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

by Maureen McCormick

Book Overview

The New York Times bestseller Here's the Story is the poignant memoir of Maureen McCormick, who starred as the beloved Marcia Brady on the hit series The Brady Bunch. Maureen tells her shocking and inspirational true story, taking readers behind the scenes of one of America's favorite television families, and to the dark side, where she was caught up in a fast-paced, drug-fueled, star-studded Hollywood existence that ultimately led to the biggest...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061490148
• ISBN13: 9780061490149
• Release Date: October 2008
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Great book. Well written.

Always wondered about this girl as she was a few years older than me. I remember watching the Brady Bunch as an 11 year old. I thought her story is incredible! She really went through a lot. Very good reading. Glad she got her life together!

She should have been a writer

I couldn't believe how well written this book was and I don't see where it shows a co-author. She should have been a writer rather than an actress. This sums it up: She talks about surviving your mistakes, making peace with the past, acquiring some wisdom and learning to like yourself. I don't see how the husband stuck it out; he is a saint. This book will make you wonder about all the child stars of Hollywood.

Raw and Authentic, Atypical Hollywood Memoir

***** This is the memoir of a woman who happens to be a famous actress, not a typical celebrity memoir. Unlike some Hollywood autobiographies, this lays out pretty much everything in Maureen's life in a well-written way; it is an interesting, entertaining, and riveting book. Whether or not you are a fan of the Brady Bunch doesn't matter---that part of the story is only found from pages 25-76 out of the entire 269 page story in which the author shares the deep pain and struggle she has been through, and how she got through it to a much better place. That is the main point of her memoir. It is a book for adults as it deals with recreational drug use, sex, abortions, mental illness, terrible family secrets and dramas, and more---she does not hold back. However, Maureen has come a long way to get to the stronger place where she can write about this. The point of reading this, what I took away from reading this, is a reminder that we are basically all the same no matter how famous we are. And we all have pain, we all struggle, and if we do indeed come through it, then we are fortunate, we are blessed. I admire Maureen for sharing her unique journey, for persevering in overcoming so much, and for having the courage to share it with us. Highly recommended. *****

Here's The Story of a Lovely Lady

If you are of a certain age and you were raised in a home with a television set, then the face of the cover of this book is very familiar to you. And whatever your age, if you watched this show with any regularity, you felt that you knew the character the author played on the Brady Bunch and perhaps even envied her apparent perfection. So, we watched her, liked her, and then she pretty much disappeared from view when the show ended. Well, she's back ! One of the most redeeming aspects of this book is that it isn't just another celebrity book about the struggles of being a child star. I found this book to be optimistic, down to earth, and just plain enjoyable. If you liked the actress who played Marcia and if she was part of your childhood experience, you may be shocked to find out how much turmoil she experienced while she worked on this show. In spite of considerable past personal challenges, she seems to have harnessed her demons and come out whole. I hope so. I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. The story the author tells is at times sad, funny and for some of us, it's a story we can relate to. It's also a revealing peek at the goings-on behind the TV screen of a television family that many of us visited weekly for years.

ABSOLUTLY AMAZING

I thought this book was incredible, I read in less than 2 days staying up all night because I could not put it down. The strength it took for Maureen to write about some of the most horrific times in her life is incredible.I have so much respect for her.She was definately as far down as she could go and she picked herself up then to be able to write a book about it takes alot of courage.Courage most of us will never have so Kudos Kudos and more Kudos to you Maureen.I grew up wanting to be like Marcia Brady and now as an adult I wish I could be half the woman Maureen McCormick is

Excellent

The Brady Bunch was a show that I discovered only in reruns as I was a little young when it first aired. By the time I did watch it, I was in my teens and thought the whole show was a bit of a joke and could not understand its cult following - however, over the years, it somehow kept resurfacing and despite myself, I got to know a little bit about each of the Brady kids. When I saw that Maureen McCormick was publishing her memoirs, I thought it would be interesting to read as I always thought she was the most interesting character on the show - and always felt that there was alot lurking behind the "good girl, hair of gold Brady". As soon as I started reading, I absolutely fell in love with the pace, the tone and the overall story being told. The first thing I noticed (and was eternally grateful for) was that although Maureen does touch on her childhood, she does not go on and on about it for half the book. She basically gives us the highlights (which includes some surprising facts about her siblings and her parents) and then moves on to her early career. Yes, she does spend some time on her "Brady days" but tends to gloss over some of the key elements that I believe would have been fun to read. She does go into quite alot of detail about the "crushes/kissing/fondling" that happened among the Brady kids, but I would have liked to hear more about the dynamics behind the scene - that did not necessarily relate to the teenage lust that seemed to be rampant. I would have like to find out more about the chemistry of the actors, some funny onset stories would have been nice. There is a minimal amount of this type of thing - it seems as though the Brady kids were all about "teenage lust" which is okay - but I felt there could have been a little bit more substance here. Besides which, somebody is going to have to explain to me why every girl (including Maureen) had a thing for Greg? I mean, the guy is really average looking in my opinion!!! However, what comes after the Brady years is really where you find the heart and soul of Maureen McCormick. Its going to be hard for me to write this review without giving away any of the spoilers, but I had NO IDEA just how far down she fell before she found the strength to pick herself up. To her credit, she exposes every raw nerve in this memoir and makes a point of saying that SHE alone is responsible for the situation(s) she got herself into. I have to say that she must have had a fairy godmother looking over her - because she really got herself into some horrible situations. The writing here is exceptional and we get a very clear picture of just how screwed up Maureen was. When she talks about her meeting with her future husband, you can actually feel the tone of the writing change - there is hope and love in the writing. Maureen McCormick needs to be commended for writing an honest, raw memoir. She could easily have gone the other way and written some bubblegum account of her life. Writing memoirs are always t