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Love Affair: The memoir of a forbidden father-daughter relationship: A True Story of Love, Loss and Obsession
Leslie Kenton was the only child of Violet, a stunning Hitchcock blonde, and Stanley - the legendary jazz giant Stan Kenton. This memoir presents their story that takes place on the road in 1950s America and in the mania of Hollywood - a world of jazz clubs, dance halls and one-nighters, where lives were lived on a razor's edge.
- GenresMemoirNonfiction
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
12 people are currently reading
73 people want to read
About the author
Leslie Kenton
70 books16 followersAUTHOR OF THIRTY-FIVE BEST-SELLING BOOKS
Award-winning writer, broadcaster and novelist, Leslie Kenton is well-known in the English-speaking world for no-nonsense, in-depth reporting. Published by Random House UK, she is the author of more than thirty-five best-selling books on health. beauty and spirituality. Her work is regularly translated into other languages. According to London’s Time Out, “If there is one expert who can genuinely be described as pioneering and visionary, it is Leslie Kenton.”
A former consultant to European Parliament for the Green Party and course developer for Britain’s Open University, Leslie is trained in Chinese Medicine, nutrition, homeopathy and bioenergetics. She was the first Chairperson of the Natural Medicine Society in the UK. Her contribution to natural health was honored by her having called on to deliver the McCarrison Lecture at the Royal Society of Medicine in London. She also conceived and created the worldwide Origins range for cosmetic giant Estée Lauder.
LESLIE KENTON’S TELEVISION PROGRAMS
Her network television programs include Raw Energy, a cookery series, and Ageless Aging, both of which she conceived, wrote and presented herself. She has made several short films on health and spiritual topics for the BBC. Her TV documentary To Age or Not To Age, screened in the Southern Hemisphere, made television history when, in only 5 weeks, the diet and exercise protocol she designed reversed parameters of aging in people between 30 and 60, in medically measurable ways.
LESLIE KENTON’S CURA ROMANA
For the last four years, Leslie has mentored men and women throughout the world on Leslie Kenton’s Cura Romana®—a unique online program for fat loss and transformation of body, mind and spirit. Her approach to wellbeing combines natural health with cutting-edge science. She looks upon the techniques and information she shares with others as practical tools enabling people to realize their innate potentials for energy, health and personal freedom. “The more each of us is able to live life from the truth of our being,” she insists, “the greater become the gifts we bring to our families, communities and the planet itself.” www.lesliekenton.com and www.curaromana.com.
Award-winning writer, broadcaster and novelist, Leslie Kenton is well-known in the English-speaking world for no-nonsense, in-depth reporting. Published by Random House UK, she is the author of more than thirty-five best-selling books on health. beauty and spirituality. Her work is regularly translated into other languages. According to London’s Time Out, “If there is one expert who can genuinely be described as pioneering and visionary, it is Leslie Kenton.”
A former consultant to European Parliament for the Green Party and course developer for Britain’s Open University, Leslie is trained in Chinese Medicine, nutrition, homeopathy and bioenergetics. She was the first Chairperson of the Natural Medicine Society in the UK. Her contribution to natural health was honored by her having called on to deliver the McCarrison Lecture at the Royal Society of Medicine in London. She also conceived and created the worldwide Origins range for cosmetic giant Estée Lauder.
LESLIE KENTON’S TELEVISION PROGRAMS
Her network television programs include Raw Energy, a cookery series, and Ageless Aging, both of which she conceived, wrote and presented herself. She has made several short films on health and spiritual topics for the BBC. Her TV documentary To Age or Not To Age, screened in the Southern Hemisphere, made television history when, in only 5 weeks, the diet and exercise protocol she designed reversed parameters of aging in people between 30 and 60, in medically measurable ways.
