“A lot of my life happened in great, wonderful bursts of good fortune, and then I would race to be worthy of it.”

I love Julie Andrews. I realize that’s a controversial statement, but stick with me here. I think she’s beautiful and charming and so very talented. I specifically love Mary Poppins Julie Andrews and Sound of Music Julie Andrews (alongside another childhood favorite, young Christopher Plummer in a uniform) and The Princess Diaries Julie Andrews. She’s just so fucking classy.

“Once in a while I experience an emotion onstage that is so gut-wrenching, so heart-stopping, that I could weep with gratitude and joy. The feeling catches and magnifies so rapidly that it threatens to engulf me.”

With any celebrity, it can be hard to remember that they’re also human beings, but it’s definitely harder with those who seem like more of a part of your childhood than an actual flesh and blood person (see: Robin Williams). Julie Andrews’s memoir Home covers her life up until Mary Poppins, so her childhood, her time in the theater, and her first marriage. It’s beautifully written, full of a lot of behind the scenes views, and also features some really disturbing memories of her childhood (primarily, her abusive stepfather and alcoholic mother). It’s very sad in some parts, but she infuses the whole book with her charm and spirit. I listened to the audio version, and her voice is so lovely that I sometimes zoned out on what she was even saying. She’s passionate and intelligent and loves what she does. I particularly liked when she discussed how much work goes into singing.

It’s so much more than what you’d expect from the Julie Andrews who lives in your mind.