Judi Dench’s memoir is imbued with her trademark humor and self-deprecating narrative. The format is unusual; it’s told as a conversation between Judi and Brendan O’Hea. Brendan explains that Judi loves sitting at the kitchen table talking with friends, both new and old, so it seemed natural to tell her story through such conversations. It’s works wonderfully as we feel that Judi is talking to us directly.

We learn about Judi’s childhood as the daughter of a doctor. The family lived in York, and that’s where she got her start in acting, with the local drama society. Her childhood was both idyllic and, as she tells it, filled with humor. She loves animals and we learn about the huge variety she’s had in her life, including, in addition to the usual dogs and cats, donkeys, hamsters, even a goldfish who Judi brought back from death by blowing into his mouth. (It grew tremendously after that and lived for years.)

We also learn about her failing eyesight, and she explains that this is the first time in her life that she hasn’t had a dog and a cat because she’s afraid of falling over them. Talking about animals morphs into her discussing her roles in the musical Cats. But it’s when she’s talking about her husband, Mikey, who died far too young, that we feel the depth of her sadness, to this day, at his passing. She says that if they hadn’t been married, they would have been best friends. “He was the most important relationship in my life. How lucky I was to have known him. I am who I am because of Mikey.”

What keeps the pages turning is how the conversations wend from humorous episodes, such as her time at a Quaker boarding school where her penchant for mischief was legendary, to her love of the Quaker religion and how it taught her the importance of silence. She explains that she doesn’t enjoy her own company, and would panic if left alone too long. And when she married Mikey, a devout Catholic, they had to decide on how they would plan the ceremony.

Everyone will enjoy her humility as she recounts being in a taxi when the driver asks her the name of the show she was in. “The Royal Family?,” she asked. And he told her yes, that he and his wife saw it and thought it was rubbish. She talks about how she often wears the color beige and explains that, “If you’re wearing a bright yellow dress, you have to be feeling really good about yourself, but with shit brown, which is what I always wear, it gives me a bit of a chance.”

I think what struck me about her narrative during this lovely extended conversation is her ability to use contrasts to make the stories and the anecdotes stirring and emotional. When discussing her love of India, and how well she and her friends and cast were treated there, she shares a story that she was told. Tom Wilkinson was walking along a road and saw a huge, elegant, and extravagant wedding party nearing, with hundreds of guests in silks, the groom on an elephant, musicians, a fortune in the making. Then he walked around a corner and saw an infant being bathed in a puddle. Reading that, my heart just sank, imagining the horror of the juxtaposition of those two scenes.

Another touching subject is her love of nature and trees, specifically. They talk about her garden and her huge property, which is exquisitely landscaped with an orchard and magnificent flower beds. She’s planted trees in honor of friends who have passed, and she carefully and thoughtfully planned the types of trees and their locations. Judi not only loves nature, but she shares her concern about the state of the world and what is happening around us with climate change.

The biggest sense that one walks away from after reading Judi’s words is that she would be a fascinating dinner partner. A wonderful friend. A fabulous lunch date. Her commentary about the state of the world, about technology and people who prefer to film events instead of just experiencing them, and describing the Oscars and being star-struck at the ceremonies meeting her favorite actors — it’s all delightful.

This memoir will especially be appreciated by those who knew a lot about Judi before reading it but also by those, like myself, whose limited knowledge was of her roles in movies and on the screen. There is so much more to her life and her history that those who were lucky enough to have seen her on the stage in Great Britain will know and admire. But reading about her brilliant life, her loves, and her beliefs is an enriching experience.

This review was first posted on Bookreporter.com.