LESLIE KENTON’S CURA ROMANA
For the last four years, Leslie has mentored men and women throughout the world on Leslie Kenton’s Cura Romana®—a unique online program for fat loss and transformation of body, mind and spirit. Her approach to wellbeing combines natural health with cutting-edge science. She looks upon the techniques and information she shares with others as practical tools enabling people to realize their innate potentials for energy, health and personal freedom. “The more each of us is able to live life from the truth of our being,” she insists, “the greater become the gifts we bring to our families, communities and the planet itself.” www.lesliekenton.com and www.curaromana.com.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 16, 2017
Ugh. Kenton does two things in this book: defends her abusive father, and brags about her amazing amazingness.
Regarding the latter: I don't know if it was a defense mechanism, but good GOD she's tiresome in listing all the ways that her (often shitty) experiences and personal qualities were remarkable. Maybe she was trying to be self-deprecating? Some examples: Sports didn't come naturally -- but she broke all the records. She was behind in material when she went to a new school -- but impressed everyone with a book report on Hamlet in the fourth grade. Threw together a wedding -- but many guests said it was the best one they ever experienced. Got pregnant in college and didn't know any girls in the dorm -- but they all came to her baby shower and brought her amazing presents. She didn't even know their names! OMG!!!11 Eye roll x1000. And these are only a few examples -- the whole book is like this.
She also has a strange tendency, especially in the beginning, to take on a weird baby-talk affectation when describing childhood scenes. It's bizarre and distracting.
Frankly, I'm also skeptical that she (and her father) completely "repressed" the memories of abuse, but no way of knowing now.
TL;DR: Kenton's affect is obnoxious as hell. Not worth it.
Regarding the latter: I don't know if it was a defense mechanism, but good GOD she's tiresome in listing all the ways that her (often shitty) experiences and personal qualities were remarkable. Maybe she was trying to be self-deprecating? Some examples: Sports didn't come naturally -- but she broke all the records. She was behind in material when she went to a new school -- but impressed everyone with a book report on Hamlet in the fourth grade. Threw together a wedding -- but many guests said it was the best one they ever experienced. Got pregnant in college and didn't know any girls in the dorm -- but they all came to her baby shower and brought her amazing presents. She didn't even know their names! OMG!!!11 Eye roll x1000. And these are only a few examples -- the whole book is like this.
She also has a strange tendency, especially in the beginning, to take on a weird baby-talk affectation when describing childhood scenes. It's bizarre and distracting.
Frankly, I'm also skeptical that she (and her father) completely "repressed" the memories of abuse, but no way of knowing now.
TL;DR: Kenton's affect is obnoxious as hell. Not worth it.
September 2, 2024
A look into the childhood of Leslie Kenton. A woman whose books I bought in the late 80s/early 90s regarding health , nutrition and well-being etc.
I found this in a second hand shop not quite knowing what was to be revealed between the covers. What I read was just as compelling as it was shocking.
Leslie Kenton was the daughter of Stan Kenton - the musician and jazz great of time’s past. This is her memoir of her childhood ; the complex and confusing relationship with her father that she always called Stanley.
Stanley Kenton was a flawed man who no doubt suffered abuse under the hands of his own mother Stella. Who in turn was a product of her own father’s behaviours.
Leslie was the only child of the union between Stanley and Violet - a woman who had little maternal instinct. Leslie was very close to her father and enjoyed being with him. He was a talented musician, he mixed with big names and Hollywood stars. However, things between them spiralled into a darkness that lasted for a number of years. Incest.
This is a tale of a child who was encouraged to be free with her parents ( even drinking alcohol as a young child and going to clubs as a young girl) Yet her maternal grandmother was very strict and controlling and her paternal grandmother was downright evil. Both were involved in Leslies life at various times and with no siblings and seriously flawed adults as relatives / care givers , her life was often unpredictably confusing and inconsistent.
Leslie takes the reader on a journey of what life was like growing up in a bloodline family where this was hidden but normalised. She lived a terrible life but also a privileged one as an outsider looking in.
Not only having to be around an alcoholic and volatile father, but dealing with the separation and divorce of her parents who lived in different states in America.
She is able to share so much and goes on to mention her deep love for her father, despite and because of their forbidden relationship. This may be quite hard for readers to get their head around. It’s almost like she makes excuses for him and his behaviours.
