Goes way beyond “typical stage mother”

This probably should have been titled, “Diary of the surviving daughter of an un-medicated, hyper-controlling manic-depressive”, but that may have a bit much for the cover.

“My childish blackmail started with toys and ended with a pony. Naturally. Though by the end, I couldn’t help feeling bought and sold myself.”

Melissa Francis started acting at six months old, when she was added into a bathtub during a commercial to cheer up her older sister (a veteran at six years old). She reached national fame a few years later as Cassandra on Little House on the Prairie (a show I’ve literally never watched a moment of, but have now read the autobiographies of two of its stars…). When the series ended, she went back to commercials and other small parts. Through it all, her mother pushed and shoved her in the directions she wanted, and ignore or punished her when Melissa was less successful. She used her autobiography to not only discuss her mother, but also her incredibly passive father and her older sister, who suffered worst of all.

The writing is decent, and the almost blase way she relays some of her mother’s abuse just makes it more terrifying. Melissa learns early on how to appease her mother, but her sister fights her and rebels, which just results in worse treatment. Don’t read this expecting a tell-all about Little House on the Prairie. Melissa does talk about her experiences there — and most of it sounds wonderful — but this book really focuses on the horror of that mother.