As Lola Jean Sundstrom Shattuck entered the twilight period of her life, she mused about the events that brought her to this point.

She could hear The Kinks in the background singing "lo, lo, lo Lola"—describing a woman drinking champagne, tasting like cherry cola, walking like a woman, and talking like a man.

Could this be her?

She does like cherry cola with a little rum and has been referred to as a "sir" when answering the phone. But then she wondered if she might be Barry Manilow's Lola, who dances the cha-cha at the Copacabana with yellow feathers in her hair.

She never did dance at the Copa, but she did dance the fox trot at the Roof Garden ... but with no yellow feathers. Then there is Sarah Vaughan, who sang about "Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets."

Decide for yourself which Lola the author coincides with most as she opens up about her life in this memoir.