Author: Maureen McCormick
ISBN: 978-0-06-149014-9
Publisher: William Morrow

Click Here To Purchase Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice

Admitting she had a cocaine problem, actress Maureen McCormick—famous for playing the role of Marcia Brady in the classic sitcom, The Brady Bunch—told a friend, “I’m afraid of what I’m going to feel if I don’t get high anymore.” For the first time in public, she gets personal in her revealing memoir, Here’s The Story.

Written chronologically, separated into four parts, this memoir is well organized and focused, which is a challenge when writing about fifty-plus years. The first part recounts her childhood and the Brady years. The writing here has a youthful tone and valley-girl interjections; like we’re seeing things through young Maureen’s eyes; and it draws us in with its charm.

Readers who like depressing books will like the second part, which recounts the years of drug addiction: relationships ruined, career opportunities lost, and worse. The empathetic reader will be moved by the under-current of regret in this part, and relieved when Maureen finally accepts help.

The third part, which starts at the beginning of her marriage, is about her manic depression and mood disorders. She counts the devastation of losing her agent and having a miscarriage as factors, but also blames genetic, years of drug abuse, and arrested development. She analyzes herself quite a bit, and takes us through all her struggles, so that we feel that we really know her by the end. Rarely is a memoirist so self-aware and able to present such a straightforward account of their ups and downs as Maureen McCormick. She’s also able to present a clear portrait of her husband and all of his great qualities.

Another good aspect is her relationship with her mom. Maureen always had a fear that she would become like her mom, and through her eyes we observe the irony of this eventually happening. As for the rest of her family, there are serious problems caused by an unstable brother; this takes up the bulk of part four. A little is said of her experience in Celebrity Fit Club. I wish she had expanded this section, as it is one of the few happy, triumphant parts of her entire memoir.

For fans of the show and for those who like confessions of child stars gone bad, this memoir will please.

Click Here To Purchase Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice