La Toya: Growing Up in the Jackson Family [Hardcover]

La Toya Jackson (Author), Patricia Romanowski (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 10, 1991

Michael Jackson's older sister reveals her memories of life in the Jackson household, recounting a tale of violence, drug abuse, exploitation, and infidelity and discussing her brother's transformation into a megastar. Reprint.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A seven-week PW bestseller in cloth, this revealing autobiography by Michael and Janet Jackson's less successful sister caused a commotion on the talk show/tabloid circuit. Photos.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

YA-- Jackson makes some shocking allegations about her family. She goes into great detail about the physical and psychological abuse she and her eight siblings suffered at the hands of their parents, the bitter jealousies amongfamily members, and the foiled attempts to kidnap her after she left home. She also writes about her in-name-only marriage to her manager, Jack Gordon, and the reasons she posed for a Playboy centerfold. The book is full of titillating bits of information meant to astound; it is comparable to an episode from television's ``A Current Affair'' in print. It will be popular with fans of the Jacksons.
- Pat Royal, Crossland High School, Camp Springs, MD
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 261 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult; First Edition edition (September 10, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525933433
• ISBN-13: 978-0525933434
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #245,577 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars La Toya--The Butterfly Has Been Released!, February 15, 2002

By 

Miss DTP "upper_echelon" (San Antonio, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: La Toya: Growing Up in the Jackson Family (Hardcover)

La Toya did what many people today wish they could: reveal, and then heal from an abusive relationship(s). She opened the gates of the Jackson's homes in Gary, Indiana and at Hayvenhurst in CA for the world to see. This very informative book shed light on the hidden, the quiet or even the most beautiful Jackson of them all. In it 'Toy, Toy' (a name she hates to be called) reveals the family struggles with abusive parents, her relationship with her siblings and their spouses, the life in captivity behind the gates of their CA mansion, her meeting of her manager and then husband Jack Gordon and...Playboy. Even a botched kidnap attempt is addressed.

Michael, the prodigal son, is portrayed in a wonderful light, as he should be. They shared very special times growing up and Toya displays each of them. Michael was ordered by the elders at the Witness to NEVER speak to Toya again because she missed (in their opinion) too many meetings. This left Michael sobbing on Janet's bed, when Toya came in, he ran into Janet's bathroom bawling! He also supported Toya against her brother's wives (wives can be so cruel) and supported her when her PLAYBOY PICTORIAL came out.

Joseph Jackson, the family patriarch, is portrayed as twisted and evil, and as an ogre who delighted in the suffering of his family. In Michael's live interview with Oprah Winfrey, he claimed that even in his late 30's he's still afraid of 'Joseph'. He confessed to Oprah that he even regurgitates when 'Joseph' comes by for a visit. La Toya gives much; much more details into the horrors they all faced. La Toya was badly beaten by the hands of her father at a very young age and was left bleeding on the bathroom floor whilst her brothers walked over her, much to afraid to offer any support. He threatened to throw her out of a window repeatedly for just asking a simple question.

Katherine Jackson, the family matriarch, is certainly... some piece of work. A devout Witness, she raised her family, especially La Toya and Michael, to be very spiritual and was Toya's very best friend. When the Jackson 5 was busy with their careers, it was Toya and baby Janet who kept Mama busy. But as you read, she too could be as, if not more wicked than Joseph. Delve into the part when EVEN Joseph confronts Kate about her treatment of Toya regarding medication Kate knows could kill her!!!...SHOCKING! There are two very different (jekyll--and-- hyde) sides to Kate, which Toya talks in detail about. Abused herself by Joseph's womanizing and keeping a second 'FAMILY' right down the road, their was little she could do to stop the abuse of her children...or could she Hmmmm...?
I praise Toya and Romanowski for bringing this book to light simply because of the courage it took. Going up against the Jackson's, even if you are one, must have been frightening. Writing this part of the book must have been so painful for her. Whilst other young girls were becoming women, Toya was still a 'little girl' beside her 'mommy'. She never went on dates because of all the publicity it would garner and never mentioned having ANY boyfriends or many friends. You truly get a sense of her innocence-how could she not be growing up to sheltered-and so shackled.

