Bright lights, prairie dust : reflections on life, loss, and love from Little House's Ma

Bright lights, prairie dust Reflections on life, loss, and love from Little House's Ma

Karen Grassle, 1944-

Book - 2021

"Karen Grassle, the beloved actress who played Ma on Little House on the Prairie, grew up at the edge of the Pacific Ocean in a family where love was plentiful but alcohol wreaked havoc. In this candid memoir, Grassle reveals her journey to succeed as an actress even as she struggles to overcome depression, combat her own dependence on alcohol, and find true love. With humor and hard-won wisdom, Grassle takes readers on an inspiring journey through the political turmoil on '60s campuses, on to studies with some of the most celebrated artists at the famed London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, and ultimately behind the curtains of Broadway stages and storied Hollywood sets. In these pages, readers meet actors and directors who ...have captivated us on screen and stage as they fall in love, betray and befriend, and don costumes only to reveal themselves. We know Karen Grassle best as the proud prairie woman Caroline Ingalls, with her quiet strength and devotion to family, but this memoir introduces readers to the complex, funny, rebellious, and soulful woman who, in addition to being the force behind those many strong women she played, fought passionately--as a writer, producer, and activist--on behalf of equal rights for women. Raw, emotional, and tender, Bright Lights celebrates and honors womanhood, in all its complexity"--Amazon.

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Subjects
Grassle, Karen, > 1944-
Television actors and actresses > United States > Biography.
Autobiographies.
Genres
Autobiographies
Published
Berkeley, CA : She Writes Press 2021.
Language
English
Main Author
Karen Grassle, 1944- (author)
Physical Description
xix, 349 pages, 8 unnumbered leaves of unnumbered plates : illustrations ; 22 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN
9781647423131
  • Prologue
  • Part 1. Growing Up Absurd
  • 1. Miracle Baby
  • 2. Saved!
  • 3. Baptism and Blood
  • 4. Duet
  • Part 2. Passion
  • 5. Undertow
  • 6. Surfacing
  • 7. Art and Death
  • 8. Waking Up in Berkeley
  • Part 3. The Way
  • 9. Practice
  • 10. An Actors Life for Me
  • 11. Eating the Big Apple
  • Part 4. Breaking the Waves
  • 12. Hooray for Hollywood
  • 13. Having It All
  • 14. "Were Home"
  • 15. Too Good to Be True
  • 16. Towers and Walls
  • 17. Never Say Die
  • Part 5. Everything Flowers
  • 18. Hitting Bottom
  • 19. Sea Change
  • 20. Woman's Work
  • 21. Buried Desire
  • 22. New Acts
  • Afterword
  • Acknowledgments
  • About the Author
  • Endnotes
  • Permissions
Review by Booklist Review

Grassle, who rose to fame as "Ma" Caroline Ingalls on the hit 1970s show Little House on the Prairie, shares tales from her path to Hollywood as well as behind-the-scenes drama during that seminal series. A childhood in Southern California led Grassle to the stage in San Francisco and New York, but eventually she returned to the West to try her luck in television and film. She quickly landed the plum role of Ma in Little House, and when the show made a big splash, it afforded her job security. But extensive salary negotiations put her at odds with her male costar, Michael Landon, who didn't want Grassle to be paid more than the child actors on the show. Privately, Grassle battled alcoholism and mental health issues. Publicly, she tried to shine a light on the plight of battered women through a television movie and social activism. Grassle's memoir offers a peek behind the curtains of a beloved classic television show, and a clear-eyed look at the ups and downs of a creative life.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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