Sandi Gelles-Cole imagines the life the screen legend and enduring cultural icon might have led — from the opening scene (below) to her 85th birthday on June 1, 2011. DRAMA QUEEN June 1, 2011 They say only the good die young and I guess it s true because I m still here. Today is my eighty fifth birthday. During these years I have lived three lives: Before Marilyn, Being Marilyn and After. I created Marilyn Monroe and then men molded her: studios, agents, and husbands. Ever since the night I did not die, I have tried to leave her behind, but wherever I went, the creature followed. I tried to run. I tried changing my name, my country of residence, my hair color, body type, career and sexual preference. I went to college for coursework in Humanities and studied Russian Literature. But there was no escaping her. The character I created became my own personal monster and devoured me in the 50s, and even after she died I could no more be someone else than I could grow a penis, change my skin color, or stop being a movie star. My so-called death scene is always described the same: My housekeeper, Eunice Murray, finds my wasted, naked body tangled in a sheet, wet from secretions better left unexplained. I am face down with one hand hanging over the telephone. This detail is discussed often; am I answering a call or making one and if I am calling, then whom? But it did not happen that way. I cheated death. . .

I am a huge Marilyn Monroe fan, I always have bee and found what happened to her to be tragic, as so many early deaths can be. This book is an interesting and diffrent look into the what might have happened.

It is of course fictionilized as alternative history but if you have always wondered well what if, maybe they didn’t this is a great read it takes a look at the what if’s behind one of hollywoods most famous deaths. I reccomend it, a quik and fun read.

The women of Freesia Court are convinced that there is nothing good coffee, delectable desserts, and a strong shoulder can’t fix. Laughter is the glue that holds them together—the foundation of a book group they call AHEB (Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons), an unofficial “club” that becomes much more. It becomes a lifeline. Holding on through forty eventful years, there’s Faith, a lonely mother of twins who harbors a terrible secret that has condemned her to living a lie; big, beautiful Audrey, the resident sex queen who knows that with good posture and an attitude you can get away with anything; Merit, the shy doctor’s wife with the face of an angel and the private hell of an abusive husband; Kari, a wise woman with a wonderful laugh who knows the greatest gifts appear after life’s fiercest storms; and finally, Slip, a tiny spitfire of a woman who isn’t afraid to look trouble straight in the eye.

This stalwart group of friends depicts a special slice of American life, of stay-at-home days and new careers, of children and grandchildren, of bold beginnings and second chances, in which the power of forgiveness, understanding, and the perfectly timed giggle fit is the CPR that mends broken hearts and shattered dreams.

The first thing I have to say about Angry Housewives eating Bon Bon’s is that it made me homesick, but in a good way. This book is based in Minnesota and I knew the places they talked about. When a street was mentioned, or a building many of them I knew even though the book was started out before I was born it still felt like home. This is a good read and it kept me entertained this group of friends is the kind of friends I want around for me as I get older.
That is not say there are not some slow parts of this book, there are a few of the chapters are not really needed and dragged on a bit, but for the most part it was a good read and set up in a unique way. The chapters revolved around the book clubs choices in books and what happened during the time when they were set for that book, what a great approach! If you want just a good read to cuddle up with and have a laugh with some characters that are not perfect but real and human this is a great book to settle in with.

In her early thirties, Elizabeth Gilbert had everything a modern American woman was supposed to want–husband, country home, successful career–but instead of feeling happy and fulfilled, she felt consumed by panic and confusion. This wise and rapturous book is the story of how she left behind all these outward marks of success, and of what she found in their place. Following a divorce and a crushing depression, Gilbert set out to examine three different aspects of her nature, set against the backdrop of three different cultures: pleasure in Italy, devotion in India, and on the Indonesian island of Bali, a balance between worldly enjoyment and divine transcendence

I wanted to like this book so much I really did, sadly it just fell flat. The chapter or “book” of Italy was the only part I really found myself enjoying. It was fun and witty and had some great jokes, but as I got into more of the book I had to say it was because it was Italy and not the writer.

Over all this is not a book I enjoyed, of course others have and will, but for me I just found the writer to be a nit wit and I found myself wanting to say GET OVER IT at some points and GROW UP at others. Mean of me perhaps, but well if you put it down for all the world to see your asking for their thoughts.