Keaton's new memoir is out everywhere now (Random House Publishing).

It is, after all, difficult not to love a character like Annie Hall. It’s not easy to stifle giggles while watching Keaton’s performance in "Something’s Gotta Give." And surely, it’s almost impossible to resist smiling during both "Father of the Bride," and "The Family Stone."

Keaton spent most of her time, however, talking about her mother. 

After an initial sequence of clips from some of her most famous films, she began reading a passage from her recently released book, “Then Again.” She was immediately genuine and endearingly hilarious. 

“It’s a story of a mother and a daughter, of how this girl’s wishes—me—came true,” she said, corralling the audience into the same sentimental mood.

According to Keaton, her mother was an incredibly supportive, horribly insecure woman. She spent her life encouraging her four children, and providing them with a secure home that they could return to in the event that they were hurt. (At one moment, Keaton mentions an incident in school when her crush pushed his finger into her padded bra, only to make fun of her flat chest. She immediately ran home to her mother).

Keaton says she was the funny one in her family, but clarified in an interview with NPR that she was more of “the one with the big personality.” She was desperate to be adored. This is the root of her career.

Her mother wrote in journals throughout her life, using them to record her most intimate thoughts, musings, and hardships. When her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, she continued journaling. She wrote sentences, then words, and finally, just numbers.

“Would we hurt each other less, if we touched each other more?” she wrote.

Throughout the reading, Keaton laughed at herself, acknowledging the audience and reassuring them that even the most surprising moments in her memoir were real.

When she is asked about her romantic involvements, which happened several times throughout the question and answer session, though apparently not as much as she is used to, she said, “I was looking for a career, but not a steady relationship.”

A few members of the audience seemed to empathize with this, cooing in response, to which she shoot back lightly, “Well, I can’t fix it now, can I! Do you all have any dating tips?” Her honesty was charming. She proceeded to ask one of the men who questioned her about architecture (one of her favorite subjects) out on a date. 

Ultimately, Keaton is nothing but positivity. After enthusing about the support that she received from her mother, she paused, reflecting for a moment. Her throat caught with tears and she said, “But really, my life has been beyond my wildest dreams.”

Reach Contributor Anita here.