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Miss D and Me  By  cover art

Miss D and Me

By: Kathryn Sermak,Danelle Morton - featuring
Narrated by: Kathryn Sermak
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Publisher's summary

For 10 years Kathryn Sermak was at Bette Davis's side - first as an employee, and then as her closest friend - and in Miss D and Me she tells the story of the great star's harrowing but inspiring final years, a story fans have been waiting decades to hear.

Miss D and Me is a story of two powerful women, one at the end of her life and the other at the beginning. As Bette Davis aged she was looking for an assistant, but she found something more than that in Kathryn: A loyal and loving buddy, a co-conspirator in her jokes and schemes, and a competent assistant whom she trained never to miss a detail. But Miss D had strict rules for Kathryn about everything from how to eat a salad to how to wear her hair...even the spelling of Kathryn's name was changed (adding the "y") per Miss D's request.

Throughout their time together, the two grew incredibly close, and Kathryn had a front-row seat to the larger-than-life Davis's career renaissance in her later years, as well as to the humiliating public betrayal that nearly killed Miss D.

The frame of this story is a four-day road trip Kathryn and Davis took from Biarritz to Paris, during which they disentangled their ferocious dependency. Miss D and Me is a window into the world of the unique and formidable Bette Davis, told by the person who perhaps knew her best of all.

©2017 Kathryn Sermak (P)2017 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"America loved Bette Davis for the great star she was. I had the privilege of being her friend. She lived by good old-fashioned Yankee standards; she expected much and gave much; she was forthright, honest, and had a great sense of humor. Kathryn Sermak's book is a beautifully insightful look at the real Bette Davis." (George Hamilton)
" Miss D & Me is a fascinating look at the life of this indomitable star and her young assistant, Kathryn, during the last 10 years of Miss Davis's life. It is their inspirational journey, which begins with Miss D as mentor - instructing Kathryn in every detail of work as well as the social graces - and ultimately leads to a devoted friendship. I highly recommend it." (Ann-Margret)

What listeners say about Miss D and Me

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Intimate memoir

What did you love best about Miss D and Me?

It truly revealed the intimate side of Bette Davis and gives interesting insight into who she was. I just wish they'd gotten a professional narrator. It's not always the best idea to let the author read the text. While taking this book in I really grew to love Kath but she read it like a nursery rhyme. That said, I think it's one the best books out there about Bette Davis.

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7 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Love the book just not the reading of it.

I have been waiting for this book since I heard Kathryn Sermak was writing it. She did a good job writing it but I have to say her reading the book was a mistake. She comes off sounding like a robot and it can get on one's nerves after a while. However, I did enjoy the book very much and wanted to learn all I could of the last years of Miss. D's life.

The book is about a friendship between two women that in many ways need one and other and the book is also about how we can help and influence people around us without knowing it and or sometimes wanting too.

If you are a fan of Ms. Davis or maybe someone who has had a stroke or cancer, this book is a must-read. I know after taking care of my mother who had cancer, that there are many things in this book that hit home and also comforted me.

Even though Kathryn Sermak's reading of the book is not the best, when she reads about the night Bette died, you can hear Kathryn holding back tears and that really was very moving for me.

The only thing I would have cut from the book was all the map reading when she and Bette were on the road. That was, as Bette would say "Just toooooo much!" boring information. I also hope Kathryn will write a follow-up to this book to keep us posted on how her life goes. I find her a fascinating woman/person and want to see where life takes her.

I am also glad Kathryn cleared up so many rumors about Bette's nasty spoiled daughter BD. She turns out to be as rotten as I had heard and I am glad Bette was not the person BD has said/wrote she is. Let this be a lesson to all, never spoil your kids, they will turn on you. What I was really glad to learn was that Bette did not spend her last years sitting at home crying for BD to come back to her.

So, all in all, I loved the book and though I think a different person should have read the book, it's a good one and I am very happy Kathryn Sermak wrote it for us Fans. Kathryn Sermak is someone we would all be lucky to have as a friend and on our side in bad times and in good ones.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

I Believe This Book

I don't know why, but I feel like this book is more truthful than others. It's not always flattering, but it seems like it the truth. "Miss D." is hard, sometimes difficult, always wry, but human, and sometimes difficult but she's also a powerful woman. No one would expect her to be anything else.

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5 people found this helpful

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A Beautiful Tribute to An Amazing Legend!

Thoroughly enjoyed this book! You can feel the absolute love, respect & admiration ~ Well Done!

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5 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Very Touching Book

I am huge fan of Miss D. I knew little more about Kathryn And her relationship with Bette Davis from my good friend Ernest Harden JR and for my research for a documentary for the movie White Mama. I am so happy that finally Kathryn was able to tell her story with Miss D. Very touching brought me tears so many times, it has a very sensitive story plot and I am sure Miss D is very proud for that. Thank you Kathryn for sharing your truth with us.
PS the audio version is amazing. Very good narration! It was so alive!!!

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A Glimpse at the Woman Behind The Legend

A Glimpse at the Woman Behind The Legend - In more ways than one. You get to know real Bette Davis who the woman behind her legend, and literally the woman who stood behind her and her final year is the author Kathryn Sermak. Narration was a little stiff, but there’s no one better to read this book than the one who wrote it and lived those years with her. Enchanting, interesting, and humorous stories and anecdotes - and painful memories of her last moments brought tears to my eyes. They don’t make them like Miss D anymore.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Heart felt and uplifting

I wasn’t sure what i was getting into. However, its been a joy to sneak a peek into this world. Loved it!

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Wonderful Insight into who Bette really was!

Loved this book! So glad the author shared her experience with Bette Davis. She really was a wonderful woman

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3 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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What a sweet and special story.

This was a sweet and simple story about the authors time with Bette Davis. I did shed a tear or two.

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2 people found this helpful

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Bravo! Bravo!

Absolutely a must read. Excellent, excellent, excellent! It makes you feel like you’re experiencing the events with them.

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2 people found this helpful