Straight-up Advice on Making a Life in the Arts - For Actors, Performers, Writers, and Artists of Every Kind
"A treasure. This is the book I wish I'd had when I was young and that, as a writer,
editor, and teacher, I'm delighted and grateful to have now."Dawn Raffel, executive articles editor,
O, The Oprah Magazine

"What emerges most persuasively is Smith's sense of the complex interrelationship between one's
art and one's everyday life. With a pithiness that wards away the preachy, Smith succeeds in
conveying the pain, the joy and the effort that characterize a life on the stage and in the world."
Publishers Weekly

"Whether she is speaking about childhood memories, tough Hollywood situations, or finding inspiration
in the work of others, Smith is generous, vulnerable, and perceptive. Readers of all disciplines will come
away from these pages feeling opened, nurtured, and eager to follow Smith's call to action."
Booklist

From "the most exciting individual in American theater" (Newsweek), here is Anna Deavere Smith's
brass-tacks advice to aspiring artists of all stripes. In the manner of Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet,
Deavere Smith mentors her young artist over a period of five years, sharing her hard won wisdom about the
challenges and rewards of the artistic life. Drawing on her own life experiences as an actor, teacher, and
playwright, Deavere Smith provides a motivating example for how to pursue one's art without compromise,
while offering tips on everything from how to stay healthy to building a diverse network of friends and
professional alliances. Honest, passionate, and inspiring, this audiobook has life-changing potential.


Anna Deavere Smith has had a high-profile career as actor, teacher, and playwright. She has won two Obies, two Tony nominations, a MacArthur "genius" fellowship, and a Pulitzer Prize nomination. She is currently director of the Institute on the Arts and Civic Dialogue and is a professor at New York University.

Anna Deavere Smith has had a high-profile career as actor, teacher, and playwright. She has won two Obies, two Tony nominations, a MacArthur "genius" fellowship, and a Pulitzer Prize nomination. She is currently director of the Institute on the Arts and Civic Dialogue and is a professor at New York University.