Oh the Hell of It All: A Memoir

by Pat Montandon

Thrust into the media spotlight with her son Sean Wilsey's searing portrayal of her in his New York Times bestseller Oh the Glory of It All , the former queen of San Francisco society shares her own candid take on the fascinating events of her life. Once dubbed San Francisco's "Golden Girl," Montandon socialized with the cream of San Francisco society, including Danielle Steel, Alex Haley, and the Gettys. Immortalized as a character in Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City , she lived a seemingly perfect life in a penthouse above the San Francisco Bay, complete with her marriage to multimillionaire Al Wilsey and the birth of her son, Sean. From her lavish parties to her legendary Roundtable lunches, Montandon was always the talk of the town. Then, less than a decade later, Wilsey announced he was divorcing her, and Sean abandoned her as well—both for the affections of her once-close friend, Dede Traina. Left penniless and virtually suicidal, Montandon once again had to reinvent herself, this time as a humanitarian for peace. From Berlin to Beslan, she made it her life's mission to give a voice to the world's children and spread a message of hope in times of crisis. Oh the Hell of It All is a rich feast of a that of a poor girl turned rich turned poor again, in and out of love and betrayed by those closest to her, who has achieved peace in her life through devotion to something outside herself.

Genres: Memoir

368 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is totally the guilty pleasure read... And if you live(d) in SF in a certain area & went to certain schools, it's like a real life tellanovella that shows you just how messed up your neighbors happen to be.

If you've not read Sean Wilsey's book, 'Oh the Glory of It All,' I suggest starting there & then coming back to this one. Sean's mother, Pat Montandon fills in the blanks where Sean left off and/or lacked the information. Best part? The mother/son book reading. Nope, you don't always keep dysfunction in the family... You're smart & you use it for laughs, and more importantly, for financial gain.

If you like to read about the dysfunctional lives that take place in between champagne brunches & caviar with creme fresh dreams, this is pure, insane entertainment. Dede will never write a book. If you're interested, a Google search for a certain someone's carefully worded statements will tell you nothing, while disclosing absolutely everything.

Oh, San Francisco. Forever in my heart.

[Alex · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a good book. Her writing style is iffy and her life history just isn't that interesting. She writes like she wants you to feel bad for her but you don't because you just don't care.

[Jessica Baxter · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is sean wilsey's (who wrote "oh the glory of it all," a memoir about growing up in one of san francisco's most well-known and controversial families) mom's memoir which begins with her super conservative rural upbringing and takes you through her many marriages, her climb to socialite status and the bitter divorce that spurned sean's book. her last husband (sean's father) left her for her best friend, who is truly one of the worst villians to ever appear on paper. but this book is mostly about pat's work with Children as Teachers of Peace, this group she started to let kids speak and convince world leaders that nuclear war is bad. she had a vision during one of her meditations that led her to forming this organization, which ended up getting massive publicity. she writes a lot about travelling with the kids, the kids themselves, and her inner struggle to stop death and destruction. the writing is cheesy, often trite, but its a book you love reading because of all the juice and all the background. and the title takes the cake.

[Ozma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not sure why, but I really enjoyed this book! I loved hearing the story of Pat's ascent and then descent and ascent again. Pat did go through hell, and she fought for her life. I loved how composed she came across in the end, the understandings she came to, the resolve she had. I love how she talked to her son at one point, saying that she loved him but that she couldn't handle the push-pull anymore, being honest to herself and to him. She also had a wonderful way of weaving her meditations and visions into the narrative without sounding too hokey. I really enjoyed it and was and still am cheering Pat on! Nicely done. I hope the publication of her upcoming book will bring more readers to this book.

[Jordan Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book. I first read OH THE GLORY OF IT ALL. Then six months later I was in the library with my friend and OH THE HELL OF IT ALL was right there on display! I was elated! My strange obsession with this family would continue on -and in another perspective! I liked it a lot. Reading from Pats POV, and knowing the moments that Sean was present in made me feel like I know the both of them. Reading about Pat's divorce and dealings with Al and Dede left me feeling disgusted. I don't, and didn't care for either of them. It's unusual what prompts people to do and say the most absurd things. It's hopeful too - that through all the crap people will put you through, to be able to rise above all of it!

[kim McRad · Rating 4 out of 5]

fantastic! i highly recommend it IF you've read 'oh the glory of it all'. she does a really good job providing her own memoir but also mirroring many of the events in 'oh the glory...'. both books stand on there own, but they are better together.

[Darlene · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved Oh The Glory of it All by Sean Wilsey, so I was looking forward to reading his mother's "response" in this book. Too bad this book is just a rehash of the same events by a lesser writer. Not terrible, but no need to read after reading the better book, Oh the Glory of it All.

[Peggy Kruger · Rating 3 out of 5]

A total guilty pleasure of a read. The writing is not good, but story was very interesting to me. I remember watching Ms. Montandon as hostess of the Prize Movie on KGO when I would stay home sick from school. I thought she was so glamorous, emitting happiness and charm. Later, I followed her in the social sections of the newspapers, always at parties and opening night galas around San Francisco. Reminiscing later in life, I wondered what happened to Pat. Well, this book tells her story. What a life!

[ElizabethD · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book about a girl from Oklahoma that made something of herself in San Francisco and after 2 marriages,, married a wealthy man, who later cheats on her and divorces her. He and his cheater wife/next door neighbor continue to torture and harass her existence until his death. Including alienating her son from her. She regroups many times and created a children’s peace movement. She and the children traveled the world in the name of peace.
Side note: Loved the California references having lived there once

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just finished Sean Wilsey's "Oh the Glory of It All", which has made me come back to this book and write a brief summary of my impressions. I read this book 3 year ago. Some one gave me the book, saying she couldn't think of anyone else who would want to read it. Hmmm.... Anyway, I started reading with no prior knowledge of the people or events in the memoir. As I was reading, I felt like a looky-loo driving by a horrible car accident. Some parts were so difficult to read. I wanted to scream at these people. I remembering googling the people in the book to find out who they were and having a difficult time putting down the book because I wanted to find out how it all came to an end. I'm glad I read Pat's memoir because it led me to Sean's, which I loved. Sean's was actually published first. If you read one, you need to read both. If you love to read memoirs, these are great to read together and would make for great book club discussions.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

if you read oh the glory of it all, you need to read this book, it was fascinating to see the mom's perspective and crazy to hear about all the stuff that she did... i cant decide if she is absolutely insane or just really really eccentric. I'm thinking its absolutely insane.

[Erica · Rating 1 out of 5]

Worthwhile to compare to Oh the Glory of it All, by this author's son, about many of the same events. But not such a good book on its own.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a new memoir by Pat Montadon, the columnist and former San Franciso socialite turned peace activist. It's a response to her son's book "Oh the Glory of it All," which I haven't yet read.

[Tiffiny Corbett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had no idea who this woman was when I began reading this book. I chose it because of the title. It was pretty entertaining though.

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pathetic.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this after reading Wilsey's book, which I enjoyed much more. It was interesting to read it from her point of view though.

[Pochocho88 Saavedra]

take care of your man or he will look elsewhere, LOL