The subject of DID ( Dissociative Identity Disorder) a protective mechanism as a result of trauma to prevent bad memories is mentioned in the appendix. Worth reading .
The timeline of this book continues on to life in her twenties when she marries and has a child. She then has another child a few years later with a one night stand. She marries for the second time and has her third child.
Leslie brought up four children essentially as a solo mum. She passed away 2016 in NZ. This memoir was published 2010.
3.5/5
I found this in a second hand shop not quite knowing what was to be revealed between the covers. What I read was just as compelling as it was shocking.
Leslie Kenton was the daughter of Stan Kenton - the musician and jazz great of time’s past. This is her memoir of her childhood ; the complex and confusing relationship with her father that she always called Stanley.
Stanley Kenton was a flawed man who no doubt suffered abuse under the hands of his own mother Stella. Who in turn was a product of her own father’s behaviours.
Leslie was the only child of the union between Stanley and Violet - a woman who had little maternal instinct. Leslie was very close to her father and enjoyed being with him. He was a talented musician, he mixed with big names and Hollywood stars. However, things between them spiralled into a darkness that lasted for a number of years. Incest.
This is a tale of a child who was encouraged to be free with her parents ( even drinking alcohol as a young child and going to clubs as a young girl) Yet her maternal grandmother was very strict and controlling and her paternal grandmother was downright evil. Both were involved in Leslies life at various times and with no siblings and seriously flawed adults as relatives / care givers , her life was often unpredictably confusing and inconsistent.
Leslie takes the reader on a journey of what life was like growing up in a bloodline family where this was hidden but normalised. She lived a terrible life but also a privileged one as an outsider looking in.
Not only having to be around an alcoholic and volatile father, but dealing with the separation and divorce of her parents who lived in different states in America.
She is able to share so much and goes on to mention her deep love for her father, despite and because of their forbidden relationship. This may be quite hard for readers to get their head around. It’s almost like she makes excuses for him and his behaviours.
The subject of DID ( Dissociative Identity Disorder) a protective mechanism as a result of trauma to prevent bad memories is mentioned in the appendix. Worth reading .
The timeline of this book continues on to life in her twenties when she marries and has a child. She then has another child a few years later with a one night stand. She marries for the second time and has her third child.
Leslie brought up four children essentially as a solo mum. She passed away 2016 in NZ. This memoir was published 2010.
3.5/5
July 3, 2021
Love Affair isn't an easy story read. I greatly admire the author for having the courage to write such an incredibly painful personal history/journey.
My heart truly hurts for her.
Unlike modern reality tv where participants air their dirty laundry, expose their skeletons in their closets, and lose the term dignity from their personal dictionary all for money and fame, it is obvious that the author, Leslie Kenton, shared her most inner self to not only help herself heal, but for those whose world she has touched better understand her, friends, family, etc.
Also, to give others like myself a better understanding of the topic which leads to caring and compassion on a deeper level. And, hopefully those, who are quick to judge and ridicule another kinder perspective.
My hope is that the greatest gift Leslie Kenton has given readers who pick up this book and read is not an entertaining story but a gift of much more value. The courage to face their own pasts, whether their journey is similar in topic and/or similar in pain.
My heart truly hurts for her.
Unlike modern reality tv where participants air their dirty laundry, expose their skeletons in their closets, and lose the term dignity from their personal dictionary all for money and fame, it is obvious that the author, Leslie Kenton, shared her most inner self to not only help herself heal, but for those whose world she has touched better understand her, friends, family, etc.
Also, to give others like myself a better understanding of the topic which leads to caring and compassion on a deeper level. And, hopefully those, who are quick to judge and ridicule another kinder perspective.
My hope is that the greatest gift Leslie Kenton has given readers who pick up this book and read is not an entertaining story but a gift of much more value. The courage to face their own pasts, whether their journey is similar in topic and/or similar in pain.
June 22, 2015
The journey of healing father-daughter incest is difficult enough without publishing the story for the whole world to read, appraise, criticise and comment upon.
I learned much from reading Leslie Kenton's story and certainly understood this particular situation of incest more fully.
