Entertainment Books Non-Fiction Books Barbra Streisand Wanted 'Two Volumes' of Her Memoir Instead of Nearly 1,000-Page Book Streisand's memoir 'My Name Is Barbra' was released on Nov. 7 By Ilana Kaplan Ilana Kaplan Ilana Kaplan is a Staff Editor at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2023. Her work has previously appeared in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, Vogue and more. People Editorial Guidelines Published on November 29, 2023 01:05PM EST Barbra Streisand in Malibu in July 2023. Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Barbra Streisand knows she's "guilty" of writing a long book. In an interview with The New York Times, the EGOT winner, 81, opened up about how she originally wanted to approach her long-awaited memoir My Name Is Barbra and how she didn't necessarily like the idea of having such a hefty tome. “I wanted two volumes,” she told the outlet. “Who wants to hold a heavy book like that in their hands?” The "Memory" musician "was very late in delivering the book." Barbra Streisand Says She Hasn't Had 'Much Fun' in Her Life Ahead of New Memoir Release The book, which she was originally meant to be submitted in two years, took take her 10 years to finish. (It was initially announced in 2015 with a publishing date set for 2017.) But its 970 pages, she hopes, encompasses her legacy. “If you want to read about me in 20 years or 50 years, whatever it is — if there’s still a world — these are my words. These are my thoughts," she said. My Name Is Barbra was published via Viking on Nov. 7. "Barbra Streisand is a living legend, a woman who in a career spanning six decades has excelled in every area of entertainment, and this engrossing and delightful book will be eagerly welcomed by her millions of fans," a press release said of the book. "Dozens of books have been written about Streisand, and now in My Name Is Barbra, she tells her story in her own words." My Name Is Barbra. Amazon The Broadway icon and actress' memoir shares a name with a 1965 album and TV special from Streisand and details everything from her Brooklyn childhood, to her big Broadway break and award-winning films like Funny Girl, A Star Is Born and The Way We Were. Streisand also reminisces about her high-profile romances and dalliances with stars like Marlon Brando, ex-husband Elliott Gould (with whom she shares son Jason Gould) and former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau — which all eventually paved the way for her to find everlasting love with James Brolin, her husband of 25 years. Barbra Streisand. Kevin Mazur/Getty Barbra Streisand Says Fear that Surgery Would Impact Her Legendary Voice Made Her Resist a Nose Job Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Streisand released two albums on Oct. 27 — Yentl: 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition and Evergreens: Celebrating Six Decades on Columbia Records — both of which celebrated career milestones for the singer-songwriter. Yentl: 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition and Evergreens, mark two pivotal moments in Streisand's legendary career, respectively — the anniversary of her 1983 musical film Yentl and the anniversary of her signing with Columbia back in 1962. Close