Here's the Story (1)

Here's the Story By: Maureen McCormick Read: March 8, 2015 I read an article about Maureen McCormick who played Marcia Brady on TV. Picked up the book through PaperBack Swap It was a quick read and a fairly interesting story. After the TV show ended when she was about 18, she got heavily into drugs which seemed to rule her life for many years, and seemed to have costed her a number of opportunities in her career. She stumbled along and eventually during one of the Brady reunion shows she got some help which began her long road of recovery. Through a co-star in the show she was introduced to a church which became influential in her recovery by providing the support structure she did not otherwise have in her life. Here she met her husband, but their life was filled with turmoil. While clean Maureen was prone to paralysing self-doubt which would lead to bursts of anger usually directed at her husband, who evidently is a Saint. Seems he stayed by her through this turmoil when most people would have thrown in the towel and walked away. In time she was diagnosed with depression and was treated for it and for the first time in her life she felt better. She still had lots to face in her life, but she had renewed direction. She repaired relationships with her mother and became a happier person. The last portion of the book mainly concerns her family, which was always somewhat disjointed. Her oldest brother was always very successful. She has another brother with intellectual handicap, the other brother spent his whole life drifting, doing drugs and getting in and out of trouble, and in his late 40's was still largely being supported by his parents. As the parents age and the mother is diagnosed with cancer the parents move in with this son. He became very controlling and had undue influence over his parents much to the dismay of the rest of the family. An interesting read, overall a very sad story. It is nice that she is doing better now, but you can't help but feel loss for all the years that she was mired in anger and depression.