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Product Description
Virginia McKenna starred in some of the most popular and enduring movies of our time, among them Carve Her Name With Pride, A Town Like Alice and the phenomenally successful Born Free, in which she and husband Bill Travers depicted the story of conservationists George and Joy Adamson and their reintroduction of Elsa the orphaned lion cub to the wild. With the multi-award-winning Born Free both actors were at the peak of their careers but the film and all it still stands for changed their lives. Its powerful message stayed with them and so began a lifetime s campaigning across the world to save animals from commercial exploitation, imprisonment in zoos and the loss of their natural habitat. At the heart of this autobiography is a call to respect nature and all that it provides. Despite an exceptional career in cinema and theatre, Virginia McKenna pushed aside the glamour of movie stardom, the West End and Broadway to focus relentlessly on her personal mission with the Born Free Foundation or the plight of orphaned children across the world. This book will inspire anyone who cares about the future of the planet and all the creatures dependent on it, including human beings. The Life in My Years is the inspirational story of an extraordinary life.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I read this book over several days, often dipping in and out of. The book gave me a great "feel good factor" and I admire how she gave up the type of life she had to concentrate on something she loved so dearly. It makes you realise just how important life and animals are to this world. It certantly makes you think!! I great read for all the family. Very good.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A terrific memoir from a truly admirable woman. Virginia Mckenna was one of the best British actresses of her generation and yet she set aside much of her career to focus on her family and in later life devoted to her passion for animal welfare. Some incredible pictures in this book too - wonderful production job. I can't recommend it strongly enough - if you liked Ace and John's story you will love this.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is the best autobiography I have ever read. Beautifully written, compelling, and heart-breaking. I was moved to tears again and again as I read of McKenna's pain at losing beloved friends and family, and treasured animal friends as well.
For Born Free fans, this book has plenty of "behind the scenes" content. We learn how certain scenes were filmed, anecdotes from during the filming, and the fates of the lions used in the film. But Born Free is only a small part of McKenna's story. She writes at length of her theatre and television exploits, though this is never tedious and always interesting. Sometimes her work in television took her to extraordinary places, such as the Himalayas, and her descriptions of these are rich and vibrant.
The chapters on McKenna's work for Zoo Check, the organisation that later became the Born Free Foundation, are the ones that haunt me the most. Until reading this book, I had seen zoos as a necessary evil; now I see no reason for them to be necessary. McKenna's stance on zoos is staunch and unrelenting, as she writes of the many terrible zoos she visited, and the disturbed animals captive in them. "Don't you think a year of freedom is better than twenty in captivity?" she asks, after writing of the success of releasing into the wild three dolphins that had previously lived in aquariums in England.
Her passion for Nature, and her pain at seeing it raped so by humankind, is overwhelming. It is almost unbearable to read her words, of greed and ceaseless human cruelty. In the book are several of the poems she has written, and the one that stood out the most for me was one that talked of the seasons, then, the last two lines read: "They're cutting all the trees, Soon we won't know what the season is". I won't ever forget those words.
Much of the book is devoted to McKenna's passion for animals and nature, that's true, but no one should ever accuse her of loving them at the expense of humans. She writes lovingly of two African children she "fostered" (she gave them financial support, and sometimes visited them with gifts to help the family), and of the Gurkha campaign, which she was a staunch supporter of (I say "was" because that campaign's purpose has been fulfilled; indeed, McKenna writes this triumphantly, and it must have been one of the very last parts of the book written, considering how recently the campaign was won).
I recommend that every animal lover out there reads this. But there is a real tragedy to this book: those who need to read it the most will never, ever read it.
For Born Free fans, this book has plenty of "behind the scenes" content. We learn how certain scenes were filmed, anecdotes from during the filming, and the fates of the lions used in the film. But Born Free is only a small part of McKenna's story. She writes at length of her theatre and television exploits, though this is never tedious and always interesting. Sometimes her work in television took her to extraordinary places, such as the Himalayas, and her descriptions of these are rich and vibrant.
The chapters on McKenna's work for Zoo Check, the organisation that later became the Born Free Foundation, are the ones that haunt me the most. Until reading this book, I had seen zoos as a necessary evil; now I see no reason for them to be necessary. McKenna's stance on zoos is staunch and unrelenting, as she writes of the many terrible zoos she visited, and the disturbed animals captive in them. "Don't you think a year of freedom is better than twenty in captivity?" she asks, after writing of the success of releasing into the wild three dolphins that had previously lived in aquariums in England.
Her passion for Nature, and her pain at seeing it raped so by humankind, is overwhelming. It is almost unbearable to read her words, of greed and ceaseless human cruelty. In the book are several of the poems she has written, and the one that stood out the most for me was one that talked of the seasons, then, the last two lines read: "They're cutting all the trees, Soon we won't know what the season is". I won't ever forget those words.
Much of the book is devoted to McKenna's passion for animals and nature, that's true, but no one should ever accuse her of loving them at the expense of humans. She writes lovingly of two African children she "fostered" (she gave them financial support, and sometimes visited them with gifts to help the family), and of the Gurkha campaign, which she was a staunch supporter of (I say "was" because that campaign's purpose has been fulfilled; indeed, McKenna writes this triumphantly, and it must have been one of the very last parts of the book written, considering how recently the campaign was won).
I recommend that every animal lover out there reads this. But there is a real tragedy to this book: those who need to read it the most will never, ever read it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Told it is excellent but I never got a chance to read it....
I bought a copy of this book for my Mother at Easter. As soon as she opened it the opening pages fell out. Sent it back to Amazon and got another one very quickly. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Amber
Peaceful and inspiring read
The Life in My Years was like spending a few days at a health spa or ashram !It gave me a sense of peace and feel good factor. Read more
Published on 31 May 2010 by Ms. Mc Fawcett
Fabulous Book
I have always admired Virginia McKenna, and her husband for all the work they have done for conservation ..and really enjoyed her book, The title is so true as well. Read more
Published on 4 Oct 2009 by Fran Roy
Born free actress and animal saviour
I am going to see Virginia McKenna at the Cheltenham Lit Festival soon and bought this book to read beforehand. Read more
Published on 1 Oct 2009 by S. Holmes
pity about the punctuation
Firstly, let me say that I love and admire Virginia. She has had, and probably is still having, a wonderful life. Read more
Published on 1 Sep 2009 by A. Mcclintock
Virginia Triumphs
Virginia has written this book wearing `her heart on her sleeve', an amazing lady who has done it all! She is so passionate about what she does. Well worth a read.
Published on 31 Aug 2009 by Bri's 'Y'
Simply Wonderful
What a wonderfully written book. I must confess that books never make me cry but this one made me cry during almost every chapter. A real rollercoaster of emotions. Read more
Published on 11 Aug 2009 by Mrs. D. Davies
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