Customer Reviews

My Life at Grey Gardens: 13 Months and Beyond

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I just finished this book last night. It was a page turner! Some nights I read it till the morning light. It is a DIARY, and tells of a very crucial time period in the Beale's lives--the time immedaitely after the filming of Grey Gardens, until the passing of Mrs. Beale. You'll discover that Brooks was quite a drinker, that Lois (the diary keeper in this case) was equally (if not moreso) unorthodox than the Beales, and that Little Edie had quite a jealous streak, and that the elder Beale had an extraordinary knack for ruling absolutely everything without ever leaving her bed! There are a few jaw-droppers in this book also, but I won't spoil that here! Strangely, there is no mention of Jerry (The Marble Fawn)what-so-ever in this book.

It would have been great with a photo section and if we could have had a little more insight into Little Edie's life alone in Grey Gardens in 1977 and 78. There is a book coming out at a later date, that will have all of this and much more called 'Staunch Character', but 'My Life at Grey Gardens' is a must for your collection. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

No doubt you read Shannon Deason's review of this book and his view of the Beales. I would comment on him, but Amazon has very strict rules regarding foul language.

Jackie O's aunt and cousin lived in a Munster-type mansion in East Hampton. Edith Bouvier Beale (or 'Big Edie') was the sister of Black Jack Bouvier. Edie had a daughter, 'Little Edie', and both lived in harmony and dis-harmony in the ramshackle old house. Author Lois Wright, artist of questionable talent and palm reader, lived with the ladies for 13 months. The book is based on Wright's journal, which she kept during the 1970's. Big Edie, who was bedridden upstairs, had cats and the cats had fleas. Wright described the agony of the fleas, as well as raccoons climbing out of the ceiling (which Little Edie fed daily) and rats that jumped on the author and Little Edie on occasion. Wright wore boots and a hat 24/7 to ward off most of the critters. Newspapers were placed on beds, on floors, even in the Edies bathtub for the cats. Nevertheless, they were allowed to "go" where they pleased. If a cat or kitten died, Big Edie kept it on her bed for a couple of days, covered with a Kleenex. Contrary to past publicity, Jackie O and Ari stepped in and helped her relatives - Ari sending gifts, Jackie paying bills. The eccentricities of the three ladies are well worth reading about in this mesmerizing page-turner (Wright seemed a bit 'off' herself.) Just to let you be aware that there are DVDs available about Grey Gardens, starring the Beales, that are excellent. It brings Ms. Wright's pages to life, which completes their picture.

My Life at Grey Gardens: 13 Months and Beyond was a real page turner. If you are at all a fan of Big Edie and Little Edie you will find this book very interesting. Lois Wright gives an honest description of the Beales and Grey Gardens, and of her own feelings through the 13 months and beyond.

Ms. Wright provides insight into additional people in the Beales lives including Big Edie's sons and niece Jacqueline Onassis. Ms. Wright shares with the reader the struggles the Beales endured in order to stay at Grey Gardens and the sad death of Big Edie.

If you have seen both Grey Gardens and The Beales of Grey Gardens, but are left wanting more.....this book is terrific. Lois Wright, the author and friend of the mom and daughter duo keeps a journal/diary of the time she moved in with them. While the reason for her move was not entirely clear, she manages to survive among the cats, raccoons, and endless fleas to capture a clear, non-biased picture of these two delightful women. It is everyday life that others may find odd, but I found fascinating and insightful. I do think that I learned a bit more about the personalities of The Edies and I wish they were still with us today to comment on entertainment, politics, fashion, art, and whatever else they became passionate about. 'My Life at Grey Garden: 13 Months and Beyond' was everything I expected and more.

Welcome back to Grey Gardens! I just received this from Amazon last night, and I am 1/2 through it already!It truly IS a page turner. A must for all fans of these fabulously eccentric,and theatrical ladies.It is a light,diary-entry style read.It will hold your interest, for sure. These women were fascinating characters, Lois Wright included.How wonderful it would have been to know Big and Little Edie.However, we must settle for just reading about them here,in this gem of a tell-all.I agree with the other reviewer....No mention of Jerry Torre (The Marble Fawn), was strange, as he seemed to be an integral part of Grey Gardens machine.

I found Ms. Wright's book to be very insightful into the life of the Beale's. Though at time the book tended to trail off a bit, but it does run more of a diary of sorts then a novel, but still a great read for anyone in interested in Grey Gardens.

Lois Wright brilliantly reveals the business side of making films (even documentaries) and further reveals how manipulative the Maysles were of their subjects. Ms. Wright's book offers up much more than eccentricities that ostensibly define these women as the Maysles film would have us believe; in her book she reveals the loneliness, fatigue, delusions and paranoia that regrettably consumed them in their self-exile. A must read for anyone interested in learning far more about the human side of Big & Little Edie Beale. [...]

For me, my journey with Grey Gardens started out as a Broadway Musical that was riveting. This led me to the documentaries and eventually to this little book that is quirky to say the least but, does give a little more insight into the lives of Big and Little Edie. What is also fascinating is how it takes a look at their lives beyond the documentary. Don't get me wrong, the author is marches to her own drum as well, but for those of us who are fans of these two women it's a great way to find one more piece to the puzzle.

If you have been captured by the lives of Big Edith and Little Edith
Bouvier Beale and Grey Gardens then this is a book to read.
It lets you into a way of life -- so very different from our own.
And yet if you are aware of them and how they were brought up -- it just brings you a little closer to their every struggle to live in a world that was changing all around them.
A must read --- if you are a fan of this family.

This is a wonderful companion to both documentaries Grey Gardens and The Beales of Grey Gardens. Lois has a unique intimate perspective of the way the Beales lived day to day. She kept a comprehensive journal detailing the daily activities of the Beales when she lived there over the two years after the documentary was filmed right before Big Edie died. A character Doris Francisco emerges in the text, which is the only time fans will hear of her as she is not brought out in the documentaries. It has a sad ending as it chronicles the eventual demise of Big Edie as she wasted away in the detritus of the mansion without adequate care. One wonders how Jackie Onassis and the Maysles bros. (who jilted them out of due profits from the film) could stand by passively and watch her die. It seems a criminal shame.