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Emily, I don't think that a memoir of Diane Keaton's relationship to her dementia-suffering mother is what readers of any age necessarily want. I think publishers are grasping at straws in this economy and are willing to publish anything with a celebrity name attached. The common wisdom is probably that a book by Diane Keaton on any subject—from Alzheimer's to zoology—will sell more than the latest literary tome from Richard Ford or any similarly revered author.
With news yesterday that HarperCollins is cutting staff and offering buyouts, after a winter of similarly depressing news from other publishing houses, people are getting desperate to sell books. Which might explain the just-announced book deal for Alexandra Penney, the former Self editor who lost a ton of money with Madoff and then complained about having to lay off her maid, Yolanda, and take the subway in a much-reviled story in the Daily Beast. As Hamilton Nolan at Gawker puts it, " 'Notorious' is the new 'Deserving.' " It remains to be seen whether or not this attitude will save the publishing industry, but I guess at this point anything is worth a shot.