And the Emmy doesn't go to ...
In my sophomore year of high school, I came to dread an assignment that required students to memorize a monologue and deliver it in front of the class. Even as an adult, public speaking remains a real fear for me. I couldn't see how this would end. My grades were the highest in the class, but I was just as lost as everyone else. Guidance was scant. Even as a teenager, I relented and trusted my teacher and did as she instructed: I memorized a selection of compelling text and performed it. So, what text did I choose? Not reflections by the venerable Susan Lucci of soap opera stardom but rather her formidable soap character Erica Kane. Neither was Virgil, nor even Dante's beloved Beatrice. To be clear, the soap character Erica Kane was credited with a recent book written in complete character about having it all helpfully called Having It All . I inhaled soap operas before I was a teenager and the habit only accelerated through puberty. I could probably channel enough of La Luc...