ALI'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL

A collection of comedic vignettes about life during the Covid-19 lockdown.

In her latest book, actor and comedian Wentworth focuses on her life during the first year of the pandemic. The author contracted the virus in March 2020, forcing her to spend more than two weeks in isolation. She describes her surreal experience getting tested and the even more bizarre “fever dreams” that accompanied her illness, and she recounts how her husband’s (ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos) trip to the pharmacy to pick up her medicine made tabloid news. Wentworth also explores how our housecleaning standards changed for many of us during lockdown, and she shares the shock she felt regarding the state of her home when she emerged from isolation: “It was on par with a frat house after March Madness. It was Animal House. Literally and figuratively. As of that moment I wanted to put my family on double secret probation.” Like many of us, the author picked up some new hobbies during that time, including gardening and clamming (“Like diving for shells, there is a treasure-hunt element to the endeavor that I find irresistible”), and ate lots of junk food—not to mention spending an inordinate amount of time surfing the internet and watching TV. Once restrictions lifted, Wentworth ventured back out into the world, and she writes about getting lost and seeing a bear on a girls’ hiking trip and playing charades with Alan and Arlene Alda, Alec Baldwin, Marlo Thomas, and Phil Donahue. The author also shares poignant experiences from the time, including sending her daughter to college. “Think Cast Away, with my daughter as Wilson the volleyball,” she writes. While many readers will find plenty of relatable and/or laugh-out-loud moments, the author’s stories frequently diverge from the topic and include random, head-scratching details.

A light, amusing work for fans of Wentworth’s quirky sense of humor.