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Here's the Story

by Maureen McCormick

3.26 of 5 stars 3.26 · rating details · 2,141 ratings · 419 reviews

Marcia! Marcia! Marcia!

Marcia Brady, eldest daughter on television's The Brady Bunch, had it all—style, looks, boys, brains, and talent. No wonder her younger sister Jan was jealous! For countless adolescents across America who came of age in the early 1970s, Marcia was the ideal American teenager. Girls wanted to be her. Boys wanted to date her. But what viewers didn't know about the always-sunny, perfect Marcia was that offscreen, her real-life counterpart, Maureen McCormick, the young actress who portrayed her, was living a very different—and not-so-wonderful—life. Now, for the very first time, Maureen tells the shocking and inspirational true story of the beloved teen generations have invited into their living rooms—and the woman she became.

In Here's the Story, Maureen takes us behind the scenes of America's favorite television family, the Bradys. With poignancy and candor, she reveals the lifelong friendships, the hurtful jealousies, the offscreen romance, the loving support her television family provided during a life-or-death moment, and the inconsolable loss of a man who had been a second father. But The Brady Bunch was only the beginning. Haunted by the perfection of her television alter ego, Maureen landed on the dark side, caught up in a fast-paced, drug-fueled, star-studded Hollywood existence that ultimately led to the biggest battle of her life.

Moving from drug dens on Wonderland Avenue to wild parties at the Playboy mansion and exotic escapades on the beaches of Hawaii, this candid, hard-hitting memoir exposes a side of a beloved pop-culture icon the paparazzi missed. Yet it is also a story of remarkable success. After kicking her drug habit, Maureen battled depression, reconnected with her mother, whom she nursed through the end of her life, and then found herself in a pitched battle for her family in which she ultimately triumphed.

There is no question: Maureen McCormick is a survivor. After fifty years, she has finally learned what it means to love the person you are, insight that has brought her peace in a happy marriage and as a mother. Here's the Story is the empowering, engaging, shocking, and emotional tale of Maureen McCormick's courageous struggle over adversity and her lifelong battle to come to terms with the idea of perfection—and herself.(less)

ebook, 320 pages

Published October 6th 2009 by HarperCollins e-books (first published October 14th 2008)

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Oct 27, 2008 Linda rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir

Look what I checked out today! People Magazine just wasn't enough for me . . .
UPDATE: I'm on page 66, and it's crystal clear that Marcia Brady and Maureen McCormick are not the same person. For instance, Marcia's favorite Monkee is Davy Jones; Maureen's favorite Monkee is Peter Tork.
FINISHED IT sort of. Not enough Brady gossip; not enough humor; too much god and plodding five-word sentences.

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Nov 09, 2008 Marsha rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of Marcia Brady

Recommended to Marsha by: Articles I read in magazines

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I was a huge Brady Bunch fan when the popular show was first shown on air back in the early 1970s. Maureen does talk a little bit about the show. However, the book is an autobiography about her life. Maureen became typecast as Marcia Brady, the eldest daughter of the fictional family. On the show, she was perfect, pretty, and sweet. But in reading this book she still seems like she was and is pretty and sweet, but maybe not so perfect. Maureen had to come to terms with not being so perfect in re...more I was a huge Brady Bunch fan when the popular show was first shown on air back in the early 1970s. Maureen does talk a little bit about the show. However, the book is an autobiography about her life. Maureen became typecast as Marcia Brady, the eldest daughter of the fictional family. On the show, she was perfect, pretty, and sweet. But in reading this book she still seems like she was and is pretty and sweet, but maybe not so perfect. Maureen had to come to terms with not being so perfect in real life. She had numerous family problems for one thing. After the show aired, Maureen had problems in getting good parts, since she was typecast as Marcia Brady. Maureen didn't seem to have a problem with being associated with her alter ego, except she felt a bit let down that she could not be as perfect as Marcia Brady. She suffered from depression. For years, she became a cocaine addict. She had two abortions. She still did some acting and it was obvious many people cared about her, but it wasn't until years later that she was ready to seek some help. After finally getting away from cocaine, she had a serious relationship and got married. She is still married and has a healthy beautiful daughter out of that marriage. However, she expresses how difficult she was to her husband with her many mood swings. Eventually she sought out therapy and also antidepressants. From there, she discusses her loving relationship with her mother, and her mother's sad death from kidney cancer. Maureen also expresses the big litigious estate mess that resulted after her mother's death due to her brother Kevin's paranoia. It was interesting to read about Maureen's dysfunctional family, considering the irony in the ordinary Brady family. I found Maureen's book to be very moving. I think Maureen is brave to share her story. She ends her book stating how she finally came to terms with "Marcia Brady." Marcia, being so perfect, was an image hard to live up to in real life. However, it looks like Maureen turned out okay in the end. I wonder if her daughter will be interested in acting, but if so, hopefully she will have a better time of it. Maureen does say how lucky she was that the media didn't jump down on her in the old days, as it does today on other young performers (such as Britney Spears). So, although Maureen got to deal with her problems privately for the most part, she now shares them on her own terms.(less)

