Annaleigh W. (lostinthelibrary) reviewed The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe on + 16 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 7
Some reviews I've read thumb their noses at the author's credibility, but I really enjoyed this book, and I believe he has a lot of credibility, and a lot of the work is very compelling; it will make sense to the reader, and will clear up some doubts you may have about the details of Marilyn Monroe's life.
As I said, I really enjoyed the book. One area where the book is so valuable is where Marilyn Monroe's mental health is concerned. Early in the book we are exposed to a history of mental illness in Marilyn's family. Her mother, her mother's parents, and her mother's grandfather; all either lived their lives in mental hospitals, died in them, or committed suicide without entering the mental health system.
Marilyn's mother was a paranoid schizophrenic, and as the documentation of Marilyn's growing illness is documented, we learn that Marilyn was bipolar, was a borderline paranoid schizophrenic, and of course, suffered from alcoholism and substance abuse issues.
Taraborrelli spends a lot of time on Marilyn's childhood, since it was so chaotic for her. We learn that her original foster parents, the Bolanders, were hurt by what Marilyn said about her time living with them. No matter what, however, they still loved Marilyn, and even towards the end of her life, Marilyn was reaching out to the foster father she called "Daddy."
One thing that is interesting and that I take some issue with is the discussion of Marilyn's child abuse history. Horrifyingly, we learn that Marilyn's grandmother Della Monroe was responsible for some of the worst physical abuse in Marilyn's early childhood. Where I disagree with Taraborrelli, is when the subject of Marilyn's sexual abuse comes up. Taraborrelli has doubts, and points out that Marilyn fibbed about aspects of her past, partly because that's show-business worked at the time. But I believe that Marilyn was indeed sexually abused. Her vulnerability throughout her life is very consistent with sexual abuse.
Eventually the subject turns to Marilyn's marriages. She married her first husband at 16 so she wouldn't have to enter an orphanedge. The marriage fell apart as Marilyn's career grew; her then husband Jim Dougherty wanted to her to be stay-at-home mother, which she didn't want to do.
With Joe Di Maggio, some of the same issues were there; Joe was jealous of Marilyn's fame, and also believed she should be the stay-at-home mother of his children. This tension, we are soon made aware, led to domestic violence against Marilyn. I was originally under the impression that Joe had only hurt Marilyn once and that was the end of the marriage; but the book has a few good sources who explain that Joe had a pattern of physically abusing Marilyn.
Arthur Miller wasn't much better, he resented Marilyn, and was emotionally abusive.
Interestingly, we discover that in her relationship with Frank Sinatra, Marilyn was able to bring out a gentleness and compassion that wasn't often seen in Ol' Blue Eyes. Over and over it's stated that had any other girl behaved like Marilyn did, Frank would have left her much sooner.
A lot of attention is also given to the Kennedy brothers. I won't spoil too much of the information, but it appears that a bit too much was made of her contact with the brothers. Marilyn and JFK had a weekend fling at the most.
Finally, we get a discussion of Marilyn's final months of life, her death, and how her death impacted the people in her life. It is heartbreaking to learn how Marilyn's mother lived out the rest of her life. Gladys Baker's youngest child preceeded her in death by 22 years, and Gladys' schizophrenia caused her to react in ways to her daughter's death that shocked people that weren't expecting it. Sad stuff.
All in all, great book, highly recommended to anyone who wants greater insight into who Marilyn was, and how she got to be that way.
As I said, I really enjoyed the book. One area where the book is so valuable is where Marilyn Monroe's mental health is concerned. Early in the book we are exposed to a history of mental illness in Marilyn's family. Her mother, her mother's parents, and her mother's grandfather; all either lived their lives in mental hospitals, died in them, or committed suicide without entering the mental health system.
Marilyn's mother was a paranoid schizophrenic, and as the documentation of Marilyn's growing illness is documented, we learn that Marilyn was bipolar, was a borderline paranoid schizophrenic, and of course, suffered from alcoholism and substance abuse issues.
Taraborrelli spends a lot of time on Marilyn's childhood, since it was so chaotic for her. We learn that her original foster parents, the Bolanders, were hurt by what Marilyn said about her time living with them. No matter what, however, they still loved Marilyn, and even towards the end of her life, Marilyn was reaching out to the foster father she called "Daddy."
One thing that is interesting and that I take some issue with is the discussion of Marilyn's child abuse history. Horrifyingly, we learn that Marilyn's grandmother Della Monroe was responsible for some of the worst physical abuse in Marilyn's early childhood. Where I disagree with Taraborrelli, is when the subject of Marilyn's sexual abuse comes up. Taraborrelli has doubts, and points out that Marilyn fibbed about aspects of her past, partly because that's show-business worked at the time. But I believe that Marilyn was indeed sexually abused. Her vulnerability throughout her life is very consistent with sexual abuse.
Eventually the subject turns to Marilyn's marriages. She married her first husband at 16 so she wouldn't have to enter an orphanedge. The marriage fell apart as Marilyn's career grew; her then husband Jim Dougherty wanted to her to be stay-at-home mother, which she didn't want to do.
With Joe Di Maggio, some of the same issues were there; Joe was jealous of Marilyn's fame, and also believed she should be the stay-at-home mother of his children. This tension, we are soon made aware, led to domestic violence against Marilyn. I was originally under the impression that Joe had only hurt Marilyn once and that was the end of the marriage; but the book has a few good sources who explain that Joe had a pattern of physically abusing Marilyn.
Arthur Miller wasn't much better, he resented Marilyn, and was emotionally abusive.
Interestingly, we discover that in her relationship with Frank Sinatra, Marilyn was able to bring out a gentleness and compassion that wasn't often seen in Ol' Blue Eyes. Over and over it's stated that had any other girl behaved like Marilyn did, Frank would have left her much sooner.
A lot of attention is also given to the Kennedy brothers. I won't spoil too much of the information, but it appears that a bit too much was made of her contact with the brothers. Marilyn and JFK had a weekend fling at the most.
Finally, we get a discussion of Marilyn's final months of life, her death, and how her death impacted the people in her life. It is heartbreaking to learn how Marilyn's mother lived out the rest of her life. Gladys Baker's youngest child preceeded her in death by 22 years, and Gladys' schizophrenia caused her to react in ways to her daughter's death that shocked people that weren't expecting it. Sad stuff.
All in all, great book, highly recommended to anyone who wants greater insight into who Marilyn was, and how she got to be that way.
