Getting Naked, a Review by Susan

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Getting Naked
Valerie Bertinelli

William Morrow
242 Pages
March 10, 2026

Goodreads/Amazon/Bookshop.org

This is a memoir by Valerie Bertinelli, who was in the classic television sitcom, One Day At a Time which aired from 1975 to 1981.  She is also known for being married to Eddie Van Halen, a guitarist and songwriter for the heavy metal group Van Halen, and for having struggles with her weight thereafter.  This is not to be glib but is to jog memories and to provide a little context to those that might not know who she is.

I loved this memoir.  However, I am precisely in the audience to which this book is marketed.  This book will have little or no appeal to men or to younger women who would have no idea who she is. Valerie and I are the exact same age and even though there are several differences between us, the commonality of age and generation created an instant rapport between us such that I felt like she was talking directly to me.  Valerie and I grew up together and I was raised on One Day At a Time and although the show has not necessarily aged well (I did go back and watch it at some point a few years ago), I loved it at the time.  I also think that if you did not watch the show, you will miss a great many of the references, although it still might speak to women of a certain age, regardless.  Men will not want to read this and should be forewarned that there is a chapter addressing menopause and its effects (though this was the least interesting section to me since I am one of the few women I know of who had no symptoms of it at all so I had trouble relating to it).

The other thing about this memoir is that it also serves as a how-to book in some ways.  Valerie is giving the benefit of her experience as someone who has struggled with self-image and weight, and most of us that are in our 60s can relate to this.  Even though she is a celebrity, she seems very down to earth, showing us that she has the same problems that others have.  Although she did not graduate high school (who knew) and was married to a rock star, she is also a cat lady and is as insecure as the rest of us are.  While this memoir will have a limited audience, it speaks to its targets well.

Thanks to Net Galley and William Morrow for providing me with advanced copies of this book.  All of the opinions herein are my own.  Four and a half stars, rounded up to five.