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Aug 23, 2009 Marie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: memoirs, nonfiction

Recently I got my sons watching "The Brady Bunch" and was feeling nostalgic, so I checked out Maureen McCormick's recent memoir. It was like cotton candy...sweet, but ultimately not very satisfying. McCormick briefly talks about her life as Marcia, but mostly the book is about her wild life and dysfunctional family.

Post-Brady, McCormick dabbled in cocaine, bulimia, promiscuity, and spousal abuse. She comes across as a bit of a spoiled brat at times. At the same time, her mother was tortured beca...more

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Jan 24, 2009 Natalie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I knew from reviews that this book wouldn't exactly be the fluffy fun of Barry William's Growing Up Brady, but I was surprised by the openness Maureen McCormick laid out here. Very little of the book is directly Brady-related, but it's a interesting look at a former child star struggling with Hollywood issues and family demons at the same time.

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Mar 23, 2009 David rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

memoir by the actress who played Marcia on The Brady Bunch. There's a little celebrity gossip and some poignant material on the emotional aspects of confronting in adulthood and middle age the reality that you're mostly known for what you did as a teenager and are not continuing to advance in that field.

Beyond that, it's mostly a tale of the many interrelated difficulties she's experienced -- promiscuity, a couple of abortions, serious family conflict, drug addiction, bulimia, domestic violence...more

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Feb 15, 2009 Babs rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: american-authors, non-fiction, memoir

Marcia, Marcia, Marcia! ;^) No one can accuse McCormick of showing herself in a flattering light in her memoir. Here is someone who had a promising future, found out as a teenager that her mother had syphilis, and seemingly never recovered from the "secret shame" of it. That's what McCormick seems to want us to believe. It gave her low self-esteem, she eventually turned to cocaine and there went 25 years of her life.

The "Brady" part of the memoir was interesting, but the remainder of the book wa...more

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Jan 30, 2009 Steve rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 24, 2011 Melissa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir

It's hard to believe that Maureen McCormick only played "Marcia Brady" on The Brady Bunch for five years. The Brady Bunch has become such a part of pop culture that it seems as if the series ran for much longer (syndication will do that, I guess).

Although each of the child actors and actresses who portrayed the Brady kids became closely identified with his or her character, America (and a good deal of Hollywood) seems to find it most difficult to separate Maureen McCormick from Marcia Brady. Hen...more It's hard to believe that Maureen McCormick only played "Marcia Brady" on The Brady Bunch for five years. The Brady Bunch has become such a part of pop culture that it seems as if the series ran for much longer (syndication will do that, I guess).

Although each of the child actors and actresses who portrayed the Brady kids became closely identified with his or her character, America (and a good deal of Hollywood) seems to find it most difficult to separate Maureen McCormick from Marcia Brady. Hence the rationale for writing this book. Life in the Brady household was picture-perfect ... and whatever problems or crises erupted were easily solved within the episode. And nobody was more perfect and more idolized than Marcia.

