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Prairie Tale: A Memoir

3.38 of 5 stars 3.38 · rating details · 2,809 ratings · 515 reviews

Thanks to her role as Laura "Half-Pint" Ingalls on the television series Little House on the Prairie, Melissa Gilbert has earned a permanent place in the hearts of women of all ages. But her real childhood was a far cry from Little House's idyllic portrait of family life, and her post-Little House years have been filled with ups and downs as well. Yet through her great sen...more

Hardcover, 367 pages

Published June 9th 2009 by Simon Spotlight Entertainment (first published January 1st 2009)

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May 09, 2013 Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

During summers growing up, I remember waking up and watching Little House on the Prairie with my sisters. I also read every single book in the Little House series growing up. I was very interested to read this memoir and learn about Melissa Gilbert's perception. Parts of it were really interesting.....bits about the Little House set, the last three movies and how Michael Landon blew up the set, etc. But quite frankly, so much of the book was about who she slept with, had a fling with, had a rela...more

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Apr 29, 2013 Cheryl Gatling added it

My husband brought this book home for me because he knew I had loved Little House on the Prairie as a child. There are some reminiscences here of what it was like to be a child star on a beloved show, to be America's sweetheart, and to work with the dominant force of personality that was Michael Landon. But most of this book is about what it has been like to be Melissa Gilbert, who grew up to be a woman who smoked, drank, cussed, took drugs, and had sex. Ms Gilbert would say that it took her man...more

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Sep 29, 2012 Candice rated it 3 of 5 stars

I’ll try to make a long story short. We now have “cable” tv and I record “Little House on the Prairie” on DVR so that my kids and I can watch when we have time. For me it’s a throw back to the ‘80s, watching TV after school with my mom and sisters. It was a tear-fest for us even as young girls. Now as I watch I see how manipulated the viewers’ emotions are typically by the music and over-the-top sad stories (at Michael Landon’s insistence the show did not stick to the books by Laura Ingalls Wild...more I’ll try to make a long story short. We now have “cable” tv and I record “Little House on the Prairie” on DVR so that my kids and I can watch when we have time. For me it’s a throw back to the ‘80s, watching TV after school with my mom and sisters. It was a tear-fest for us even as young girls. Now as I watch I see how manipulated the viewers’ emotions are typically by the music and over-the-top sad stories (at Michael Landon’s insistence the show did not stick to the books by Laura Ingalls Wilder and most story lines were made up, whatever made for good television, I suppose). Manipulated emotions aside I still enjoy watching with my kids and we have had some good discussions about morals, family values, etc.

Anyway, after watching several episodes I got to thinking: what was it like for the kid actors growing up on the show and where are they now? Luckily three of the main stars have autobiographies that I checked out. Laura, Mary & Nellie.

Laura Ingalls’ Melissa Gilbert’s memoir was fantastic. Right up my alley.

At first, my goal was to read as much about life on the set of Little House as possible. A few chapters into Melissa’s book and she had moved on to mostly her personal life. I guessed I would probably not finish the book because reading about her personal dramas weren’t what I had in mind...BUT something happened. Her stories were actually super interesting and Melissa’s writing was intriguing. She was candid, self-depreciating and seemed like the rest of us who are on a journey trying to figure out our lives. (She also knows a ton of celebrities and had some really honest and not so nice things to say about a few of them. That was just plain fun!)

Melissa happens to be a third generation entertainer, her parents and grandparents were legendary in old Hollywood and so she also had great stories about her grandfather and the Rat Pack, etc. Along with details from Melissa’s personal journey (alcoholism, failed relationships - including one with Rob Lowe, - acting career), her stories about her extended family, and her stories about Hollywood I found this read to be quite enjoyable. In fact, I was so intrigued it only took me about a week to read!

I’ll review Mary Ingalls’ Melissa Sue Anderson’s account of her Little House days next (what a snooze fest compared to Melissa’s!) and then I’m off to read about Nellie’s Allison Arngrim.(less)

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Jun 14, 2012 Dianesugars rated it 1 of 5 stars

Well, I looked so forward to reading this book and it ended up dissapointing me so very much! Like so many other reviews of this book, I was dissapointed by the amount of profanity that was used in this book, and also very dissapointed in all of the sex and cheating that the author felt the need to tell us about. All of that totally ruined this book for me. By the second time she tells the readers about her and a certain man getting back together and all the references to sex and how much, etc,...more

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May 05, 2012 Carolyn rated it 3 of 5 stars

I purchased this book because I am a huge fan of Little House on the Prairie and thought Melissa Gilbert did an awesome job playing the character of Laura Ingalls Wilder. My mother introduced me to the series when I was about 7 or 8 years old.

