There Was A Little Girl Signed Copy (2014) - Plot & Excerpts
Brooke Shields' memoir about her deeply codependent relationship with her alcoholic and emotionally abusive mother. I found this to be occasionally insightful, and certainly interesting to read her side of things (Pretty Baby and Blue Lagoon, the Calvin Klein ads, marriage to Andre Agassi)... but much more often I found myself tremendously frustrated that Brooke continues to make excuses for her mother's choices and behavior. Brooke flip-flops between blind loyalty and justified anger, between independence and codependency, sometimes all in a matter of paragraphs. I thought she needed an editor or ghost-writer to clean it all up --- BUT in the end, it's that raw, imperfect, messy honesty that pulled me in. Hers is not a story that is easily sugar-coated, it's not tied up in a neat little bow, and she finds no real answers or peace after Teri's death. And that was oddly human and satisfying to me in the end, because it felt so real. I have always been a fan of Brooke Shields and have followed her career from the time she first became famous. She has a rare beauty that prompted Time magazine to call her "The 80s Look." She raised eyebrows as a sexy Calvin Klein model and played the child prostitute in Louis Malle's "Pretty Baby." She was also raised by her alcoholic mother.Brooke's mother, Teri, was a scrappy Jersey Girl, while Brooke's father, Frank, was part of European aristocracy. Given those differences, it is easy to understand why Teri would feel like an outsider and why she would hold on to her daughter with an iron hand. Teri guided Brooke to stardom, but she also was crippled by insecurities and a huge drinking problem that thrust Brooke into the role of caretaker. Brooke details how she would have to search for her mother in local bars and staged an intervention when she was a teenager, something that didn't work for long. Teri was alternately loving and verbally abusive to Brooke, who was only able to get out from under her mother's thumb long after she became an adult. She credits this leap to her ex-husband, tennis great, Andre Agassi.Despite the difficulties in their mother-daughter relationship, Teri and Brooke were a team and Brooke remembers growing up with her mother, vacations, and the adventures they took when they were on location making movies. Her mother taught her work ethic and persistence, which, along with Brooke's own intelligence, might explain how Brooke was able to overcome and not succumb to her circumstances. Teri was always seen by the public as a bull in the china shop and someone who exploited Brooke. In fact, Brooke was prompted to write this book to set the record straight about her mother after reading an obituary about her that was unflattering. Brooke said her mother did not set out to make her a sex symbol; Teri just chose projects that sounded interesting and Brooke was shielded from the media firestorm."There Was A Little Girl" also gives readers a chance to see that Brooke is really ordinary, despite having extraordinary beauty and opportunities. She worried about being accepted at new schools, felt awkward around boys, experienced her first love (actor Dean Cain) when she was a student at Princeton, and accepted the same types of challenges the rest of us do.I gave this book a three out of five rating. The book is an honest look at what Brooke's life with Teri was really like and she was brave to put herself "out there." It is clear to me how much she loved her mother and how she hasn't completely resolved that relationship. Many, many women feel conflicted over their mothers and when someone can put those feelings into words, their work deserves to be read. I didn't give the book a higher rating because there were pockets where it dragged and needing some editing/proofreading. I also was disappointed Brooke didn't discuss her father, Frank, more than she did. We aren't quite sure how he felt about his daughter's fame but have to assume he let Teri make the decisions and he took a hands off approach. He remarried after his divorce from Teri, and had other children. Brooke says the blended family worked out well, but there are key moments in her father's life (his death from cancer) that she glosses over. He also was not mentioned in the acknowledgments.
What do You think about There Was A Little Girl Signed Copy (2014)?
A really raw story of Brooke Shields and her Mom and their mother daughter relationship.
—Nick
Brooke's life has not been easy. She made wise choices in spite of her upbringing.
—Scarpe2990
Ok, every year I read one 'trashy' book,... Here it is this year.
—cage
Just picked up a signed copy today! Getting started...
—dianamariezalsos
