We were lucky enough to receive an advance copy of Daphne and Me recently. After counting down the days to read it, we can confirm it is worth the wait.
Here is our review of Jane’s memoir, from the Frasier stories we were dying to hear, to the parts of her life and career pre-Frasier that surprised us the most and why this book has something for everyone- even if you haven’t spent hours rewatching Daphne Moon!
Daphne & Me
One of the things we loved most about Daphne & Me is that it really does feel like Jane opened the door and let us into so many different parts of her life, not just Frasier.
Of course, for Frasier fans, there is so much here to love. The book is packed with behind-the-scenes stories from filming episodes we’ve been dying to hear about. (Always wondered what her favorite Niles and Daphne scenes are? Don’t worry, she gives you a LIST and all the great BTS details to go with them!) But she also goes way beyond her own memories, getting into how Frasier came together in the first place, the casting, the writers and producers, what rehearsals were actually like, and so many of the little decisions that helped make the show what it became.
There are also plenty of those wonderfully specific fan moments, from Jane’s hilarious “method acting” that had David Hyde Pierce marveling at how much her new blond son resembled him while Daphne was pregnant with Niles’s baby, to finally getting Jane’s own perfectly logical explanation for a fan question that comes up all the time: why Niles and Daphne had two little girls in the Season 10 flash-forward in “Rooms with a View,” but welcomed a son in Part 1 of the series finale, “Goodnight Seattle.”
Some of our favorite parts actually came from everything that happened before Frasier. We loved hearing about Jane’s ballet years, her early days in LA (and all the auditions and homesickness that came with it!), and all the moments where she really had no idea if any of it was going to work out. It makes the point where Frasier finally comes along feel even more special.
And once Frasier does come along, you get all the personal stuff happening alongside it too. Jane meets her husband, starts a family, and you really get a sense of how the cast became part of each other’s lives far beyond the show itself.
One of the real highlights of the book is the chapter on September 11 and David and Lynn Angell. It’s a beautiful tribute to both of them and gives such a personal look at how the Frasier cast dealt with losing them.
Even the acknowledgements are filled with little treasures. We loved seeing the long list of people supporting Jane while she was writing the book, and finding a new photo of her and David Hyde Pierce strolling along a beach in the Hamptons during a visit spent reminiscing was such a sweet surprise. (The Resident fans will also love the fun little Bruce Greenwood shout-out in the acknowledgements, and how he helped Jane “feel like a real writer.”)
So, indeed, if you’re a Frasier fan there is A LOT here that is going to make you very happy. But what we really loved is that you absolutely do not have to be one to get something out of this book. Daphne & Me is about so much more than the show. It’s about chasing something you want, figuring things out as you go, and all the people and moments that become part of your story.
Basically: come for Daphne Moon, stay for Jane Leeves.