Here's the Story gives a backstage look at McCormick's life before, during, and especially after starring on The Brady Bunch. Much of the publicity surrounding the book's release centered on the juicy tidbits she reveals within: the confirmation of her romance with Barry Williams, who played big brother Greg; the wild parties at the Playboy Mansion; the dates with Steve Martin and Michael Jackson. While I initially picked up this book because of these nuggets, that's not what the book is about.

Judging people on what we perceive them to be is a recurrent theme throughout the book. As a young girl, McCormick's father lectures his offspring around the kitchen table about judging others - a bitter irony in so many respects, particularly in regards to McCormick's parents' relationship, her own relationship with her mother, her view of herself, and of course, America's view of how life must be for Marcia/Maureen. She writes poignantly about her brother Denny, who is intellectually handicapped, and the harsh judgement that is inflicted on him by her friends who weren't allowed to stay overnight (for fears that Denny could be get violent) or when he hears people calling him a "retard" and asks his sister what that means. On a personal level, I would have liked to have read more of her experience and thoughts on having a sibling with special needs, but that's not what the book is about.

Ultimately, this is a book about the process of accepting yourself for who you truly are - not who or what society dictates that you are, even if you are Marcia Brady. Here's the Story is a fast read, made such because a good deal of the writing tends to stray into cliches and banality with frequent uses of "cool" and "hot." At times it seems as if Marcia herself is writing this memoir, especially when reading such passages as this, when discussing her romance with co-star Barry Williams.

"There was so much electricity between us that I felt the hair on my arms stand up every time we got close to each other on the set. I thought about Barry even when I had scenes with other guys. I used to ask myself how I could ever look in eyes other than his liquid blues and feel such love.

Gag me with a spoon, for sure.

The most gripping parts of this book comes in the last several chapters. The reader feels McCormick's pain as she discusses her mother's death and the family dynamics playing out in the aftermath. Unlike on a sit-com, there's no easy resolution to these messy and emotionally painful issues.

I liked this book more than I thought I would, and give it 3.5 stars (out of 5). Would recommend reading if you're a Brady Bunch fan, but moreso as an interesting read about the struggle for self-acceptance on all levels.(less)

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Mar 07, 2011 Twilight rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir, hollywood, addiction, drugs

Not quite what I thought it would be. I decided to buy it as I had a passing interest in her, having watched "Brady Bunch" reruns on TV as a kid. I had heard that the cast eventually had issues, with various members taking up drugs, doing reality tv shows and the like.

I was somewhat disappointed that McCormick glosses over her time on the "Brady Bunch" and it is much more about her personal battles with addiction, eating disorders, mental health problems and other issues. At times it was a littl...more

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Aug 26, 2010 Sidna Bookout rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My husband and I seldom go to Big Lots, but we happened to go to one near Home Depot. We didn't find what we were looking for, but I saw this book for $4 as we were leaving the store and decided to buy it. I thought it would be a fun read, a gossipy book about making The Brady Bunch.

There was some of that in the book, but Maureen's family life while she was working on the show was anything but ideal. Her parents and three brothers had a lot of problems they were trying to resolve. After the show...more

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Mar 26, 2010 Amy Demarco rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When Barry Williams did a cameo on Chris Knight's reality show and acted like a complete pervert, I said I'd never see the Brady Bunch in the same light again. Well after Maureen's memoir, I don't think I will ever be able to stomach another episode for as long as I live.

Upon finishing her bio, I discovered how annoyingly dorky Maureen McCormick is. I didn't really take her seriously when she became a born again Christian. She sure didn't act like one, especially when she visited a strip club ne...more

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Jan 05, 2010 Richmond rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Woah. While probably every pop culture-obsessed person on the planet has heard that Marcia Brady and brother Greg boffed on-set and off during much of the Brady Bunch's filming, and that Greg even took Florence Henderson out on a date (gross!), Maureen McCormick's admissions in this book top all that. The dirt in thie book is topped with bacon, cheese, and avocado, it's so tasty!

