This was a great biography to read. Not strictly an autiobiography because Colleen never finished working on it herself, but it makes up for that by including many stories & chapters written by her friends, fellow actors & family. This was the first biography I read that really made me wish I had a chance to know the person in life. I've always considered Colleen Dewhurst a respected actor but after reading this, I know that she was truly a warm & wonderful person. She will be missed.

If you're interested in the New York theatre during the 50s and 60s (and later), this book is not to be missed. Dewhurst procrastinated for years about this book; hence it was unfinished when she died. But the additional pieces from her family and colleagues add immeasurably to the book's richness. An unforgettable memoir from a very great artist and personality - her personal warmth and her professional dedication are evident on literally every page. If you care enough to have checked this book out, you will want to have it!

A couple of Isak Dinesen's best stories are here. Babette's Feast ,which is also a wonderful film, centers around a shared meal that brings grace and joy. An artist/cook gives all she has for a feast, two sisters, and her art. Sorrow-Acre resembles a folktale and shows the depths of a mothers love. Colleen Dewhurst does a superb reading.

People always say, "You can't judge a book by its cover", and in the case of A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, this saying is defiantly true. The picture on the cover and the title might not leave you at the edge of your seat, dying to read the book, but it is the amazing and captivating story about three generations of women who are all struggling in life to find a reason that counts the most. This realistic fiction novel is intense and heart-wrenching, and lets you see that what happens in the past isn't always forgotten.
The book is told from the point of view of three women who all grew up in different times with different aspects on life. It shows how each choice they made throughout their lives affected each other in more ways then they will ever know, and tore apart their relationships with each other, when they really need each other the most. Rayona, a half black and half Indian girl who is around 15 years old, is suffering from her mother's poor choices in life when all she really wants is to find her place and reason in life. Christine, the mother of Rayona, is an excessive partier who never took life seriously, and who strived to be noticed and admired like her older brother Lee. Her motto was that you can never get to old to be a kid, and living by that left her unstable with many regrets from her foolish choices. Last but not least is Ida, the mother of Christine who has deep secrets of betrayal, and who never had the chance to live life. They are all in search of their selves, but need each other more than ever.
The book starts out in the present with Rayona and then gradually fades back to her mother Christine's life, told by Christine's point of view. After that, it even goes farther back into the life of Ida, which is told by her. Each of the woman have problems that keep them apart from each other, and as the book travels back in time, you see how each decision and action affected their futures and how their relationship turned out.
This book is touching, a very realistic story that can be related to in many ways. Will Rayona, Christine, and Ida ever set their differences aside so they can all be a family? Or will they all be lost forever without each other? Read A Yellow Raft In Blue Water to find out, you won't be disappointed.

My book club agreed this was a worthwhile read and fostered involved conversations about the nature of perceptions and experiences as well as family communication. However, I was most excited by the religious content. Aunt Ida, Christine and Rayona all have priests in their lives and for the most part religion fails them. What seems to break the cycle is the Yellow raft in Blue Water, a place where Rayona finds hope in time spent with the closest thing to a real family. Perhaps her life will improve? Aunt Ida and Christine both find the "end of the world" scenario pivotal in their stories. The importance of religion to the novel as well as the focus on 3 women and the final metaphor the Aunt Ida braiding her hair, incorporating 3 strands, sealed the Trinity theme of the story for me. Furthermore, I can relate Aunt Ida to the Father of the Old Testament, angry and scornful, at times vengeful. CHRISTine is easy! A Christ reference to the New Testament and she suffers and will eventually die for her sins and the redemption, the "saving" of her daughter. Rayona, the Holy Spirit, can we "hope" for her. Is she Ida and Christine and herself - the improved generation? So many layers here to explore. One member of my book club said that they loved the Roshamon style and felt like a fly on the wall with the best view of the truth in those shared experiences between these 3 woman.But another member perhaps said it best when she said that even the fly brings his own experiences to the retelling. Is there ever unadulterated truth?!

"A Yellow Raft in Blue Water" is one story, a single epoch, but told three times, each telling by one of the three women who shared it: the grandmother, Ida, the mother, Christine, and the daughter, Rayona. But, this book is not just about a single story seen through three different pairs of eyes. It's really a story of the forces that compel each of us to do the things we do, frequently against our own intuition or better judgement ---- and, all of them ring true. Dorris, the author, had incredible insight into human behavior when he wrote this book. Tragically, I understand that he ended his own life by suicide. Although this is fiction, it's a poignant revelation into the consequences of embracing cultural belief systems that have little basis in reality. Ruined or miserable lives are often the result. The daughter, Rayona, like many teenagers, trashes the moors of her elders and shows promise of breaking out of the cruel cycle that held her mother and grandmother captive to an miserable life. This book is a plea: it asks how we know for sure, what we think we know for sure. Granted, that's a bit heavy, but certainly worthwhile for anyone who wonders where happiness lies.