I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that Melissa Gilbert felt a need to use so much profanity throughout the book. It was really hard for me to read through most of the chapters because of the profanity. I enjoyed the last few chapters because...more

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Apr 27, 2012 Sharon rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography

This book was not really what I expected. I was hoping for more relating to the Little House experience, the interaction between characters both on and off camera. Melissa Gilbert says very little about any of the characters, except for Michael Landon.

While the book was interesting, maybe a better title would have been Prairie Tail because she spent an enormous amount of time writing about who she and others had been in and out of bed with. There is a lot of name-dropping, which is expected for...more

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Feb 28, 2012 Aaron Smith rated it 3 of 5 stars

The book is fairly sparing on her relationships with her former "Little House" cast members, with the exception of Michael Landon, whom she always regarded as a father figure, and her close friendship with Alison Arngrim (borne out by Arngrim's own memoir). She gives fairly short shrift to onscreen husband Dean Butler, whom she apparently was not pleased to work with due her self-consciousness over their age difference.

Her personal life is given very throrough treatment (almost uncomfortably so...more The book is fairly sparing on her relationships with her former "Little House" cast members, with the exception of Michael Landon, whom she always regarded as a father figure, and her close friendship with Alison Arngrim (borne out by Arngrim's own memoir). She gives fairly short shrift to onscreen husband Dean Butler, whom she apparently was not pleased to work with due her self-consciousness over their age difference.

Her personal life is given very throrough treatment (almost uncomfortably so, for someone who grew up in such privileged circumstances--we almost want to shake her and scream "What do you have to complain about?!"), but it does help explain the tightly-wound perfectionist that she became and lays the groundwork for her troubled relationships with Rob Lowe (and her competitive relationship with the rest of his "brat pack") and first husband Bo Brinkman, and her later substance abuse issues. The premature birth of her son Michael Boxleitner, and his struggle for survival, is also a wrenching passage.

Three quarters of the way through the book is where things start to "hot up" for those of us who like reading about the mechanical politics of entertainment labor. Gilbert describes her election to the board of directors of the Screen Actors Guild and her dissatisfaction with the time-wasting parliamentary procedure of some other members (notably "Adam 12's" Kent McCord, whom she describes as a "blowhard," although knowledgeable, and Valerie Harper, who "had an annoying habit of saying, 'uh-hum' and 'yeah' whenever someone was talking...she was always a second voice in the room." Her exasperation leads her to accept Richard Masur's suggestion that she run for the office of SAG president, and we are treated to the details of the ensuing race against opponent Harper, which had to be decided twice, as the election committee insisted a new election be held. (I'd love to read Valerie Harper's side of this, since she does not come off well in Gilbert's version. At all.) I'm interested to read about the remainder of her SAG presidency (we haven't reached the Alan Rosenberg years yet).

Still about 50 more pages to go...I wasn't wild about this book up through the first half, because it seemed like whenever she makes a misstep, there's an immediate "yes, but" reaction, which I found faintly self-serving. But this is her story, and I guess she can tell it however she wants. Worth reading even for just the passages about her catching on to Rob Lowe's infidelities (watch Mario Cantone on YouTube for a hilarious interpretation) and her rapprochement with Michael Landon at the end of his life, which is very touching stuff.(less)

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Oct 05, 2011 Kdevoli rated it 4 of 5 stars

I thought this was a really fun read. Having grown up with Little House, it was interesting for me to see how that whole saga came to be, and then read about Melissa's romances with famous and not so famous boys, like Rob Lowe and Tom Cruise. She sure did a lot of made for TV movies, none of which I have ever seen. I remember being surprised a few years back to hear she was elected Pres of the SAG union, and was in some sort of feud with the actress from Rhoda, and this fleshes that saga out may...more

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Sep 19, 2011 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was inspired to read this after reading Rob Lowe's autobiography - this book isn't nearly as much fun. Melissa is very serious; she luckily was one of the few child stars that was somewhat sheltered and therefore didn't really grow up too fast. However, she doesn't really probe how or why that happened. . she just accepts it. The relationship with Lowe is really interesting between the two books - she dedicates almost entire chapters to it, where her name appears in a few paragraphs in his boo...more

