunction that Mackenzie was. There was one part of the book that infuriated me and made me look at her and the rest of the book differently. She describes being more angry at a woman Eddie had an affair with by writing "To this day, I'm more pissed off at her than I am Ed, who, like a lot of men, was weak. Like most women, she should have known better. We're wired differently. We need to act differently." REALLY and now I know why she stayed with a man who cheated on her, abused drugs and alcohol at the expense of being a good father, and would rather do anything else than spend time with her. My sympathy for her all but disappeared after that paragraph on page 166.
    • 4/5
      This was an interesting look at Valerie Bertinelli's rise to stardom, and very interesting mix of her life story and the correlation between her life and her eating habits and weight. I thought it made sense she intertwine her weight struggle with her life story, since in reality life is what makes us eat, and for some, like myself, we eat due to what life dishes out (no pun intended). I enjoyed this look into her life, and her inspiring story about losing weight.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed the story of her life. She was always a star that I thought was down to earth and real. Reading her ups and downs was very interesting. The book was easy to read - felt more like having a conversation with her - very personal. I enjoyed it.
    • 3/5
      I decided to read this book to learn about the journey Valerie was taking with her weight loss. I quickly found out it was more of a history lesson of her life, how she got to the point in her life where she decided to change. If you like Valerie Bertinelli you will like this book. If youre reading it for weight loss advice, forget it. Personally, I dont mind the idea of starting a book for one reason and coming out the other end with a totally different perspective.
    • 4/5
      I always liked her bubbly personality, and she always seems like such a kind and friendly person. It was interesting to read the good, the bad, and the ugly. There were many things about her life that I could relate to. But also, there was enough of that start factor, that is totally different from how I could ever imagine living, and kept me turning the pages. She writes as I would imagine her speaking to me, and it is easy and even comfortable read. You could almost see your self sitting at her kitchen table and having a cup of coffee and becoming friends. You find yourself empathizing with her and cheering her on (you go girl!). And all the people she works with and the names she talks about… every night when DH came home I was saying “Did you know she dated…” or “did you know she knew...” I’m gonna make you read it, if you wanna find out who :PDefiantly worth the read.
    • 5/5
      I have always been a fan of Valerie Bertinelli. When I saw she had a book out about her life , I just had to read it. It was a great story . I never knew Valerie went through so much when she was married to Eddie Van Halen. I am glad that she has finally found happiness and has lost weight. She looks but she has always looked good.
    • 3/5
      This was a really light, straight-forward read. I have always enjoyed Valerie's performances and was a little put-off by her kind of manic appearance on Oprah to promote this book. I decided to read the book anyway and am glad that i did. I think that the Valerie that we saw on Oprah is exactly who she is. She was very candid through out the book, but wasn't trying to be shocking or sensational. Her relationship with Eddie Van Halen and her love for her son are key to understanding who she is. It did get a little commercial at the end as she embraced the Jenny Craig program. Oberall though a fun read and a nice way to kill a few hours. I look forward to seeing what she will do next.
    • 3/5
      I found the book predictable, kind of like mind candy. However, being about the same age, I really enjoyed finding out about her life.