Betty White’s Pearls of Wisdom: Life Lessons from a Beloved American Treasure

Sullivan considered Betty White to be a surrogate mother, and this warm and endearing portrait will delight fans of the comedian. White died in 2021, just days short of her 100th birthday. Sullivan’s book focuses on White’s “pearls of wisdom” or life lessons, and it’s imbued with the actor’s love of life. “Taste every minute” was her mantra. This touching and uplifting memoir focuses less on White’s lengthy TV career and more on the decades spent with the Sullivans. White and her husband, Allen Ludden, were the ones to introduce Patty to Tom Sullivan (soon to be her husband) during a summer in Cape Cod, and then helped Tom, who has been blind since infancy, to develop his acting and singing career. The Sullivans remained devoted friends with White until her death and she was “Gram III” to the Sullivan children. Readers also learn that White’s love of animals and wildlife was legendary and lifelong as well. It was she who re-homed Tom’s retired guide dog, Dinah, when she grew too old to help Tom. Particularly moving are the final two chapters, describing the late-life period when White began “losing ground physically, mentally and emotionally.”