Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Out of the madness comes an inspirational woman, July 9, 2007
I bought this book wanting to learn more about the secretive lives of the Jacksons, but what I found as I read it was actually the tale of an inspirational woman who was able to rise above the madness that is the Jackson family and find her true self and her own independence.
Margaret bares no grudge against the Jacksons, and you can tell in the way the book is written, as if she almost has to laugh at the insanity of it all now looking back. And it is insanity. The Jacksons have long been known to be dysfunctional, but never have I seen such an in depth account of the chaos that is their world.
The book really makes you see how little respect the Jackson men (with the exception of Marlon and Michael) have for women, and how backwards Katherine is in her thinking. People speak of the effects Joseph Jackson's abuse has had on his children, but few point out that Katherine has possibly been just as damaging. Like LaToya's book, Hayvenhurst comes off as a prison with the inmates often subjected to physical and emotional abuse.
You see how much the family leeches off of Janet and Michael, and you can begin to understand why the Jacksons have a distinct distrust of each other, Jacksonian paranoia as Margaret calls it.
You're really rooting for Margaret in the book and you really feel for her. Through it all though, you can tell that her children are always her main concern.
I hope Jermaine has sorted out his womanizing issues and has started paying his child support (although that seems unlikely as I don't know what source of income he would have).
And I am truly, truly happy to see that Margaret has moved on her life, creating a successful agency to her name with her new husband.
All the best of luck and happiness to you Margaret, you are an amazing woman and an inspiration to any woman who has ever suffered from abuse and dead-beat dads. You prove that it is possible to stand on your own two feet with enough creativity and will power.
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17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sense out of NO sense, August 21, 2004
I will start off by saying book has the ring of truth to me, whatever the motives for writing it. Margaret Maldanado Jackson doesn't spare herself, Jermaine, or the Jackson/Maldanado families of her criticism. The fact that she addresses her past drug addiction, affair w/ a married man, remaining in an emotionally/physically/sexually abusive relationship way past it's sale by date, and struggles to move forward as a single mother (at that time at least, don't know about the present) manages to explain some of the behaviors we see from the Jacksons w/o demonizing them in the process. IOW, she seems to have tried to tell of her experiences in a fairly balanced way. The mistakes the author's made are common ones that MANY women make, no matter who the man in their life is, how much money they have, or what they look like. I THINK this was her point in writing this book. By the end, one feels as if she has learned from her experiences. However, I digress.....
Despite the terrible proofreading and typesetting of the book (hardback edition), it's an intriguing and sometimes hilarious read. You really feel as if you've entered the gates of Havenhurst and are dealing w/ flesh and blood people.....as opposed to stars and legends. She does an excellent job of portraying everyone as extremely human while at the same time showing us how different the celebrity world is from our own. While she portrays Jermaine almost as "her favorite mistake", she does so w/in the context of his upbringing and celebrity. She does not excuse his bad behavior (or hers, for that matter), but putting it w/in the context of this surreal world paints a vivid picture. IOW, the Jacksons are NOT your "average family" in ANY way! Knowing this is one thing, but this book addresses the extent and the nature of how celebrity affects everyone and everything around it.
Margaret and Jermaine's involvement came at very interesting points in their (respective) lives......she was at the beginning stages of recovery from drug addiction and he was facing the ending of his career (as he knew it) and of his marriage. While one can question HER morals for being involved w/ a married man, it's a fact that HE was the married man......who had both his wife and Margaret pregnant at the same time. The start of this relationship was all about (from her presentation) seeking new lives, both for Jermaine and herself.....and this they got, new lives.
The initial stages of going from "a nobody" to "a Jackson woman"/ mother seem to go by in a blinding flash. They literally went from "just met" to prospective parents in a matter of months...all while he was still married! She was obviously starstuck and he struck by her looks and neediness. This relationship seemed to happen in the reverse of what's normally expected.....they only get to know each other AFTER they had a child (as permanent linkage), rather than the opposite. What they got to know about each other was apparently not appealing to EITHER of them. This MAY explain alot wrt how this relationship ultimately ended up, IMHO.
Margaret's situation w/ Jermaine gives alot of insight into how this family really lives vs. how they like to portray themselves. There was apparently very little condemnation of Jermaine in this religious family for the having made 2 women pregnant (apparently he and his wife at the time, Hazel, actually show up at his parents house w/ Margaret's baby son.....Hazel about to deliver her own son any minute), little condemnation for leaving his wife for her, they allowed them to live UNmarried for several years at Havenhurst, and supported him in his lack of (financial) support of his children. This same sort of "family culture" seems to have been extended to the other brothers as well. IF this is true (have no reason to believe otherwise), it says alot about how the Jackson's REALLY operate and perhaps explains a bit of why they are facing what they presently are (tho Margaret defended MJ in the 1st allegations). One thing that's clear is she was expecting the PR Jackson family and got something ENTIRELY different. For all of author's apparent neediness, the sense of isolation unique to celebrity comes clearly thru. It's obvious that she had a difficult time adjusting (as well as some of the other wives/girlfriends), but the Jacksons haven't fully come to terms w/ it either. This overall lack of adjustment played a part in her finally leaving and taking control of her life. Unlike the Jackson's, w/ this book, she's seemed to have opted out of the celebrity machine.....Margaret took her two sons (Jeremy and Jourdynn) and left the big top....seemingly w/o many regrets.
"Jackson Family Values" was written in 1995, so what's happened in her life since isn't known to me. As for Jermaine, not too long after Margaret moved out of Havenhurst, he took up w/ his brother Randy's ex girlfriend (and mother of Randy's 2 kids) and apparently remains w/ her to the present.
This book is a good read if you could get it at the library or a cheap copy. For nothing else, the stories about Madame Bongo of Gabon and her somehow relative Leah Bongo are worth the 2nd hand price for the laugh factor alone. LOL....this part CAN'T be anything but true.....it's just too weird and hilarious!
Even if you are a diehard Jackson fan (which I am no longer...still like them OK), this book really gives some insight that has never come to light before. The author is the only Jackson "wife" to publicly speak/write in depth of her experiences and interactions w/ the man in question and his extended family. Whether or not you choose to believe everything/anything she says, her unique position makes for a very interesting read.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant book!, August 19, 2004
This was a really interesting book. I know a few things about the Jacksons and have read other books as well, by LaToya, by Michael, by Katherine and I have no reason to doubt that Margaret's book "JACKSON FAMILY VALUES" is the most honest of them all. The Jacksons are surely a family with double-standards, most of them the parents and Jermaine Jackson. Cheating on their wives seems to be an everyday-thing in the Jackson family and while many people thing this book is only bashing I think she has been really fair and honest. Plus it is very interesting to read. Margaret and her co-writer Richard Hack did an amazing job.
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