Finding My Balance

A searingly honesty, entertaining, and deeply moving memoir from a legendary film star with a larger-than-life story told through the lessons and practices of yoga that have kept her grounded.

Mariel Hemingway was the third daughter of Jack Hemingway, Ernest Hemingway’s son, and Byra Whittlesey. Raised in a deeply unstable household—marked by troubled siblings, a volatile mother, and an emotionally distant father—she was pushed early into the role of family stabilizer. As a result, she had little chance at a normal childhood, a loss intensified when her early film roles in her older sister Margaux’s film Lipstick and Woody Allen’s Manhattan abruptly made her a movie star.

Mariel turned to yoga and its meditative practice in an effort to maintain her center when her life threatened to spin out of control. Having experienced family tragedy, sudden stardom, and the continuing challenges of a full and demanding life, Mariel learned through practice how to find her balance in emotionally disorienting situations. Throughout her powerful memoir, Mariel uses her yoga training as a starting point for each chapter, carefully describing a particular position, then letting her mind wander into thoughts of the past and of her tumultuous life.

Mariel Hemingway has weathered some of the worst storms that life can bring. Certainly, she has found her balance. And in this deeply inspiring, thoroughly fascinating memoir, she shares for the first time the story of that journey.