The Rainbow Comes and Goes: A Mother and Son on Life, Love and Loss by Anderson Cooper
A touching and intimate correspondence between Anderson Cooper and his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, offering timeless wisdom and a revealing glimpse into their lives.
Though Anderson Cooper has always considered himself close to his mother, his intensely busy career as a journalist for CNN and CBS affords him little time to spend with her. After she suffers a brief but serious illness at the age of ninety-one, they resolve to change their relationship by beginning a yearlong conversation unlike any they have ever had before. The result is a correspondence of surprising honesty and depth in which they discuss their lives, the things that matter to them, and what they still want to learn about each other.
Both a son’s love letter to his mother and an unconventional mom’s life lessons for her grown son, The Rainbow Comes and Goes offers a rare window into their close relationship and fascinating life stories, including their tragedies and triumphs. In these often humorous and moving exchanges, they share their most private thoughts and the hard-earned truths they’ve learned along the way. In their words their distinctive personalities shine through – Anderson’s journalistic outlook on the world is a sharp contrast to his mother’s idealism and unwavering optimism.
An appealing memoir with inspirational advice, The Rainbow Comes and Goes is a beautiful and affectionate celebration of the universal bond between a parent and a child and a thoughtful reflection on life, reminding us of the precious insight that remains to be shared, no matter our age.
This book was mostly comprised of emails between Anderson Cooper and his mother–Gloria Vanderbilt–where they communicated for an entire year, getting to know each other in ways they never had before.
Each of them trying to open up to the other about so many feelings and experiences that they had never addressed before.
This audiobook was narrated by both of them, which made this book extraordinary to listen to.
Yall know I always enjoy it when an author reads their own memoir/autobiography…..it makes the telling of their story so much more impactful….and makes you feel like they are just talking to you over a glass of wine or cup of coffee.
Listening to them both read their emails to each other made me feel like I was eavesdropping into a conversation I had no business listening to….but of course that made me even MORE intrigued to continue 🤣
They speak about so many memories and life experiences….I had no idea the difficulties of Gloria’s childhood…but what impacted me the most was hearing them both talk about how they dealt with loss at young ages.
Anderson’s dad passed away when he was only ten years old….so much of what he shares about how he felt/still feels resonated deep in my own bones, as I lost my own dad at the age of 11.
Gloria also lost her own father very young, which she shared affected her greatly for the rest of her life.
This quote she shared really sunk into my heart:
“A fatherless girl thinks all things are possible and nothing is safe.”
I think this is true for any child–boy or girl–who loses a parent or guardian in childhood.
As a child you realize that the absolute worst thing you can imagine (losing someone you love) is 100 percent possible and real…and your safety net is completely ripped out from under you.
Experiencing a trauma like that at such a young age shapes so much of the person you become.
I personally have struggled with anxiety as long as I can remember….and so has my older sister….and I strongly believe that is a lasting effect of my father’s horrific death.
It is interesting to see the way Anderson and Gloria’s perspectives on life shifted due to their many levels of grief from losing loved ones—they view and handle things so differently, yet can also be so similar.
Which can be said about many aspects of their personalities…and I guess can be said about many of us and our parents as well.
As much as we think we aren’t like them…and as hard as we try to fight it….we realize as years go on that there are more similarities than we may choose to admit or acknowledge!
This entire book is a beautiful, open, honest, and vulnerable conversation full of heartbreak and forgiveness, memories and wisdom, hurt and healing.
To hear the evolution of their relationship as they get to know each other in brand new, deeper and more meaningful ways is quite touching.
I wish I was able to have this type of open communication with my own mother…and this book makes me a tad hopeful that one day maybe I can.
I also desperately hope that I won’t be 91 years old before I am able to create these kind of conversations and bonds with my own two sons.
This is quite a special and unique book. Definitely recommend.