There was a Little Girl

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There Was a Little Girl – Nursery Rhymes

By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use. Brooke herself said that the writing of this book was not cathartic for her and I would have to say that it was not beneficial to me either. This is one of those books that is best picked up from a bargain bin or a library rummage sale.

View all 6 comments. Dec 26, Roberta rated it it was ok Shelves: Basically there is only one sentence in this book: Brooke Shields' mother was an abusive alcoholic. Turn the page and repeat that sentence times. I should stop reading biographies unless it's about Adolf Hitler because I always like people less after reading them. There were a few interesting sentences that I had to read out loud to the nearest innocent victim. At one point Brooke Shields absolutely insists that no one, not the writers, the producers, her mother or anyone else ever suspecte Basically there is only one sentence in this book: At one point Brooke Shields absolutely insists that no one, not the writers, the producers, her mother or anyone else ever suspected that nothing getting between her and her Calvin Klein jeans was a double entendre.

It was all in the dirty filthy minds of the viewing audience. Brooke also states that she was an absolutely normal teenager OK Brooke later explains that she chose to attend Princeton because the library had more realistic gargoyles than Vassar and more ivy on the buildings. What, pray tell, is a "realistic gargoyle?

I am trying to save one-star reviews for kindling books. View all 7 comments. Poorly written and edited, repetitive, and at times so vague as to be confusing. I think Shields didn't want to reveal too much about some things, which I can understand, but then either don't write a book or be a better writer so you can make it work anyway. And yet, I read the whole thing.

Skimmed in places, but not much. There was just enough insider info to keep me going. However, she never full-on addressed the reason I picked up the book -- was she angry about the amount and type of jobs he Poorly written and edited, repetitive, and at times so vague as to be confusing. However, she never full-on addressed the reason I picked up the book -- was she angry about the amount and type of jobs her mother signed the young Shields up for as a child? She does seem OK and even pleased with some controversial things, like "Pretty Baby" mostly because it had an "important" director , but then she doesn't even mention her posing for nude photos for the Playboy publication "Sugar and Spice" at age In recent years she demanded a museum remove a nude photo taken of her during that photo shoot, so it sounds like she wasn't thrilled with being a nude model at 10, yet she never even mentions this in the book.

I think she just didn't want to face up to and address many things, but if you're not going to touch on the hottest topics people talked about regarding your mother and her guidance of your career, why write a book to tell the "real story? For instance, she talks about Andre Agassi getting so angry over watching her shoot a scene for "Friends" where she licked Joey's fingers that he drove back to Vegas and smashed every trophy he ever won. She doesn't then talk about how this made her feel, if it worried her, if it hurt the relationship though she later married him.

She just mentions that she had the trophies replaced and that her spot on friends was a success. This is how she handles all touchy topics, be it her relationship with her mother or losing her long-guarded virginity to college boyfriend Dean Cain -- she just gives a glossy surface of things, very little depth or reflection. At times she dances around a topic so carefully that she doesn't even make sense.

I could go on about lots of irritating things about this book, and in a way, maybe that's an endorsement. I didn't think it was great, but if I sat down with someone else who'd read it, we could go on and on about various things we found annoying or lacking and the rare thing that was truly interesting. That is, it would spark a lot of discussion. I was fascinated by Brooke Shields when I was a young child. The Blue Lagoon was one of my favorite movies growing up.

There was always a certain curiosity about Brooke as a person. The book was supposed to deal with the relationship between Brooke and her mother but I felt like her mother did not come across as more than a woman who was very inv I was fascinated by Brooke Shields when I was a young child.

There had to be more to her mother than just the daily alcoholic binges. I started to get a sense of extreme resentment from Brooke towards her mother and halfway through it began to wear me down. I won this book in a Goodreads first-reads giveaway. This does not have any bearing on my rating or review of this book. I did enjoy reading this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in reading about Brooke Shileds Nov 30, Maureen rated it it was ok.

I purchased the audio version on audible. The author goes into insufferable detail with each of her anecdotes. In narrating, her tone of voice seems to suggest that every bit of every facet of her life is fascinating and exciting and sometimes shocking. Hav I purchased the audio version on audible. The detail with which she describes the gauchos she wore to school, for example and, later, how painful it was waiting to hear from her college of choice is beyond dramatic. I, for one, had all of these experiences growing up. I was also surprised at the number of times her voice raised at the end of a sentence, as if asking a question.

