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63rd out of 402 books
—
909 voters
Will There Really Be a Morning?
Harrowing account of '30's film star, Frances Farmer's life while in a State Mental Institution in 1945 and her struggle to adjust afterwards. This book was published about a year after her death of cancer in 1970.
Paperback, 379 pages
Published
June 15th 1973
by Dell Books
(first published 1972)
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Actress Frances Farmer wrote (supposedly) this thought-provoking and harrowing account of her life in 1972, and included her childhood, rise to stardom, betrayal by lovers, her alcoholism and drug abuse brought on by the demands of the movie studio system and a combative personality, the time spent in a mental hospital in Washington, and her later years. Published posthumously, there is some question as to the accuracy of the record. Was it written by someone else sympathetic to her cause? There...more
This book is not what you think it is.
It isn't an autobiography of Frances Farmer so much as it's an autobio-biography. That is, it's a biography of Frances Farmer written by her best-friend, Jean Ratcliffe (to whom the book's dedicated -- !!) but based on FF's autobiographical manuscript. Here's the catch: you never know explicitly when it's FF speaking or when it's Jean Ratcliffe speaking as Frances. In this sense, "Will There Really Be a Morning?" is a lot like V. Nabokov's "Pale Fire", in th...more
It isn't an autobiography of Frances Farmer so much as it's an autobio-biography. That is, it's a biography of Frances Farmer written by her best-friend, Jean Ratcliffe (to whom the book's dedicated -- !!) but based on FF's autobiographical manuscript. Here's the catch: you never know explicitly when it's FF speaking or when it's Jean Ratcliffe speaking as Frances. In this sense, "Will There Really Be a Morning?" is a lot like V. Nabokov's "Pale Fire", in th...more
I only became interested in Frances Farmer because she was referenced in one of my favorite musicals "Next to Normal". I knew nothing about her when I picked up this book and this book I must say has changed a lot about myself that I didn't even think was possible. We all think we can never get through the rough patches, but Frances Farmer spent five years in a solitary room with no connection to anything or anyone and she survived. She survived and got out and learned what it was like to be lov...more
I absolutely adored this book when Iread it in high school. It is haunting and has stayed with me for years after constantly playing on my mind as one of the most tragic stories I have ever read.
This was one story when after I had finished it I literally couldn't just jump into another book for about a week, I walked around instead in a shock at how cruel one life could be to a person. Really not for the faint hearted but if you stick it out to the end then it is well worth while.
As for commen...more
This was one story when after I had finished it I literally couldn't just jump into another book for about a week, I walked around instead in a shock at how cruel one life could be to a person. Really not for the faint hearted but if you stick it out to the end then it is well worth while.
As for commen...more
I remember really liking it when I was in high school and raided the library for anything upsetting and also for Hollywood bios. This is a perfect combo.
It's probably terrible but I remember liking it.
It's probably terrible but I remember liking it.
feel like listening? ask me about my obsession with frances farmer.
I couldn't help but think as I read Ms. Farmer's memoir that this was the most gruesome yet hopeful autobiographies I had ever read. Her multiple stays at the state hospital revealed a psychiatric underbelly of existence that was truly horrifying and degrading to human life.
It seemed at times that perhaps details and situations might have been exaggerated, but then again, who is to say? It is truly amazing that Ms. Farmer was able to survive the horrors of her mental instability and I for one,...more
It seemed at times that perhaps details and situations might have been exaggerated, but then again, who is to say? It is truly amazing that Ms. Farmer was able to survive the horrors of her mental instability and I for one,...more
Mar 26, 2011
Graham Harvey
added it
so far, interesting, a challenging period in her life. Am reading a few autobiographies on movie stars producers right now...
Just finished it today, what a shocker. One of the most shocking books I have ever read. Clearly she had issues, and couldn't stop herself reacting, but what equally stands out is the barbarity of the psych hospitals and how all they really did was torture people until they dared not act out anymore. Absolutely heavy. If you have challenges in your life, this will help you...more
Just finished it today, what a shocker. One of the most shocking books I have ever read. Clearly she had issues, and couldn't stop herself reacting, but what equally stands out is the barbarity of the psych hospitals and how all they really did was torture people until they dared not act out anymore. Absolutely heavy. If you have challenges in your life, this will help you...more
This is the most haunting and distrubing book I ever read. I very nearly didn't finish it. However, I'm glad I did. Frances Farmer was a rising Hollywood star when she decided to leave showbusiness. This is the frightening story of how her mother managed to have her decleared incompetent and confine her to a mental hospital where unfathomable brutality ensued.
Not for the faint of heart, but a worthwhile read, nonetheless.