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Feb 26, 2011 Sri rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography-memoir

Hoho baca buku ini kayak sedang ngeliat infotainment dengan berita gosip-gosip Hollywood. Tapi ini bukan gosip karena yang bersangkutan sendiri yang bercerita. Mirip dengan ketika membaca Stori Telling.
Jadi ternyata pemeran Laura Ingalls itu teman akrab pemeran Nelly dan justru dia tidak akrab dengan pemeran kakaknya walaupun nama mereka sama-sama Melissa. Yang memerankan adik Nelly adalah adik Melissa. Melissa memusuhi adiknya waktu kecil.
Jodie Foster adalah saingan rutin Melissa ketika mereka...more Hoho baca buku ini kayak sedang ngeliat infotainment dengan berita gosip-gosip Hollywood. Tapi ini bukan gosip karena yang bersangkutan sendiri yang bercerita. Mirip dengan ketika membaca Stori Telling.
Jadi ternyata pemeran Laura Ingalls itu teman akrab pemeran Nelly dan justru dia tidak akrab dengan pemeran kakaknya walaupun nama mereka sama-sama Melissa. Yang memerankan adik Nelly adalah adik Melissa. Melissa memusuhi adiknya waktu kecil.
Jodie Foster adalah saingan rutin Melissa ketika mereka masih kecil dan aktif mengikuti audisi iklan. Kelak waktu sudah gede, Jodie Foster mengundang Melissa makan malam. Setelah itu ibu Melissa mencurigai Melissa menjadi lesbian.
Melissa kehilangan keperawanan sebelum tujuh belas dan dia menyarankan para gadis muda untuk mencoba pengalaman itu, wew. Brooke Shields adalah salah satu yang dia curhati tentang momen hilangnya keperawanannya itu.
Nancy Reagan pernah curhat dan menangis di pelukan ibu Melissa tapi tak lama setelah itu Bu Nancy sudah tak mengenali lagi siapa gerangan si America's sweetheart, pemeran Laura yang legendaris itu.
Trus trus Melissa Gilbert pernah ttm-an sama Tom Cruise dan juga John Cusack. Ditaksir Warren Beaty. Membuat George Clooney patah hati. Oh ya, Melissa mengenal ayah George Clooney sejak kecil. Dia juga mengenal ibunya Paris Hilton. Lalu Kiefer Sutherland mengaku pada suami Melissa bahwa dia jatuh cinta pada Melissa sejak kecil. Kenyataannya, Melissa naksir Bruce yang sekarang menjadi suaminya itu sejak Melissa masih kecil wkwkwk.
Lagi, waktu kecil Melissa Gilbert pernah mengajak Princess Stephanie of Monaco bermain bersamanya dan kelak pacar Melissa, Rob Lowe, direbut Princess Stephanie, sebelum akhirnya Rob Lowe melamar Melissa. Ketika mereka sedang siap-siap menikah Melissa hamil anak mereka. Rob memutuskan hubungan setelah Melissa mengaku sedang hamil. Beberapa hari kemudian Melissa keguguran, wew.
Ya ampun, dasar emak-emak. Hepi banget dikasih hiburan gosip *_*. Tetapi pada dasarnya inti buku ini adalah tentang pencarian diri. Bahwa segala yang terjadi dalam kehidupan Melissa memang sudah jalannya. Everything happens for a reason, begitu prinsip yang dipercaya mbak Melissa.
Terakhir, buku ini dan buku Tori Spelling sama-sama menceritakan bahwa Shannen Doherty itu seorang b***h.(less)

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Nov 27, 2010 LiteraryDragonsRock rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: autobiography-biography-memoir

I was a huge fan of Little House on the Prairie for the first several years. I found the harsh reality of prairie life sometimes difficult to digest. How anyone could possibly live in such extemes was beyond my comprehension. I moved on with my life and had relatively few remembrances of the work that Gilbert accomplished after the series concluded. I was amazed to see how extensive her resume was in comparison to my memories.