An annoying and immature habit. View all 3 comments. Nov 19, T. Brooke wrote this book out of indignation for her mother's harsh critics. She was determined to prove that Teri Shields was not the typical stage mother, but the truth was far worse: It is sad to read Brooke's excuses for her mother, her praise, her glossing over the ugliness; it just makes the abuse and neglect she endured seem far worse. And though Brooke acknowledges she would never allow her daughters to make a film like Pr Brooke wrote this book out of indignation for her mother's harsh critics.

And though Brooke acknowledges she would never allow her daughters to make a film like Pretty Baby or even the provocative Calvin Klein ads, she won't condemn or even criticize her mother for it. Her inability to fully come to terms with her mother's abuse is depressing, and near the end of the book, I had to force myself to finish it.

If you're a fan, the book is a fairly satisfying autobiography and worth the read, but be aware that angry Brooke is inordinately fond of the F word and has sprinkled it liberally throughout. View all 4 comments. Sep 24, Dianne rated it liked it. Not sure exactly why I picked this up, since celebrity autobiographies are not my sweet spot. It's basically pages of assorted neuroses, alcoholism and serious co-dependence issues. It's a sad story, but not terribly profound or revealing. You probably know quite a bit of this story already. The writing is just OK, but I don't think you read something like this for the writing.

If you are not a big Brooke Shields fan, you might want to pass on this one. Good, but not great. Sep 20, Linda rated it it was amazing. Pretty impressed with Brooke's honesty about about growing up with an alcoholic mother, living in the spotlight, and then watching her beloved mom succumb to dementia.

Bad editing but I was riveted Feb 17, Elaine rated it liked it. Being a huge fan of Brooke Shields growing up I was interested to read this account of her life. Especially to find out more about her relationship with her Mum. Whilst an interesting read, quite emotional in parts and entertaining, I found that the editing let it down and this distracted me quite a bit from fully enjoying the story.

As an only child however I was able to relate to the quite unique, not always healthy bond between Brooke and her mother and was able to fully appreciate the role r Being a huge fan of Brooke Shields growing up I was interested to read this account of her life. As an only child however I was able to relate to the quite unique, not always healthy bond between Brooke and her mother and was able to fully appreciate the role reversal One thing that came through was that as parents none of us are perfect.

I would not necessarily rave about this book nor recommend it.

You definitely need to be a fan to endure and enjoy it. Just scraped in at 3 stars. Dec 07, Yvonne Flanagan-purdy rated it it was amazing. It was very well written and interesting to hear about Brooke Shield's life. I am about her same age and it was refreshing to read that even celebrities lives are very similar to ours in emotion, things that have happened to them over the years, and just human daily life of a child growing up in her era. Feb 19, Darren rated it it was ok. Because she's Brooke Shields! The story of her childhood was great, including all the details about living with an alcoholic, co-dependent mother.

But when the career details fall away in the latter sections of this memoir, things become tedious I listened to the unabridged audiobook, narrated by Brooke Shields herself. Nov 29, Patrice rated it it was amazing. This book was a big surprise. I thought it would be a light hearted memoir about movie stars, broadway shows and exotic locales. Instead it is one of the most heartbreaking and honest books about what it means to be a mother, or a daughter. And it was almost more than I could bear! View all 9 comments.

There Was a Little Girl – Broadway Play – Original | IBDB

Oct 18, Jeanne rated it it was ok. It started out interesting then turned to drivel. The ramblings of an adult child of an alcoholic mother. Jun 07, Mediaman rated it it was ok. This is a difficult book to read because it is way too long, is not well organized, and is written by a spoiled rich kid who clearly doesn't have an objective view of the circumstances.

It would have been better if Shields would have entrusted the details to a professional writer who could shape it into a fascinating tale of a drunk, crazed stage mom who so fears losing her little girl that she convinces her daughter that the two must remain joined at the hip. The potential for a great Mommy Dea This is a difficult book to read because it is way too long, is not well organized, and is written by a spoiled rich kid who clearly doesn't have an objective view of the circumstances.

The potential for a great Mommy Dearest type of book is here but it falls short of being told well. It's hard to know where to start because there is so much wrong with this book. Shields defends her mother throughout the book but the woman does not appear to have any redeeming value. The mother slept around with many men and Shields thinks nothing of it, even trying to reconnect her with her married lover.

