THE BEAUTY OF LIVING TWICE is Sharon Stone’s story of how she was lost and now has been found. Having battled a serious brain injury, she weaves a personal and compelling tale of a literal second chance at life and all the wondrous realizations that come with it.

Growing up hardscrabble in rural Pennsylvania to a family whose lives were filled with discomfort and violence, Stone is a most unlikely candidate for the Hollywood throne to which she has ascended. Her life is a template for any young working actor: terrible jobs, low pay, acting classes, the hope for something more, escaping a past full of family drama that could have derailed any wisp of a dream for the big time. What permeates through this story is the mental strength and steel will that helped Stone rise to the highest stardom an actor can achieve.

"[Stone's] book is a rare thing among Hollywood memoirs --- the story of a woman whose real character stands stronger than any of the tough broads she has played on screen to great critical and commercial acclaim."

Perhaps the first thing that readers need to do is to suspend disbelief as the story of Stone’s childhood unfolds. Like so many beauties before her, it is hard to imagine such a person enduring the anger and degradation she was forced to face as a child: “It was a tough town....After all, these were port towns, where hookers and heroin and everything bad got dropped off and no one looked back.” Knowing all that Stone has accomplished, it is hard to think of her as an outcast growing up or as someone who didn’t control every moment of her life from the get-go. Her evolution and perseverance are clear in the stories with her sister and maternal grandfather, which will color the rest of the accounts in her book with its inexcusable and unbearable injustice and horror.

Stone has managed a lot of soul building and spiritual strengthening during a lifetime of hard knocks. Her love for her sister, children and friends is beautifully rendered and serves as the accompaniment that helps us digest the more difficult terms of her upbringing. She is a victim of #MeToo and gives us examples of her experiences without sensationalizing them or martyring herself. THE BEAUTY OF LIVING TWICE is about Stone’s gravity, her ability to adjust to difficult circumstances, and the soul-based sanctity of her mission as an actress and activist.

Yes, she does name some names but always with outstanding clarity and respect. The men with whom she starred in films and the acting teacher who helped her realize her potential are given their due. So are the women in her life, both as an artist and as a human being. Stone is a firm believer in the power of love and shows not just love for others, but how loving herself helped her launch the second part of her life after developing a brain injury that could have killed her. She is filled with grit and determination, and a big heart that allows her to use her platform to help HIV/AIDS victims and the homeless, as well as her three sons and her parents. It is a remarkable story of bravery and the lengths to which one will go to overcome odds with the right amount of intelligence, curiosity and love.

Sharon Stone has lived a complex and dramatic life thus far, yet her message is one of hope, renewal, independence and compassion. Her book is a rare thing among Hollywood memoirs --- the story of a woman whose real character stands stronger than any of the tough broads she has played on screen to great critical and commercial acclaim.