La Toya also discusses Jermaine's attitudes towards Michael's success and Jermaine's decision not the leave Motown (which was disaster for him.) She also talks about the brother who received the worst treatment from 'Joseph'--the first-born-Jackie. Toya says that Jackie would only stop bye the house if he KNOWS 'Joseph' is not there and would leave immediately if 'daddy' came back. Toya once asked Katherine why Joseph treated Jackie so terribly. Katherine replied "Joe just never liked him." Sad isn't it?

This book gives an excellent insight into the most intriguing music family around told by one of it's most intriguing members...pick it up today.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Step Into Her World, July 5, 2007

By 

J. Young (Calgary, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: La Toya: Growing Up in the Jackson Family (Hardcover)

When La Toya Jackson first released her tell-all autobiography book in 1991, it did not exactly shock the world, as her playboy venture did a couple of years earlier, but it certainly caught a lot of media attention and received much criticism from her own family.

The purpose of this book, according to La Toya, was to reveal the truth. Just how much of this "truth" is real, I'm not quite sure. But for the most part, La Toya seems to be rather genuinely sincere, aside from maybe a few possible exaggerations here and there. Nonetheless, her tone is very humble and straightforward. Many of her stories are fascinating; some of them are sad, others are funny, entertaining, but always interesting. She recounts candidly about her childhood, her relationship to her parents and her siblings, The Jackson Five phenomena, Michael Jackson's tremendous musical success, her own music career, her search of freedom and independence, and her strange "marriage" to Jack Gordon, who she openly admits to have never loved. In fact, her reasons for marrying him had nothing to do with romance at all; her reasons will most likely surprise you.

Yet some of her stories seem a bit too outrageous to be true, or so I thought. For example, La Toya recounts a time when she was held captive inside the home of a famous record producer by the name of Phil Spector. La Toya describes this frightening experience in great detail, portraying Phil Spector as a lunatic, a man with a very serious personality disorder. Spector, according to La Toya, behaved very strangely with his sporadic mood swings and attempts to scare her to death by playing mind games. He even teased La Toya with some eerie suggestions of murdering her! (You'll have to read the book to get the full details: I don't want to spoil this for anybody.) That, at first, I found a bit difficult to believe. So I did some research on this Phil Spector guy, and it turns out that several years after this incident, in 2003, he was arrested as a murder suspect! La Toya's book, by the way, was published in 1991. Therefore, La Toya was not bluffing about this legendary producer, especially since others have also made comments about his odd personality. So does this mean that La Toya's claims that her own family tried to kidnap her at one point may also be true? (This is another fascinating story that you'll find in this book... a must read.)

Overall, I thought this book is exceptionally well written. La Toya is a very open-minded person and I found her quite intriguing. I really enjoyed reading this book. Five Stars!

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars La Toya Jackson gets her kicks by playing the perpetual victim..., April 2, 2006

By 

JGC - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: La Toya: Growing Up in the Jackson Family (Hardcover)

This book lifts the lid on the Jackson family's dark (although not so shocking in the year 2006) rise to fame and fortune...

La Toya describes the abuse, and beatings that she and her siblings, including brother Michael Jackson received from their father. She also hints at sexual abuse (La Toya has said in subsequent interviews that she was an incest victim, but pulled the details from this book) at the hands of her father. She also has stated that her parents tried to kidnap her.

Now fast-forward 15 years. La Toya Jackson has recanted most of her statements in this book. She now claims that she was a domestic violence victim by her late, ex-husband.

So is this book true or false? It's up to the reader to decide. ...As far as I'm concerned I think La Toya Jackson gets her kicks by playing the perpetual victim. It is still an interesting saga, though... And I wouldn't mind reading a new autobiography by La Toya, with an updated bio.