Gilbert engaged her friends in the creation of the title for her memo...more

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Jun 20, 2010 Michael Payne rated it 5 of 5 stars

June 19, 2010: Within days of reading Melissa Sue Anderson's recent attempt at writing, I dove into Melissa Gilbert's memoir out of curiosity. I had been completely disappointed with the first Melissa's work that, I must admit, I was slightly hesitant to even begin another look inside the world of a Little House cast member. Surprisingly, by Chapter 3, I was hooked! And, before long, I found myself completely immersed in a truly well-written autobiography. At one point, hearing the telephone rin...more June 19, 2010: Within days of reading Melissa Sue Anderson's recent attempt at writing, I dove into Melissa Gilbert's memoir out of curiosity. I had been completely disappointed with the first Melissa's work that, I must admit, I was slightly hesitant to even begin another look inside the world of a Little House cast member. Surprisingly, by Chapter 3, I was hooked! And, before long, I found myself completely immersed in a truly well-written autobiography. At one point, hearing the telephone ringing and knowing I had to get up to answer, I reluctantly put the book down and said, "This is a memoir!!!"

Unlike the first Melissa's extremely boring recap of every Little House scene ever filmed, Melissa Gilbert truly welcomed readers into her life. She was candid. She was shockingly and brutally honest, and she appeared genuine. I came to understand why Melissa #1 didn't have the family-type relationships with her castmates like Miss Half-Pint did - she simply wasn't open to it. She is so guarded and private that even her "memoir" was simply a detailed outline of each episode of the long-running series. After reading Melissa #1's book, I can honestly say, I haven't a clue who she is, where she comes from, or what her life was like on the Little House set. In reading Mrs. Boxleitner's "Prairie Tales," I laughed, smiled, felt tears well up (her final moment with Michael Landon was brutal to read), and I came to terms with my own demons (my relationship with alcohol is not a good one - we really need to come to terms with our relationship and simply decide to part ways).

All in all, Prairie Tales is a great read - especially if you grew up watching the series. I must say, initially, it was a bit shocking to discover "Laura Ingalls" had a sailor's tongue, a love of cigarettes and slept with quite a few of Hollywood's bachelors. But, it doesn't take long before you come to love Melissa Gilbert and separate her from the character she portrayed so brilliantly. While reading, I often found myself cheering for her, praying for her - and, above all else, respecting her for her work ethic, her commitment to her husband and family and for her overall desire to make her mark in life.

With summer now in our midst, grab this book as you head out on a vacation. Or, as you lie in your bed or couch in the wee hours of the night. I spent many nights watching Little House reruns and quickly diving into this book and, I must say, it was well worth it. Where Melissa #1 completely disappoints, Madame SAG President clearly ccores!! In five years, as I do all my favorites, I'm going to read this again!

(less)

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Apr 10, 2010 Melissa Norton rated it 4 of 5 stars

As a child in the late 70s and early 80s, I grew up watching Little House on the Prairie and had read Laura Ingalls Wilder's books many times over. I was intrigued to read Melissa Gilbert's memoir on growing up in that arena, and who doesn't like a celebrity memoir, anyway?
Gilbert got her start in commercials and bit parts on 1970s shows such as Gunsmoke and Emergency, and then was chosen to star in Michael Landon's series based on the Little House books. Gilbert idolized 'Mike' and in many way...more

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Mar 19, 2010 Holly rated it 2 of 5 stars

As a rabid Little House fan, I had to read this book. It was disappointing in the Little House remembrances, but that is to be expected since the woman did (and does) have a whole career after little house.
However, the overall book is disappointing for me because though I love memoirs, I am not overly interested in celebrity gossip. Gilbert couldn't have dropped more names had she thrown a phone book down the stairs. (I must confess with being a bit intrigued about the drama with Rob Lowe, thou...more

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Feb 24, 2010 Kathy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: autobiography, family-issues, film-tv, memoir

Half-Pint bares all: the good, the bad and the ugly. Her life carries the baggage (and privileges) of growing up in a Hollywood family. Her grandfather introduces her to the old Hollywood legends who were his good friends. Her parents shelter her to the point of ignoring her growing (and grieving) pains. Her hit TV series (Little House on the Prairie) gives her a second family that is both loving and disfunctional. Hey, it's Hollywood. What do you expect? She succumbs to the usual problems: sex,...more

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Jan 12, 2010 Megan Just rated it 2 of 5 stars

Prairie Tale is a memoir by Melissa Gilbert, the beloved actress who played Laura on the hit TV series Little House on the Prairie. Gilbert was born into a prominent showbiz family, America’s sweetheart during the Brat Pack years, and went on to become the President of the Screen Actors Guild, but her life, as viewed from the outside, reflected nothing of the turmoil inside.

