Customer Reviews

My Mothers Keeper

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

This book was admittedly written not by Mrs Hyman, but her husband Jeremy. Jeremy has never found it hard to resist good, honest labor & therefore this book was the Hymans' (only) cash cow once they'd bled Bette Davis dry. Ms. Davis--according to many sources--paid for the Hymans' home, upkeep, swimming pool, private schools for their son and family vacations. This was true even after Ms Davis was on in years and in poor health.Instead of marrying at 16, perhaps Mrs Hyman might have gotten an education, a job, and an ambitious husband so she didn't have to live off of the mother she so criticized. Apparently there is a sequel to this book that tells of the Hymans' miraculous new faith and how it took them from rural Pennsylvania to Grand Bahama Island. Ommitted from the book are public records detailing just how, why and under what shady circumstances the Hymans fled Pennsylvania.(To pay off your debts FIRST with your $100,000 advance might have been the Christian thing to do, folks).
I DO enjoy the many reviews that the Hymans have penned themselves or had their flock write. Forget the scathing reviews, Jeremy, and GET A JOB.

Everyone here who has already mentioned how unintentionally hilarious this book is-- right on! Yet it is also a tragically exploitative book; as opposed to the genuine anguish depicted in "Mommie Dearest." While Christina Crawford may or may not have been motivated by revenge in writing her book, she actually had something legitimate to avenge. There has been ample evidence from countless sources-- family, professional associates of her mother's, and subsequent bigraphers --that the horrors Christina catalogued were far from fictional. B.D. Hyman, on the other hand, has received no such affirmation. With very few exceptions, even those who agreed that she had every reason to resent her mother's faults were concerned by the manner in which the truth was manipulated in MMK. As nearly every Bette Davis biography written subsequent to MMK's publication has evidenced, B.D. Hyman, her husband, & her sons were COMPLETELY DEPENDENT UPON BETTE DAVIS FINANCIALLY. The fact that Bette Davis had NO CHOICE but to work to support the Hyman family, despite advancing age & its attendent diminished career options, goes far in explaining much of the tension between Davis & her daughter, not to mention Davis's well-chronicled antagonism toward her son-in-law-- a man who had not maintained consistent gainful employment since the mid-late '60s. This is all documented in various Davis biographies published after 1985. By her own admission, Hyman decided to write MMK only AFTER witnessing the extent of Davis' recovery from two strokes & a mastectomy due to cancer. Fearful that her mother would no longer be able to work/support her (just prior to her illness Davis had saved the Hyman farm from foreclosure), Hyman decided to cash in. Even after receiving a six figure advance for MMK, the Hymans were still in such a bad financial situation that they didn't sell their farm before relocating to the Bahamas; they abandoned it for the bank to reclaim in their absence. HAD SHE MENTIONED THE EXTENT OF HER FAMILY'S FINANCIAL DEPENDENCE ON HER MOTHER IN MMK, DO YOU THINK ANYONE WOULD HAVE EVEN BOTHERED TO PUBLISH THIS SHAMEFUL ABORTION? Bette wasn't a particularly good parent during BD's childhood or adulthood, but nothing in the book or in any book about Bette justifies the treachery of BD writing this book in her mother's lifetime. Financial necessity & the sense of entitlement of all spoiled, over-indulged children drove her to it. As Bette herself concluded, "B.D. thought I was going to die. That's why she wrote the book."

When I first read My Mother's Keeper, I was about 14 years old. Being young and naive, I almost believed Hyman's tale of woe about her famous mother. Thank God for being alive 15 years later. I have read the book about more than five times since then, strictly for comic relief.
So Bette Davis endured an abusive marriage while B.D. was a little girl, wasn't the Betty Crocker mom, drank too much, and was occasionally obnoxious at the dinner table. So Bette Davis had faults (gasp!). Wow!
...After all her mother did for her and gave her long after she was married, and this is how she repaid her. From the other Davis biographies I've read, B.D. needed her mother to shower her with gifts because her son-in-law was a lazy bum!
Bette Davis is still one of greatest American actresses for all time, and that is how I will remember her in spite of her faults. When B.D. passes away, she'll be blessed if anyone even cares.

Well well well...B.D. Hyman--say Amen, folks! The woman who seems never to have had a real job in her life, along with her leech-like husband Jeremy--tears her mother apart with this sensation-seeking piece of muck raking.
Bette Davis was not an easy woman to deal with--I think anyone with a brain in their head could figure this out. Highly strung, neurotic, and probably an alcoholic, she was demanding to the point of torture. B.D. and Jeremy, however, b***ch and moan about what a witch she is, but still had their hands out ready to take any cash she offered. If you would like a good laugh, read Narrow Is the Way, B.D.'s follow-up book detailing how they ran away to the Bahamas when creditors started chasing them in the U.S.. B.D. now runs an evangelical ministry--snigger snigger--you can give her money--cash, credit card or check--and she'll pray for you.

I read this book and then consigned it to File 13. I have never seen such an obvious effort by an ungrateful child to "get even" with her mother. It's a festival of petty griping all the way through. The jealousy and resentment are pathetic. I must agree with a comment that I heard when this trashy book first came out.The comment (from a party who was there):"BALONEY!"

