I read "Still Here" a couple of weeks ago. I was disappointed, frankly. There just wasn't enough in-depth analysis of why Stritch behaved so badly to everyone. Her family life was portrayed as loving. She really didn't have a lot of personal drama. She made some bad career decisions and maybe that was the reason she drank so much and was just such a demon to people, but that's my interpretation, not the author's. For someone who could be so dynamic on stage and the subject of a million juicy Broadway anecdotes, the bottom line for me was that offstage, there really wasn't much going on, and that made for a curiously static, staid biography where she simply comes off as a mean bully most of the time, with no reason. I think you needed Stritch to tell her own story - as she told so many stories, not so much sticking to the truth but so very entertaining--to make it really sing. And of course, she didn't, not in a memoir.
Full disclosure, I know the author of the lesser known, "The End of Pretend" and aside from the bad review posted by someone who obviously was not close to Elaine, they had a very special bond and there is nothing "mortifying" at all in that book- that of course wasn't also filmed for the documentry around the same time this book was being complied. What you do get is a loving portrayal from a fan who became a great friend to her in her later years- I mean the man stayed at her home, met her family and friends, and accompanied her to appearances- she also supported his work as noted in the book, attending workshops of his musical, visiting his college to mentor students, etc. What he was able to glean from his time with her really is more valuable then any second-hand account included in "Still Here", it's her words on those pages, not anyone else's, she's telling her story. I think it is less popular because it was not released by a huge publishing house, and the author isn't someone who previously worked for the NY Times, but is instead, the Head of a College Theatre Department in rural PA. For your money, go for "The End of Pretend" which is also something Elaine explains in the book, something that is quite poignant.