Through Prairie Tale, Gilbert shares with fans the lowest of her lows, the highest of her highs, and everything else in bet...more

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Dec 25, 2009 Laurie added it Recommends it for: my sisters

Shelves: nonfiction

Of course I had to read this book (and I'm sure my sisters will feel the same way). A fast, fun read (though it's a bit callous to call it "fun" considering all the sad events described). I especially enjoyed all the '80s Hollywood descriptions (and was interested to see how much the photos of teenage Melissa resemble my older sister, who is just a few years younger). There's not so much about Little House, though quite a bit about Michael Landon.

I'm surprised to see so many reviewers criticizin...more

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Oct 24, 2009 David rated it 2 of 5 stars

Chatty memoir of an actress best known for her work on Little House on the Prairie when she was a child. Some interesting gossip about her active love life including long relationship with (and broken engagement from) Rob Lowe, and blended family with her second husband, the actor Bruce Boxleitner. Eventful family (her father was married 13 times; her husband had a stalker who tried to break them up by intercepting author's phone calls and taping bits in which she revealed to friends an "emotion...more

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Aug 02, 2009 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone, be warned there is swearing

Picked this book up on Thursday night and finished in 2 marathon reads by early Saturday morning. I grew up (like so many in my generation) watching Little House on the Prairie every week and also in syndication after school, sometimes 2 or 3 times a day if nobody took control of the TV from me. SO I loved reading about the early years of Melissa Gilbert. Ms. Gilbert tells her story carefully, it could have come off as a poor little rich girl story, but it doesn't. Melissa was a hardworking kid...more

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Jun 26, 2011 Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: autobiography

I picked up this book from the library because I was feeling like a biography and had watched Little House on the Prairie as a child. It was one of two I read this weekend and I think I'm done with autobiographies for a while (although reading Melissa's makes me want to read her co-star Alison Arngrim's). They all seem a bit self-absorbed and sort of a brag book of who you know (or maybe it was just the two I chose to read).

Saying that though, I did enjoy Melissa's book. It was extremely intere...more

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Sep 06, 2010 Beverly rated it 3 of 5 stars

As a fan of Little House on the Prairie, I enjoyed reading about Melissa's life. She seems to have a good sense of humor and the story moves along alright until the end. At the end of the book she keeps making references to the next life that sound like reincarnation which really puzzled me since she started the book off talking about being Jewish. Actually I thought the end was poorly written; it prattles too much and does not wrap things up in a satisfactory manner.

The parts about her early l...more

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Jun 16, 2010 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars

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

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Jun 02, 2010 Ginny Messina rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoir-biography-journal

Celebrity autobiographies are almost always fun but sometimes so unsatisfying. It often turns out that the celebrity in question isn’t nearly as interesting as the people you know in real life, and that’s the case with this book. And if you’re looking for a warm and cozy peek behind the scenes of Little House, then skip this book for sure. Despite the misleading title, there isn’t a whole lot here about the TV series. In fact, I doubt I’ll ever look at sweet little pigtailed Laura the same after...more

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Apr 21, 2013 Tami rated it 4 of 5 stars

I grew up watching Little House on the Prairie. I looked a lot like "Laura" (aka Melissa Gilbert), so I was curious about her memoir. I wondered what it was like to be the actress behind Laura, so I was happy to get my hands on a copy of this book.

And I found myself crying and laughing and happy for her as she related tales from her childhood, young adulthood, and adulthood. Her shortcomings and triumphs. It was awesome to read that she's a real person, with real problems, and that her life wasn...more

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Jul 06, 2010 Valerie rated it 4 of 5 stars

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

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May 15, 2010 Penny Linsenmayer rated it 5 of 5 stars

As a child of the 70s/80s and a long-time fan of Melissa Gilbert, I really completely enjoyed this memoir. I had vocally sworn off memoirs for good (so many of them have that tell-tale "woe is me" tone), but I couldn't resist this one. Gilbert (and/or her editors) did a fabulous job with the pacing and narrative flow; it was very much a "page-turner" (again, not my experience with memoirs).