When I read "Mommie Dearest" years ago it had the ring of truth to me. In today's terms, Joan Crawford would most likely be diagnosed as having Narcissistic Personality Disorder. The behavior described by Christina Crawford is telling. I had not so different a childhood, and I know that only someone who had been immersed in that awful Alice in Wonderland world of dysfunction could recognize the truth of it. BD, in my opinion, is also a narcissist - self-absorbed, unable to relate to real feeling, unable to empathize, and utterly convinced that the universe was created just for her. One of her biggest complaints against her mother was that she raised her personally - always taking her to sets and locations. She planned surprise parties and other delights for her child and always made sure she had the best. Ms. Davis, cruel as she was, sought to give her daughter every advantage, cushion every blow, and shower her daughter with love and affection - WHAT a Bitch!

Hyman published this book while her mother was on her deathbed, which shows exactly what kind of person she is: selfish and cruel. Yes, it's tough being the wealthy daughter of a famous celebrity who could be too raucous at times. Let me wipe the little tear from the corner of my eye. Hyman is such a twit that she finds her mother's passing off frozen macaroni & cheese as homecooked equally as offensive as alcoholism and suicidal tantrums. This book is her malicious, last ditch effort to drain more money out of her mother--if no longer directly from her pockets, then from her name. It reads like a campy amalgamation of all Davis' screen roles. And Hyman has the gall to claim this insulting 400pg diatribe was some sort of plea for reconciliation! Apparently, no one but the publishers bought that.

B.D. Hyman's over-the-top "expose" of her life as rich girl gone wild is horrible, horrible, horrible! First of all, if this were a true forum, I would present the question: Was it just me, or was that woman (B.D.) ALWAYS talking about HER 'statuesque' beauty, HER popularity, HER perfect (and-don't-even-try-to-copy-it-because-Jeremy-and-I-are-the-best-so-ha-ha) marriage??? It got to the point that I had to put the book down, take a deep breath of fresh air, and talk myself into calming down.

Even if one were to blatantly overlook the fact that this "tell all" is clearly NOT an instrument to bridge bad waters between B.D. and her mother; and even if one were to look in the other direction and forgive B.D. for writing a book so hateful and vile that a younger and healthier Bette Davis STILL would have felt waves of despair and sickness (over actually raising such a miserably ungrateful brat) - yes, if one were to ignore both of these stab-in-the-back tactics used by B.D. Hyman, then certainly a potential buyer should NOT overlook this: If this book isn't in your local library, that should tell you something right there - and if it's not, don't waste your money. You'll find yourself on this review site publicly wishing you'd never spent that cash!

"My Mother's Keeper" is a fun read. Personally, I don't think there is much to say about the book except that the author tries, unsuccessfully I might add, to destroy her mother's name. BD Hyman was Bette Davis' only child she gave birth to: the other two children she had were adopted. Obviously Hyman wanted to cash in on the success that Christina Crawford had when she wrote "Mommie Dearest" that depicted Crawford as an alcoholic and abusive parent. In "My Mother's Keeper" she writes how her mother was prone to alcoholic outbursts and was hard to live with. Nowhere does she mention how Bette abused her. After reading the book it wasn't Hyman that I felt sorry for, but Bette Davis, as her daughter went way beyond the fact in trying to tarnish the screen legend's name. At least Christina wrote her book after Joan Crawford had died; "My Mother's Keeper" was released on Mother's Day, 1985 when Bette was still alive. More than anything that was devastating in the pages of the book, was the release date as Bette had a stroke only months prior before its publication. Simply, there is nothing in these pages that warrant Bette a child abuser or a distorted individual. If anything Hyman was a spoiled rotten child who had everything she ever wanted. Publishing the book meant she was continuing to live off her mother's name. Many have since come forward and stated that Hyman and her husband were financially strapped and broke when William and Morrow paid BD $100,000 as an advance. During the early '80's Bette Davis was not getting the kind of acting offers that usually came her way, so any money that Bette usually gave her daughter (and she was very giving to her daughter financially) came to a halt. Thankfully, many came to the defense of Bette and totally trashed BD Hyman, so it was the author (now a minister!) whose name and reputation that became destroyed. The best part of the book is the "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" section when Hyman was cast as a daughter to a neighbor in the film. Hyman discusses, in glorious detail, her encounter with Joan Crawford and when she extended her hand to Bette's co-star she(Joan) "pulled away from me as if I were diseased and told me emphatically to stay away from her twin daughters (visiting Joan on the set) as they were carefully brought up from the wicked side of the world and you obviously my dear have not. Thank you. Bless you dear". Great fun!!! Since Bette Davis' death in 1989 many who knew her personally have stated that she died of heartbreak over the fact that the only child she gave birth to would turn on her in such a dastardly and devious way. Bette disinherited her daughter and two grandchildren(by BD) leaving her vast estate to her son Michael and secretary Kath.

First off let me say that I love Bette Davis. I think she was a fantastic actress and in reading her books a good person who was pretty tough and very intelligent- someone worthy of a lot of respect.
It is beyond shameful that her daughter B.D stabbed Bette Davis in the back by publishing this book while she was in failing health and almost 80 years old. Her daughter sold Bette Davis out for money and exploited her in the worst way. Why could she not have settled these differences privately with her? Anyone with half a brain could see that at times Bette Davis was probably not easy to live with but I think she was a good person who loved her daughter and did the best she could all the while coping with demands most "normal" parents- whatever that is- do not have to deal with in regard to her fame and work. Being a Christian means practicing love and forgiveness not exploiting a parent and stabbing them in the back. I wonder what Jesus would have said about all this. Bette Davis worked all of her life while helping to support her daughter financially as well as the rest of her family. She did not deserve this betrayal by B.D. Ironically, her daughter wrote this book to smear Bette Davis. But I think in the end her daughter ended up ruining her reputation and she is the one with egg on her face. As I said this book is a waste of paper. Too bad that a tree had to die for this piece of trash.