Beyond being one of the greatest actresses of the 20th century, Lauren Bacall was also the author of three memoirs: By Myself; Now and By Myself and Then Some.
“Writing a book is the most complete experience I’ve ever had,” she told The Los Angeles Times. “I’m happily stunned with the results and astonished by the reaction.”
“When you have nothing but dreams, that’s all you think about, all that matters, all that takes you away from humdrummery – the fact that your mother was working too hard and didn’t have enough in her own life, that your grandmother, loving though she was, wanted you to get a decent job to help your mother, that you didn’t have enough money to do anything you wanted to do, even buy a lousy coat for $17.95,” she wrote in the 1978 By Myself. “Dreams were better – that was where my hope lay – I’d hang on them, never let go.”