Mom divorced the rich Dad after less than a year, simply sending him a letter while he was working in Europe and going to Mexico by herself to get it done before he could return--yet Shields doesn't have any bad feelings toward mom because she thinks their family turned out just fine! Shields slams the press for condemning mommy for allowing the child to appear nude on film at age 11 and acts like it was all innocent fun, instead of criticizing her mother as she should. When mommy spends all of Brooke's money on things for herself and spends years fighting her adult daughter over it, the author still tries to spin it as "no bad intentions.

There are a few good chapters in the book as it moves into her "rebellious" years where she has her first sexual experience with Dean Cain at age 22 or stars in a sitcom where she becomes best friends with a male co-star who kills himself.

But there is little introspection about any of Shields' choices. She shows an amazing lack of emotion. Instead the focus of the book is on drunk Mommy Dearest and the author denying that the woman was really that bad. The stories about her mother's drinking are so repetitive and negative that Shields comes across as naive or an enabler.

But, to be honest, very little about her mother is that interesting other than the one big secret she is hiding that the star didn't discover until a couple years ago. But even that secret is mishandled in the book--it should have been in the last chapter because it explains why mommy clung so tight to her daughter but instead is kind of thrown away as a storytelling device. At pages the book could lose at least and be better.

It also needs less about mommy being drunk and more details about how her mother impacted the star's adult career and adult life. There are a couple great asides here, like Liam Neeson dumping her after proposing marriage or Andre Agassi wearing a hairpiece or Tom Cruise coming to her house to apologize for his Today Show Shields rant, but the bulk of the book needs a good editor and a better storyteller. In the end it's the sad story of a terrible mother who damaged her little girl and could have been told in a more inspirational way.

Dec 05, Michael rated it really liked it. I remember watching an interview with the author who wrote this book. I remember how she was promoting the book, but I did not have a clue who the actress was. However this book really opened my eyes about who she was and the troublesome childhood that she endured.

The things she endured as a child was heartbreaking, but despite the trials she went through, I knew that she loved her mother. It seemed like this book cleared up the misconceptions about her mother, Teri if anything. According to th I remember watching an interview with the author who wrote this book. According to the press, she was an alocholic mother who should be ashamed of herself for allowing her daughter to play a prostitute on a movie.

Yet Brooke defended her actions, affirming that times were different back then and her mother was misunderstood. It was one of the best romantic books I read in awhile. Although I had no idea that Brooke played the lead character in the film adaption I can't remember if I watched the movie or not , but the movie soared in the box office. Back to the book, it was very good and touching, it was very sad for the majority. I also love the pictures that accompanied the book, it made the book come more alive.

Mama Lisa's Books

Brooke childhood was tragic to some people but I feel that she did a terrific job paying tribute to her mother and Father. I am curious to see what type of life her mother lived beyond this book, so I would research things. Lastly, this book was outstanding and it really shined light about things I did not know about Brooke and her childhood. View all 5 comments. Dec 01, Mandy rated it liked it Shelves: There were parts of this book that were really interesting. Other parts though seemed to drag on and something about this book just didn't flow right, I agree with other reviews that it seemed choppy at times.

This isn't my usual genre, I don't read memoirs but I've always liked Brooke Shields and thought this would be an interesting book to read and I am glad that I read it.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Oct 20, Melanie Johnson rated it liked it. Being a woman of a "certain age", I grew up with Brooke Shields and always loved her. I knew of her alcoholic "momager" through all of the gossip mags of the time. Brooke recounts so much of her childhood and how the co-dependency shaped her career and life. It's hard not to feel sorry for the little girl who felt that she had to take care of her mother. However, Brooke does a good job of painting both sides, the pain and the pride that her mom felt as she watched Brooke succeed.

Dec 18, Lise rated it liked it Shelves: Closer to a Just needed some editing.. Brooke shows amazing compassion and forgiveness towards her mother. Just about every event or milestone in Brooke's life is marred by her mother's drinking. I have great admiration for Brooke as she breaks from her mother's control, doesn't become a train wreck herself and finally finds happiness with her husband and daughters. Sep 20, Winter Sophia Rose rated it it was amazing. Nov 30, A. Shields grows up in a single-mother household, and she has no one but her mother to rely on as she goes through various career ups and downs and ultimately forges her own path.

During her years managed by her mother, there was no long-term career strategy and Shields would take on roles simply based on the money and their compatibility with her schedule—a fact that she later regretted. Overall, a well-written and introspective memoir. Nov 18, Anne rated it really liked it. Lets get in out there.