Rating: 
Summary: Strong lady from a wonderful family
Review: Clark does a good job of allowing us to see her life growing up and how she became the writer she always wanted to be.
I was cheering for her with the beautiful courtship and marriage and the births of her children. And saddened by the pain of losing her loved ones. She never gave up on her dream and it was neat to see the path she traveled through her many jobs to become a writer finally (or should I say all along).
I was proud of her for her commitment to her children and mom and her strength in caring for them. We need more women like her in the world today.
I will be giving this book to my 11-year-old daughter to read since she is an aspiring writer and will see it takes time and lots of patience and rejections along the way.
Rating: 
Summary: cut too short
Review: i enjoyed learning about her youth and how she got into writing but she cut it off way too soon . i would have liked to have read about after she got published and became so successful.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting memoir
Review: I have not read many of Mary Higgins Clark's books ~~ it's not because I don't like her writing ~~ I do ~~ it's that I don't normally read a lot of mysteries. However, after reading this memoir, I am tempted to read more of her books since she is such an interesting writer. Her life is just as interesting as some of the books I have read! Clark comes across as a woman of vital strength and character ~~ which is what you don't normally hear about these days. Her growing up years were tough but very interesting. Her recollections are also inspiring. And she also throws in a dash of humor every now and then. She is also a blunt writer ~~ honest about everything including herself. If you like memoirs, this book is an excellent choice to pick up! It gives an insight into America's favorite author and her lives. Instead of being a diva, Mary Higgins Clark is one of us. 5-18-03
Rating:
Summary: Remembering Mary as a Young Girl
Review: I really enjoyed listening to her story. I am fascinated by the way authors get their start in being published. Their perservence and dedication is what makes them an author. I have always been told to write about what you know. Mary Higgins Clark is truly a great author! Keep writing and I will keep listening. * I am legally blind so I listen to her stories. This one is a real treat because she reads it herself!
Rating: 
Summary: Touching book by a wonderful author
Review: I've been reading Mary Higgins Clark's well-woven tales of mystery since I was a little girl. I long admired and enjoyed Mrs. Higgins Clark's gift for writing entertaining mysteries with characters that still seemed like "real people". When I saw her memoir available I scooped it up immediately and read it in one afternoon. Several times I laughed out loud and cried tears of sorrow reading about her life from its humble, beautiful beginnings in the Bronx to her struggle as a young widow with five small children. I had no idea that the author had undergone such a road in her life to reach the success and fame she now well deserves. I highly reccomend this book to any Mary Higgins Clark fan, or anyone who would like to read an account of a resourceful, tender on the inside, tough as nails on the outside lady. Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: Makes MHC into a real and admirable person
Review: I've read a few of her mysteries, enjoyed them, but I'm not inclined to read everything she's ever written. After reading 2-3, I began to see a sameness in tone and plot, so I moved on to other authors... So when a friend gave me this memoir, I flipped it open and began reading with a healthy dose of skepticism.
Well.
This memoir puts MHC right at the top of my list - not my list of wonderful mystery writers, but at the top of my list of wonderful memoirists. Widowed at a young age to raise 5 children on her own, Clark drawn on her mother's example of selflessness in making ends meet and making the best of every situation - and every opportunity. Kitchen Privileges is an inspiring read - much more so than I ever expected.
Rating:
Summary: Mary Higgins Clark
Review: Kitchen Privileges is a very interesting biography.
I love Mary Higgins Clark novels, she's my favourite author, so It was interesting to read her life.
It's well writing and you never get bored.
She tells us about her youth and when she got married and had children.
I was cheering for her with the beautiful courtship and marriage and the births of her children. And saddened by the pain of losing her loved ones .
If you like memoirs, this book is an excellent choice to pick up!
Rating:
Summary: Show me more of the kitchen, please.
Review: Kitchen Privileges is the memoir written by Mary Higgins Clark's which begins with her childhood. Clark, the prolific mystery author introduces her readers to her parents, brothers a there early life in the Bronx. Surrounded by a large Irish family, Mary, relates a wonderful childhood until the death of her father. Her mother hard pressed to earn money took in boarders with advertisement of an "available room with kitchen privileges, " which we learn annoyed their neighbors. From her early childhood, we then learn about her job as a flight attendant, then marriage to John Clark and the birth of her five children. Death takes her husband at a young age and now the book goes on to describe Mary's early efforts at finding a job and then writing her first book. The end of the book hurriedly tells her readers about her great success at publishing umpteen popular books, some of which have also been made into TV movies. Unfortunately the end was written in a matter of pages as she talks of her marriage later in life and playing with her grandchildren. This along with the weak writing may be the failing of the book. The end was rushed and the writing was almost as if Clark was giving an oral history on paper rather than then editing and polishing. She also spent little time on the more emotional aspects of her life as she was off and running to the next part of her life. Once an avid reader of Clark in the last number of years I have tired of her formula books which are same old, same old. This memoir is no exception. While her rise to fame is well known by many, this book left me hungering for a bit more substance. But on the other hand it does provide a glimpse of her life if only the Cliff Notes version.
Rating:
Summary: Mary's Life Was Interesting!
Review: Over the years, I have always enjoyed reading books by Mary Higgins Clark. So when I saw Kitchen Privleges, it immediately grabbed my interest. The book begins with Mary as a young girl, growing up in the Bronz. She always knew she wanted to be a writer, and the gift of storytelling was a part of Mary's Irish ancestry. It followed naturally then that she would use her sharp eye, keen intelligence, and inquisitive nature to create stories about the people and things around her. Along with all Americans, those who lived in New York City's borough of the Bronx suffered during the Depression. In this time, Mary's father died, her mother, deciding to open the family home to boarders, placed a discreet sign next to the front door that read, Furnished Rooms, Kitchen Privleges. Very shortly, the first in a succession of tenants arrived: a couple dodging bankruptcy who moved in with their wild-eyed boxer; a teacher who wept endlessly over her lost love; a deabeat who tripped over a lamp while trying to sneak out in the middle of the night. The story continues from there all about the family's struggle to make ends meet. Mary also had many jobs before becoming the author she is today. She wrote many short stories first before writing real novels, and spoke of her many rejections before finally finding a publisher to accept her work. She had two other brothers. One died in World War II, the other one became very ill and passed away at a young age. Later, she married Warren Clark, and had five children with him. One of which, Carol, is an author today, following in her mom's footsteps. The book is very interesting and informative on one of the very best mystery-suspense authors today.
Rating:
Summary: Tragedy, Community, Intriguing Career Development & More
Review: The Memoir, especially as written by a fellow writer, has become
my genre of choice lately. "Kitchen Privileges" came highly recommended and I enjoyed the
reading. I am not a big reader of Mary Higgins Clark: I have only
tried out three or four of her page turners. Nonetheless, discovering
her life through this memoir was quite fascinating. Tidbits that surprised me (and at the same time, brought me to
say "Oh, ofcourse!) include the many tragedies that make up her
life. Even as I call them "tragedies" I can almost feel her disagree. Her spirit seemed to recognize and acknowledge the less-than-idyllic
factors which make up the tapestry of her life AND at the same
time, she didn't ever allow those to stop her.... she had a life to live,
after all, as we all do. My favorite "fact tidbit" was to read about Mary Higgins Clark's
original writing jobs as well as her original writing group. It
really reinforces how important it can be for ALL writers to
participate in critique and writing groups with other writers. She has one particular career in writing that made me say "OH!
So thats how she honed the craft of 'page turning writer' compelling
the reader to find out more". I don't want to give it away, though..... instead
I invite you to experience the book yourself.
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