First off, Maureen's first adult b.f. was hugely into cocaine. She moved in with him at age 18 and then was strung out...more

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Jun 20, 2009 Laren rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: memoirs

The actress best know for her role as Marcia Brady on television's "The Brady Bunch" gives us a small behind the scenes look in this autobiography. Being on the show encompasses just a small part of the narrative, which also includes her addiction to drugs, her difficulty finding non-Brady related acting work after the show ended, her love life struggles with depression and her recent stints on reality shows. It isn't a pretty picture, particularly the degree to which drugs ruled her life, her t...more

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Feb 12, 2009 Sharon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mental-health, memoir

I deal, on a daily basis, with what might be politely termed "medically-resistant clinical depression." What this means, really, is that no combination of medications has ever really helped -- and the one that came closest had horrific side effects.

The reason I provide this prologue is that I derive a great deal of help from reading books about other people who cope with depression -- and Maureen McCormick's memoir is just that. She writes frankly about feeling that she always needed to be as pe...more

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May 01, 2013 Sally rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

First of all, Maureen McCormick is some one I would love to sit down and just talk with. This woman has been to hell and back and somewhere in between, she met Jesus.

Her memoir is a sometimes painfully honest look at her life from birth till 50. Nothing seems to be left out - not even her family's crazy streak. It is open, fulfilling, embarrassing and inspiring.

So why only 3 stars? Because, sadly, it's also poorly written. This story deserved so much more than this disorganized, non-chronologi...more

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Apr 20, 2011 Lynda rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, read-in-2011

Only one disc left for me until this audiobook is over and I can't wait to be done. It was one of the few audiobooks left at the library, so I grudgingly rented it and started really disliking it towards the middle of the second disc.

Maureen is not very likeable; she comes across as very immature, needy, and completely lacking in common sense. She definitely seems to blame everyone around her for her problems. I was so sick of hearing about her cocaine use; it was pretty much, 'and then I broke...more

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Mar 19, 2009 Shannon rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm very intrigued by the life of Marcia Brady.. or should I say Maureen McCormick. LOL Now, I was not even born when the original Brady Bunch was on tv, but I did watch many a re-run and LOVE the show and to read about Maureen's life and her drug habit is quite interesting and hard to imagine. I think this is a really inspiring story. Maureen really told all and was very open and honest about her struggles with drugs, family and relationships. I would definately recommend.

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Dec 14, 2008 Lily rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 03, 2010 J.l. Farnsworth rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Maureen McCormick truly put herself out there for the world to see - both the good and the bad. It was an incredible story - one that showed us another side of the girl we grew up with. It was heartbreaking at times to see how much she suffered, but heartwarming to watch her grow and come back from such a downward spiral. Her book puts young actors and actresses into a new light - truly showing the stress that stardom at such a young age can inflict on someone. And she shows that her thoughts an...more

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Jan 27, 2009 Karen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 15, 2012 Verna rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was like a lot of people suprised and blown away with this honest to the bone memoir of Maureen McCormick, alias Marcia Brady. I will certainly never look at The Brady Bunch the 70's sitcom in the same way ever again. I want to personally thank Ms. McCormick for writing this totally inspirational book. Watching The Brady Bunch while a teenager around the same age as Maureen, I thought she had it all, looks, confidence, wealth and happiness. I on the other hand felt the usual teenage angst of n...more

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May 29, 2012 Debbie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Like many girls of my generation, I grew up envying Marcia Brady and even more so Maureen McCormick, the actress who portrayed her. I imagined that Maureen's life was similar to Marcia's. It had to be - With long blonde hair that she flipped so effortlessly, a pretty face that guaranteed a never-ending procession of boys, and a glamour job as a TV actress, I was very sure that life was easy and fun and wonderful for her.

