The Art of Men (I Prefer Mine al Dente)

Kirstie Alley

• Publisher: Atria Books
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN:
  9781451673586
• eBook ISBN:
  9781451673609
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Science Biographies
• Index: Social Sciences

Emmy Award-winning actress Kirstie Alley’s candid and audacious memoir about her life and the men she has shared it with—for better and for worse.

John Travolta.

Parker Stevenson.

Ted Danson.

Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

Kelsey Grammer.

Patrick Swayze.

Woody Allen.

Woody Harrelson.

And many others. . . . In three decades in Hollywood, Kirstie Alley has lived with, worked with, loved, or lost all of these men, and in this revealing memoir, she peels back the layers (and sometimes the sheets) on her relationships with all of them.

From the early days of her childhood in Wichita, Kansas, surrounded by her loving father, her inquisitive and doting grandfather, and a younger brother she fiercely protected when she wasn’t selling tickets to see him naked, Kirstie Alley’s life has been shaped and molded by men. “Men, men, glorious men!” gave her her first big break in Hollywood and her awardwinning role on Cheers, and through two marriages, a debilitating cocaine addiction, the death of her mother, roles in some of the biggest comedies of the last twenty years, and a surprising stint on Dancing with the Stars, men proved to be the inspiration for multitudes of the decisions and dramas in Kirstie Alley’s life.

In this collection of linked essays that’s both hilarious and poignant in turns, Kirstie chronicles all the good, the bad, and the ugly men who have influenced and guided her. She demonstrates how men can be the air that women breathe or the source of all of their frustrations. But for better or worse, Kirstie shows that a life well lived is a life lived in the company of men, especially if they

remember to put the lid down. The Art of Men (I Prefer Mine al Dente) is a hilarious excursion into love, joy, motherhood, loss, sex, and self-discovery from one of Hollywood’s most enduring stars.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Dedication
• Introduction
• The Art of “Retarded” Young Men
• The Art of Hopelessly Honest Fathers
• The Art of Monkeys
• The Art of Sticks
• The Art of Wielding a Hammer
• The Art of Heroes
• The Art of Lost Loves
• The Art of Queers
• The Art of Male Visitors
• The Art of Being a Bride
• The Art of Tornadoes
• The Art of Wallpapering
• The Art of Not Dying
• The Art of Making Love to an Unfortunate Man
• The Art of Champions
• The Art of Shagging Next-Door Neighbors
• The Art of Anal Sex
• The Art of Pain
• The Art of Closure
• The Art of Art
• The Art of Temptation
• The Art of Costars and Lunatic Directors
• The Art of Cheerful Men
• The Art of Alarm Clocks
• The Art of Transcending Love
• The Art of True Love
• The Art of Not Being a Cunt
• The Art of Maks
• The Art of Knights on White Horses
• The Art of Clubbing Men
• The Art of Men I Have Not Hit On
• The Art of Young Lovers
• Closing Notes
• Acknowledgments
• Photographs
• About Kirstie Alley
• Copyright