Not for the faint of heart, but a worthwhile read, nonetheless.
Mar 21, 2007
Fuzz
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Anyone interested in biographys or classic film stars
Shelves:
great-books
FRANCES FARMER: 1913-1970
Frances Farmer was a successful screen and stage actress in Hollywood and Broadway in the 1930s and 1940s. There have been numerous storys about her life, many of which were false accounts. What a better way to learn more about her than by reading her own side of the story.
What could drive a person to feel this way?:
"I preferred, and still do, cold calculation to compassion."
This book grabs you in the first page and won't let go until you've finished. It can be a bit ha...more
Frances Farmer was a successful screen and stage actress in Hollywood and Broadway in the 1930s and 1940s. There have been numerous storys about her life, many of which were false accounts. What a better way to learn more about her than by reading her own side of the story.
What could drive a person to feel this way?:
"I preferred, and still do, cold calculation to compassion."
This book grabs you in the first page and won't let go until you've finished. It can be a bit ha...more
After I read my first biography, Citizen Hearst, I read two biographies about Frances Farmer, the actress who was portrayed in the movie starring Jessica Lange. Amazing story, but after looking it up on amazon.com, I found out that it was ghost-written after her death, and includes fictional material.
I read this book over 20 years ago in paperback
before the film came out starring Jessica Lange
and Sam Sheppard. It is a harrowing account of
mental illness. I'm not sure who wrote it;
Farmer herself or a ghost writer? Nevertheless,
does it really matter? This is disturbing,
morose and tragic.
before the film came out starring Jessica Lange
and Sam Sheppard. It is a harrowing account of
mental illness. I'm not sure who wrote it;
Farmer herself or a ghost writer? Nevertheless,
does it really matter? This is disturbing,
morose and tragic.
A shocking expose of the mental health system in Hollywood capturing as it does the struggles between the unconventional young actress working in the oh so conventional film industry. A horrid illustration of heroic medicine working hand in glove with a controlling parent.
no one really knows if frances wrote this or not. personally, i believe someone she was close to interviewed her for her story. i remember it as a brutal account of what a mother and a system can do to a woman and how they can destroy her.
Tragic and unbelievable, but its true! Frances Farmer got born into the wrong decade, it's a crying shame, literally. I can't even handle lobotomy jokes after reading about what happened to her. Depressing as hell.
I was first inspired to read this book when I was a teenager and learned that Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love named their daughter for her. Interesting choice. Interesting woman with a tormented life.
I originally read this book around 20 years ago and after a long search my partner managed to find it and gave it to me for my birthday last month. I knew nothing about Frances Farmer until I read an interview with Boy George in the early 80's. Culture Clubs "The Medal Song" was written about Frances Farmer.
This is an incredible autobiography. Harrowing, moving and eventually hopeful too. The cruelty shown to Frances by the very people that were supposed to be caring for her, including her paren...more
This is an incredible autobiography. Harrowing, moving and eventually hopeful too. The cruelty shown to Frances by the very people that were supposed to be caring for her, including her paren...more
Jul 12, 2010
Velvetink
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
autobiography-memoir,
z-1990-s
Pretty darn gut wrenching when you find out what her mother does to her. This is a more earlier and sinister tale not unlike "A Girl Interrupted".
Unbelievably sad and heartbreaking. If you are feeling down about your life, read this book. You'll see how good you really have it.
I'm not a big fan of Autobiographies but this is one you must read. Its so raw and personal, I felt like I was reading her diary.
If you like interesting autobiographies of how a life can go from one extreme of fame to nothingness then this is it. Not a happy story.
I saw the movie Frances (Jessica Lange was brilliant) and her life story was really heartbreaking. I'd like to know more about her...
read many many years ago and possibly wasn't interested in the style or the quality of the writing, but an interesting story
This book broke my heart and stayed with me for such a long time. Utterly fucking harrowing in some sections.
I first read this book at the impressionable age of 14. It affected me greatly, and still, in some form, does. It's a well-written tale of the fickleness of Hollywood society, the atrocity of mid-20th century asylums, the strained relationship between a dominating mother and imprisoned daughter, and a bitter alcoholic's long journey to find happiness. It was my favorite book for years, and I've read it about seven times. Frances Farmer was an amazing woman, and here we get her perspective, poten...more
Absolutely fantastic book by one of my idol, Frances Farmer. Good god, what this woman lived through.
This is a life changing book. I read it as a teenager and it remains one of my favorites.
I read this book as a young girl and I still think about it more than 20 years later.
I thought I wanted to be famous. And then I read this woman’s story.
What a troubling story....could not put the book down.
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| Frances | 2 | 10 | 15 déc. 16:00 |
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