At age 12 Brooke Shields played a child prostitute in Louis Malle's controversial film Pretty Baby (1978). She never had what anyone would consider an ordinary life. She was raised by her Newark-tough single mom, Teri, a woman who loved the world of show business and was often a media sensation all by herself. Brooke's iconic modeling career began by chance when she was only eleven months old, and Teri's skills as both Brooke's mother and manager were formidable. But in private she was troubled and drinking heavily. As Brooke became an adult the pair made choices and sacrifices that would affect their relationship forever. And when Brooke's own daughters were born she found that her experience as a mother was shaped in every way by the woman who raised her. But despite the many ups and downs, Brooke was by Teri's side when she died in 2012, a loving daughter until the end. In a memoir about growing up, Brooke reveals the remarkable, difficult, complicated woman who was her mother, and shares stories and feelings that are relatable to anyone who has been a mother or daughter. Brooke Shields is also the author of Down Came the Rain, a memoir of postpartum depression. |