She didn't spend as much time on her years as Laura as I would have expected, but what is there is rich in...more

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Dec 09, 2009 Kellie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009-reads, autobiography-biography-memoir, non-fiction

This is the 3rd Hollywood autobiography I’ve read this past month. It makes me wonder, what childhood actress didn’t do drugs? Didn’t have dysfunctional childhoods? Didn’t have insecurity? I have yet to read about one. Maybe Tori Spelling had a better childhood. I don't know. I haven’t read her book yet.

Out of the 3 autobiographies, this was the best one. The writing was more intelligent. The organization was better. It was overall more engaging than Valerie’s or MacKenzie’s. Melissa was adopte...more

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Feb 14, 2013 Rebecca rated it 4 of 5 stars

Reading my way through the Little House autobiographies. This is an insightful look into what growing up in a family that was connected to many famous folks in Hollywood was like. Melissa was on the popular Little House on the Prairie series but at home wasn't allowed to have sugar or many other things that her age peers could have. Her father died when she was 11 and she wasn't allowed to go to his funeral or even told more than he was dead. She grew up with a father sized hole in her heart tha...more

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Nov 12, 2009 Laurel Bradshaw rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: biography

Can't add much to the description (below.) It held my interest, though I thought it could have been better edited. Melissa has a wry sense of humor.

Book Description from Amazon
A fascinatiating, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting tale of self-discovery from the beloved actress who earned a permanent place in the hearts of millions when she was just a child.

To fans of the hugely successful television series Little House on the Prairie, Melissa Gilbert grew up in a fantasy world with a larger-...more

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Feb 10, 2013 readinrobin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Everyone knows who Melissa Gilbert is, and many of us grew up watching her play Laura Ingalls (she is barely seven months younger than I am). In her – and my – young adult days, I have very vague memories of her but at that time I was not much of a TV watcher or movie goer, and I did not keep up with actors and actresses nearly as much as I do now. I knew she'd had a relationship with Rob Lowe, and that was pretty much the extent of my knowledge of her from those days. I've been following her on...more Everyone knows who Melissa Gilbert is, and many of us grew up watching her play Laura Ingalls (she is barely seven months younger than I am). In her – and my – young adult days, I have very vague memories of her but at that time I was not much of a TV watcher or movie goer, and I did not keep up with actors and actresses nearly as much as I do now. I knew she'd had a relationship with Rob Lowe, and that was pretty much the extent of my knowledge of her from those days. I've been following her on Twitter for awhile now, but not being a fan of reality shows I didn't see any of her performances on Dancing with the Stars.

Regardless, I've always been a fan of sorts, meaning I have fond memories of “Little House” (well, who doesn't?), and enjoying the occasional TV movie when I caught one. Though reading this made me realize that I've not really seen much of her work, or not as much as I thought I had, and I now want to add everything she's done to my Netflix queue, except I already have 500 movies on there so I'll have to add them one at time.

Anyway, the book. Melissa writes very openly about her life, in a no holds barred and self-deprecating manner. She has a wonderful outlook on life and obviously has a good sense of humor. Yeah, she's been through some shit – drugs, alcoholism, self-doubt, and so forth, like millions of other people. She's come through it all a stronger person, and I very much enjoyed reading her accounting of her life.

The only part of the book that was hard for me was her struggle with her feelings about being adopted, her feelings that she started out her life, for the first twenty-four hours anyway, as an unwanted child. I work in the adoption field, and the majority of the birth mothers we work with are not giving up their child because they don't want him or her, they are doing it because they want the child to have a better life than they feel capable of providing. It is the ultimate sacrifice for these women. Fortunately, Melissa does seem to finally find some peace with that aspect of her life.

The blurb mentions “the blessings of a solid marriage”, and of course since the book was published that marriage has ended, and Melissa is now engaged to Timothy Busfield. Marriage is hard work, and all the stress and pressures that celebrities face has to make it doubly hard. I would imagine that writing her memoir was cathartic, and I truly wish her the best in her life. I guess I was really just a little bit of a fan before, but now I find myself adoring her. (less)

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“My therapist shared a theory she had come across, and I liked it. It held that before making your next journey in this life, your soul sits at a large, circular conference table and chooses the souls who are going to be a part of your life. As for which particular people would be chosen, I figured they would be individuals from previous lives with whom there was still unfinished business.” — 3 people liked it

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