Most of Lorna's book was about her life before and after her mother's death. The portions about her mother's life before Lorna was born amount to the first 50 pages of a 400-page book. They were put there to place Judy's life in the perspective of Lorna's current place of acknowledgment and acceptance and understanding and forgiveness. She says in the preface that "the pain of having a parent held captive by prescription drugs or alcohol is the same for everyone."
She states at the end of the book that she found this loving attitude with the help of the Betty Ford Family Program and Al-Anon, but the book is not a 12 step book. After Liza moved in with Peter Allen, teenage Lorna became Judy's caretaker, and in that last year and a half, when Sid took Lorna and Joe to live with him and Judy spiraled out of control, Lorna felt guilty for not being there to keep her mother alive.
But that was her mother's illness. Her memories are not of the Tragic Judy of the Gerald Clarke and David Shipman biographies--her memories are of the fun and funny mother who loved her children fiercely. Much the way when I think of my mother, I don't remember her disease, her cancer, I remember my mom.
That's what Lorna was "there" for, and that's what she writes about. (The miniseries, on the other hand, focused on Judy's life, not Lorna's life after Judy. But that's Hollywood, right?) ;-}
Updated On: 2/20/08 at 01:23 PM