Maureen's actual life story reveals a lot of sadness and shame that I never...more

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Apr 15, 2012 Jenn rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012

When I read a celebrity memoir, I want DIRT. About the most shocking thing she confesses about her time on the Brady Bunch was that everyone had a crush on everyone else. I wished she had been more open about her days after The Brady Bunch, when she was partying and drifting around the Hollywood Hills. Those chapters had a kind of Less Than Zero feeling about them, or like those scenes in Boogie Nights after Dirk Diggler leaves his porn career to try to become a singer. I would have loved to rea...more

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Nov 02, 2011 Christina Hall rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir, biography, celebrity, television

My sister gave me this book when she came to visit this summer. I wanted to read something demanded little intellectual challenge on my part. When I saw this book, I thought hey, we have a winner. I, like most people know Maureen McCormick, from her role as Marcia Brady. I also know her from her fabulous turn on CMT's 'Gone Country' where her admiration of Bobby Brown was one of my favorite things that has happened on reality television ever. They had some awesome chain-smoker bonding.
I admit it...more

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Aug 25, 2012 Kim rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir, non-fiction

I actually did not expect to enjoy this book, but I did. It wasn't a "can't put it down" book, and it actually took me about a couple of weeks to finish it, which gave me some time to digest what I had read. Most books that I really enjoy are the can't put 'em down, read it over a weekend, type. What I found refreshing was that Maureen McCormick found the courage to be truthful about her experiences, and to step out, around, the Marcia Brady personna, to show people who she really is. She's like...more

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Dec 29, 2008 Carmen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I didn't intend to buy the book but I did at the last minute when I accompanied a friend of mine to a book signing at the local bookstore. I grew up watching occaisional Brady Bunch reruns as a child but not enough to really form a strong opinion about Marcia Brady. I grew a liking to Maureen McCormick when she was a contestant on VH1's "Celebrity Fit Club". She is just as nice and charming in person as she is on TV.

I admit that the only parts I found fascinating about this book were the dark fa...more

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Feb 11, 2009 Karen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Confession: I wanted to be cool and popular and pretty like Marcia Brady. Turns out, so did Maureen McCormick. She's lived her whole post-sitcom life in Marcia's shadow, and had some very hard times in the turbulent, drug-filled 70's and even 80's as a result.

I rated this book as an "ok" read, mostly because I personally can't identify with the drug culture and partying that she did through her post-Brady years. I did find it heartwarming at the end where it's clear she's reprioritized her life...more

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Jan 09, 2009 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The beginning of this book was really interesting. The middle and end....a bit slower. Still, fun to get behind the scenes Brady facts.

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Jul 20, 2012 Dawn Bradley rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I loved this book! I'm usually not into biographies, but I was interested in reading this when I saw it at a Good Will store. I had forgotten "Marcia" had written a book, and of course, growing up with the Brady Bunch being a staple in my youth, I was interested in what her story was all about. I'm glad I picked this book up. To say I found some things absolutely shocking it an understatement. My whole image of the actress who played Marcia has changed. She didn't lead the life that one would im...more

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Oct 15, 2009 J.R. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I recently had the pleasure of reading Maureen McCormick's "Here's The Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice." In it, Ms. McCormick describes her battles which include but are by no means limited to bulemia, obesity, drug addiction, psychological issues, elder abuse as well as her own insecurities (not the least of which is constantly being compared to a fictional character, "Marcia Brady").

Now a New York Bestselling Author, Ms. McCormick has taken her celebrity status and reac...more

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About Maureen McCormick

Maureen Denise McCormick is an American actress, reality show participant, and recording artist. She is best known as a child actor who played Marcia Brady in the television series The Brady Bunch from 1969 to 1974.

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“I began to realize that life, despite moments of happiness and joy, is really about discovering priorities and dealing with unforeseen vagaries, differences, obstacles, inconveniences, and imperfections.” — 11 people liked it

“From what I've been able to figure out, all of us are here together and we need one another. We must celebrate each other's differences. Learning to ask for help is as important as learning the value of helping other people. I believe all the people in my life have been there for a reason, and I hope I have been in theirs for a reason as well. It's taken me a while, but I feel truly blessed. After all is said and done, I love life, I love people, and I love being me.” — 7 people liked it

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