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| Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice | 
 enlarge | Author: Maureen Mccormick
Publisher: William Morrow
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $14.36
You Save: $11.59 (45%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  57 reviews
Sales Rank: 709
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 5.8 x 1.3
ISBN: 0061490148
Dewey Decimal Number: 791.45028092
EAN: 9780061490149
ASIN: 0061490148
Publication Date: October 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Marcia! Marcia! Marcia! Marcia Brady, eldest daughter on television's The Brady Bunch, had it all—style, looks, boys, brains, and talent. No wonder her younger sister Jan was jealous! For countless adolescents across America who came of age in the early 1970s, Marcia was the ideal American teenager. Girls wanted to be her. Boys wanted to date her. But what viewers didn't know about the always-sunny, perfect Marcia was that offscreen, her real-life counterpart, Maureen McCormick, the young actress who portrayed her, was living a very different—and not-so-wonderful—life. Now, for the very first time, Maureen tells the shocking and inspirational true story of the beloved teen generations have invited into their living rooms—and the woman she became. In Here's the Story, Maureen takes us behind the scenes of America's favorite television family, the Bradys. With poignancy and candor, she reveals the lifelong friendships, the hurtful jealousies, the offscreen romance, the loving support her television family provided during a life-or-death moment, and the inconsolable loss of a man who had been a second father. But The Brady Bunch was only the beginning. 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. Moving from drug dens on Wonderland Avenue to wild parties at the Playboy mansion and exotic escapades on the beaches of Hawaii, this candid, hard-hitting memoir exposes a side of a beloved pop-culture icon the paparazzi missed. Yet it is also a story of remarkable success. After kicking her drug habit, Maureen battled depression, reconnected with her mother, whom she nursed through the end of her life, and then found herself in a pitched battle for her family in which she ultimately triumphed. There is no question: Maureen McCormick is a survivor. After fifty years, she has finally learned what it means to love the person you are, insight that has brought her peace in a happy marriage and as a mother. Here's the Story is the empowering, engaging, shocking, and emotional tale of Maureen McCormick's courageous struggle over adversity and her lifelong battle to come to terms with the idea of perfection—and herself.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 52 more reviews...
 Excellent October 14, 2008
83 out of 91 found this review helpful
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 tricky because you can't or won't divulge other people's involvement in your life and Maureen has done an excellent job of keeping the focus on her and not on the "other" celebrities that she talks about in her book.
I read alot of these types of books and I can't encourage you enough to run to the bookstore for this one.
Trying to Find Herself October 14, 2008
32 out of 40 found this review helpful
Here's the Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice, by Maureen McCormick, is a memoir of a woman made famous by her role in the Brady Bunch, as the eldest daughter, Marcia. The Brady Bunch aired from 1969-1974, when Maureen was 13-18 years old. The Brady Bunch was a wildly successful show that ran on Friday nights--I know, I looked forward to it every week.
McCormick struggles most of her life because of her role as "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia." (This now infamous line was uttered by the middle daughter, Jan, because she felt her older sister got all the attention.) McCormick writes: "Imagine being shadowed by a younger,prettier, more popular you," referring to her role as Marcia.
I mentioned that I looked forward to watching The Brady Bunch every week--now, I was 8 years old when it started and it was the first show of its kind. But, it was always a bit dippy and moralistic. For example, whenever one of the kids did the slightest thing wrong, the whole family had to gather and mom and dad would lecture. GAG.
McCormick had a thing about being "imperfect" her entire life compared to the "perfect" Marcia. Now, I was a kid, but it was pretty obvious this was a TV show--not something real. However, McCormick had family problems and the Brady's must have felt like the perfect family to her. She was instructed on what to say and do (it was a role, after all), but the perfection of the family life stuck with her through her adulthood. (Keep in perspective the times--there were no controversial TV shows on at the time--TV people all seemed to live happy, easy lives.)
Now, I would have killed to look like Marcia---thin, with long, straight, blond hair. We learn that she was always worried about her stomach not being flat, that this beautiful teenager didn't feel worthy of her role.
McCormick provides details of what it was like on the Brady set,including crushes and such. I felt that there were too many details--do we really care about when she first got her period and how it happened? Or that she was jealous that Eve Plumb developed breasts before her?
The book is enjoyable, don't get me wrong--but it gets 4 stars, not 5 because it should have been edited more. Too many details throughout, the book drags at times.
McCormick reveals her family history (her mother's dad had syphilis and passed it to her mother) and her own life that included drug use, bulimia, and depression.
When McCormick turned 50, she agreed to be on the Celebrity Fit Club, a reality series in which the stars try to lose weight. McCormick is very successful at losing weight and feels good about herself. She writes: "After spending my life worrying about what people thought of me, what they might think of me, and trying to present a certain image, I gave up and was just me."
Ultimately, Maureen McCormick was brave to share this revealing memoir with the world. If nothing else, it shows that perfection is an illusion and that we would all be much better off if we could simply accept ourselves for who we really are.
Nice work.
By the author of the award winning book, HARMONIOUS ENVIRONMENT: BEAUTIFY, DETOXIFY & ENERGIZE YOUR LIFE, YOUR HOME & YOUR PLANET.
I LOVED THIS BOOK! October 16, 2008
17 out of 18 found this review helpful
I read this book in two days, and I loved every minute of it. I thought it would be interesting to read about Maureen, the actress behind Marcia, to hear stories about the Brady Bunch, and to learn about her life today. What I got was that and so much more.
Maureen let's us in on who she is. Her life, her pitfalls, her triumphs, and writes an inspirational story many of us can relate to. We all have secrets, and Maureen tells them in a way that show us how easy it is to fall in, and better, what it takes to get out. It's nice to get to know Maureen through her book, to know that she's not Marcia, and to know that all of us have tough times, but that together we can get through them.
Bravo Maureen, thank you for writing such a bold book, I have so much respect for you.
 I was disappointed... October 19, 2008
17 out of 24 found this review helpful
I really wanted to like this book, because Marcia was my favorite Brady and I really wanted to be Maureen McCormick...petite, blonde, talented, and beautiful.
But I just couldn't connect to Maureen's story...bulimia, cocaine addiction, lesbian fantasies, bipolar disorder, elder abuse, a love/hate relationship with her mom...you name it, Maureen seems to have suffered it all. And unfortunately, she put it ALL into this one book.
Some sections of her life are glossed over (each season of "The Brady Bunch" probably got between one and three paragraphs), and others are detailed more than is necessary, leaving me wanting both more and less at the same time. The book could have used an editor with a firm hand.
Here's The Story of a Lovely Lady October 17, 2008
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
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.
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