Melissa Gilbert shares her life in a courageous, edgy memoir. In Prairie Tale, Gilbert tells the story of her complicated life that was very different from the life of the character who made her famous as a child star, Laura Ingalls.
Talking about the loving and often tense relationship with her mother, the death of her father, her time hanging with the Brat Pack, her television career, Michael Landon, and more, Gilbert opens her heart to draw the reader into her life story. Gilbert shares how she met her biological family, dealt with feelings of being unloved because she was given up for adoption, how she buried the pain with alcohol, and eventually overcame her addiction.
Inviting readers into her roles as wife, mother, and actor, Gilbert shares her story with eloquence. Perhaps this is why the many vulgarities caught me off guard. Not because I expect her to be as wholesome as her characters, but because unlike Alison Arngrim's memoir, where the style allowed for the inclusion of some vulgarities without interrupting the flow of the prose, the cruder words in Prairie Tale, seem to be dropped into the middle of an elegant story and leave you wondering if they are placed there for effect. This took away from my overall enjoyment of the book, but I still thought Gilbert did an excellent job with how she brought the reader along her journey.
Little House on the Prairie fans and fans of Melissa Gilbert will enjoy this one, even if the language is a bit shocking.
Title: Prairie Tale
Author: Melissa Gilbert
Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment
ISBN-10: 1416599142
ISBN-13: 978-1416599142
SRP: $26.00
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1 comment:
I wasn't pleased with the language either, it just didn't fit the narrative. I was also disappointed with the lack of info on relations with other LHOTP actors. I just got Alison Arngrim's book and am looking forward to it.
http://back-to-books.blogspot.com/2009/07/121-prairie-tale-by-melissa-gilbert.html
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