I would have preferred to read the story in the time sequence that actually occurred i.e. the recovered memories being introduced when they actually emerged.
I believe that the human psyche is far more complex in its presentation of imagery associated with repressed kinetic memory than understood by this author. Sometimes it is difficult to ascertain whether the 'movie' being experienced is the replay of an actual incident or is symbolic of a psychic gestalt. What is common to both is that the psyche of the child has been sexually subsumed by the adult in either case, whether physical incest has happened or not. This is little understood generally and thus gives rise to much conjecture about recovered memory. The damage to the child can be wrought by both psychological and physical possession by the adult.
I also contest the point of the author's insistence that her incestuous relationship with her father was a love affair. She was a child going through puberty when it occurred. It is the father's role to allow the daughter to express her blossoming sensuality and sexuality whilst setting a firm boundary between himself and his daughter. Thus he gives her confidence and security as she experiences the changes in her body.
Leslie Kenton still sees herself in this story as a participant in an adult relationship, ignoring the fact that she was a child and the love that she felt for her father became distorted by the abuse. The fact that her father was an alcoholic and psychologically wounded does not alter the fact that he was the adult in this relationship.
I also think that her attitude towards the incestuous relationship with her father is in sharp contrast to how she presents the abuse that Stella arranged and participated in. There's possibly a much bigger untold story there.
It's an interesting book, somewhat disturbing. The writing style is in very spare language, more of a documentary of events and this lack of dramatics serves the material well.
I learned much from reading Leslie Kenton's story and certainly understood this particular situation of incest more fully.
I would have preferred to read the story in the time sequence that actually occurred i.e. the recovered memories being introduced when they actually emerged.
I believe that the human psyche is far more complex in its presentation of imagery associated with repressed kinetic memory than understood by this author. Sometimes it is difficult to ascertain whether the 'movie' being experienced is the replay of an actual incident or is symbolic of a psychic gestalt. What is common to both is that the psyche of the child has been sexually subsumed by the adult in either case, whether physical incest has happened or not. This is little understood generally and thus gives rise to much conjecture about recovered memory. The damage to the child can be wrought by both psychological and physical possession by the adult.
I also contest the point of the author's insistence that her incestuous relationship with her father was a love affair. She was a child going through puberty when it occurred. It is the father's role to allow the daughter to express her blossoming sensuality and sexuality whilst setting a firm boundary between himself and his daughter. Thus he gives her confidence and security as she experiences the changes in her body.
Leslie Kenton still sees herself in this story as a participant in an adult relationship, ignoring the fact that she was a child and the love that she felt for her father became distorted by the abuse. The fact that her father was an alcoholic and psychologically wounded does not alter the fact that he was the adult in this relationship.
I also think that her attitude towards the incestuous relationship with her father is in sharp contrast to how she presents the abuse that Stella arranged and participated in. There's possibly a much bigger untold story there.
It's an interesting book, somewhat disturbing. The writing style is in very spare language, more of a documentary of events and this lack of dramatics serves the material well.
February 23, 2014
It's hard to know how to review a book like this. It is well written and it is the story about her father's brokenness and of their sexual and emotional incestuous relationship and the affects it had upon her life. More time is devoted to the early years and the relationship than to the years of healing from it while her father continued to tumble, so the person coming to the book with a similar experience hoping to learn about how to heal might be a little disappointed, but then I doubt if there is a formula to follow to heal from such trauma anyway and you have to find your own individual path. But it is at least an account from someone who eventually learned how to take care of themselves and build a good life.
January 2, 2012
Very intense memoir of multiple child abuse, sexual and otherwise, over more than one generation. Not pleasant stuff but this account is different in that the author accurately perceives the learning that can be accessed instead of approaching it solely from a victim viewpoint. She very honestly and succinctly confirms that there is indeed pleasure even in such unacceptable activity, an admission few are willing to consider. And the complete obliteration of nerve circuits that physical sexual abuse produces is also well-described. This book is not for the squeamish and may be triggering, but can have great value for those who are willing to risk.
May 18, 2014
well written even though the subject matter was unpleasant to say the least
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews