Ah, how I have missed Roseanne Roseannadanna.

I didn’t realize just how much until I watched the recent “Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special” while visiting family.

Seeing hilarious Gilda Radner and her zany characters pop on the TV screen reminded me of college days — watching SNL with friends in dorm rooms during the show’s brilliant early years.

I also didn’t realize that after all these years, I STILL had never read Radner’s book, “It’s Always Something.”

Believe me, that was remedied in short order! Since I was road-tripping, an audiobook seemed the easy and apt choice. And an excellent one, too — read by Radner herself.

If ever there was a perfect “read by the author” audiobook, this is it.

“It’s Always Something,” a short, candid autobiography by comedienne Gilda Radner, has maintained high acclaim since its publication 36 years ago. Billed as a memoir, it is just that, in my opinion.

Primarily a chronicle of her highs and lows (and everything in between) while in a losing battle with ovarian cancer, Radner also reveals plenty about her childhood, relationship with actor Gene Wilder, and her early years with the improv comedy group The Second City and with SNL.

Despite the dark subject matter, there are heavy doses of humor throughout the book. After all, this is Radner we’re talking about! It’s the gallows variety, of course, but this brilliant lady of laughter did not disappoint in that department.

At one point, she shares poignant feelings about seeing her SNL friends continuing on with their careers, while she languishes at home. Among her somber ponderings: “I go to the movie theater, and there are coming attractions for Dan Aykroyd in ‘Dragnet.’ There are no coming attractions for ‘Gilda Radner’s hair grows back.’”

That stopped me cold and made me burst out laughing — which I’m sure was her intent. As she herself says, “Cancer is probably the most unfunny thing in the world, but I’m a comedian, and even cancer couldn’t stop me from seeing the humor in what I went through.”

Radner tells all — the painful medical procedures, her yelling bouts and impatience with her

husband, Wilder, as well as the difficulties of being a very public celebrity undergoing such a very personal trial. There are uplifting moments, too — good friends, innovative and helpful medical professionals, and loving times with her husband.

I was grateful and warmed by Radner’s brutal honesty, not sugarcoating or holding back on anything. And that frankness undoubtedly bolstered readers, both then and today, with welcome solace and fellowship — those undergoing such a tragedy themselves or those supporting an ill family member.

And a lesson for the rest of us to never EVER give up.

The book was published in 1989, shortly before Radner’s death on May 20, 1989, at age 42. At the book’s conclusion, Radner was steadfastly full of encouragement, still hopeful for a cure or remission.

Sobering doesn’t even begin to describe those last pages, knowing now her fate not long after.

If you feel compelled to read or re-read this little treasure, my advice is to go with the audio version. I simply can’t express the impact of listening to Radner’s own brave words telling her story.

The title, “It’s Always Something,” a mantra about life from Radner’s father, became a regular line for her SNL character Roseanne Roseannadanna…

“It just goes to show you, it’s always something — if it ain’t one thing, it’s another.”