Rhonda S. (imapugmom) reviewed Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice on + 18 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 17
I totally disagree with the reviewer who only gave it 1 star and with what she believes was the motive to write the book.
I grew up watching the Brady Bunch and I'm about 10 years younger than Maureen McCormick. I found her story shocking at times, sad, courageous, brave...and, really somewhat normal.
She isn't Marcia Brady but she lived in that perfect shadow for years. Having personally grown up in a family with mental illness and the family was in denial and everything was a secret I could TOTALLY relate to many aspects McCormick openly shares in the book. I never did drugs, but the pain she indured can be easily empathized with.
For anyone who thinks this book was done for money, they have never battled personal demons...at least not battled them consciously and came out in the end winning. I think McCormick would have written this book and released it for free if she thought it would help another person avoid some of the pitfalls she found herself in over the years.
I grew up watching the Brady Bunch and I'm about 10 years younger than Maureen McCormick. I found her story shocking at times, sad, courageous, brave...and, really somewhat normal.
She isn't Marcia Brady but she lived in that perfect shadow for years. Having personally grown up in a family with mental illness and the family was in denial and everything was a secret I could TOTALLY relate to many aspects McCormick openly shares in the book. I never did drugs, but the pain she indured can be easily empathized with.
For anyone who thinks this book was done for money, they have never battled personal demons...at least not battled them consciously and came out in the end winning. I think McCormick would have written this book and released it for free if she thought it would help another person avoid some of the pitfalls she found herself in over the years.
Shilo C. reviewed Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice on + 14 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 7
As I watched re-runs of The Brady Bunch in the late 70's, early 80's, poor Marcia was going through extreme drama. I was very surprised by the revelations in this autobiography. It is a wonder she survived all the madness in her life. This was a very interesting story and I enjoyed the book, it is well written.
Machelle C. (pixistix) reviewed Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice on + 36 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
I found this book very interesting. We all have this image of "Marcia" and now we finally get to see the real person behind this character. I felt such sadness for the things that she has gone through in her life. It was a quick read.
Donna C. (DonnaRI) reviewed Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice on + 65 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
This book certainly is not a light-hearted story about the life and times of Marcia Brady! In fact, the majority of the book does not deal with Maureen's time on the show, but her life after the show, which was at times bizarre, and at times heart-wrenching. Her family life was so strange, it was almost unbelievable. And toward the end, I had a hard time understanding exactly why she did not stand up for herself a lot more with her own family members; she comes across as a very weak personality. I hope she has learned something while writing this book. She seems to have allowed people to walk all over her, and lead her around (mostly in bad paths and poor choices), for her entire life. The book is a reasonably quick read. I started skipping over some of the detailed descriptions of drug use, because there was way too much - it seemed so exaggerated and over-the-top at times.
Monica G. (24girl) reviewed Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice on + 42 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
"Marcia, Marcia, Marcia." Oh how this line has plagued Maureen McCormick for years. Inside this book Maureen shares her life in shocking detail. To outsiders she was perfect. Cute, smart and stylish with the talent to match. To outsiders she was Marcia Brady. But few people were privy to the real person with real fears who spent a lot of time literally hiding in closets to escape her demons.
From her humble beginnings as the voice of the Chatty Cathy Doll to her impressive win on Celebrity Fit Club, Maureen's life is chronicled with nothing held back. "Haunted by the perfection of her television alter ego, Maureen landed on the dark side, caught up in a fast-paced, drug-fueled, star-studded Hollywood existence that ultimately led to the biggest battle of her life."
I'm amazed at how open Maureen was in this book. As she learned later in life, being open and sharing was the solution to bringing her the peace she never had growing up and even into adulthood. Her story of triumph over the demons that tore her live apart for so many years is encouraging in so many different ways. I highly recommend reading this book especially if you were a Marcia Brady fan or even just casually knowing the character as I did.
From her humble beginnings as the voice of the Chatty Cathy Doll to her impressive win on Celebrity Fit Club, Maureen's life is chronicled with nothing held back. "Haunted by the perfection of her television alter ego, Maureen landed on the dark side, caught up in a fast-paced, drug-fueled, star-studded Hollywood existence that ultimately led to the biggest battle of her life."
I'm amazed at how open Maureen was in this book. As she learned later in life, being open and sharing was the solution to bringing her the peace she never had growing up and even into adulthood. Her story of triumph over the demons that tore her live apart for so many years is encouraging in so many different ways. I highly recommend reading this book especially if you were a Marcia Brady fan or even just casually knowing the character as I did.
