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Rating: 
Summary: good but...
Review: I finished this book a couple of days ago. I enjoyed it. The portions of the book where she tries to raise public awareness of the conditions in asylums have not aged gracefully, they're simply preaching thats irrelevant to my life. Also, near the end of the book she's really gushy about her "turnaround", and she pushes her point way too much.Besides those two minor complaints, it was the best autobiography I've ever read.
Rating: 
Summary: Great for Frances Farmer fans.
Review: I found the book fascinating, as a great Frances Farmer fan. It's too bad, however, that there was not more about her later life- from 1950-1970. According to William Arnold, the author of "Shadowland", there are a lot of inaccuracies in the book; nevertheless, it is very interesting. I have four Frances Farmer videos- Come and Get It, Toast of New York, Son of Fury, and Rhythm on the Range, plus a tape of her This Is Your Life Program. I have also seen South of Pago Pago, but have not been able to find a video to buy. Does anyone know where I might get tapes of her other movies such as Exclusive and Ebb Tide?
Rating: 
Summary: Five BIG Stars!!!
Review: If you're looking for a book that will keep you interested from cover to cover, never able to put it down, this is the book for you! This is the autobiography of movie star, Frances Farmer, and her demise. It tells of her nightmarish mother (I found myself wanting to hurt her mother more than Frances herself wanted to), her tirades and outlandish temper, her many terrible years in a pit hole of mental institution where she was mistreated and abused and treated like an animal (literally), her struggle with drug and alcohol abuse and her experience with cancer. Whew! All in one book! There were times when I had to divert my eyes (which made it difficult to read) or set it down because I was ready to slap her mother around and my blood pressure was rising. The most incredible thing about this story is, I believe, that Frances was fair. By that I mean that she told the story as it was and didn't make herself out to be completely blameless or less "violent" than she was. She told about her outbursts and her stupid behavior made from no-thought decisions. She never said, "Poor me," without adding something more justifiable to the pot. The reading is incredibly easy. Her style (and that of the one who helped her write it) is very smooth and it seems as though everything she has to say is written in an interest-grabbing way.
So, if you want a good, heart-felt, blood stirring read, I HIGHLY recommend this book. It truly is one of the best I've been lucky enough to find. :o)
Rating:
Summary: Engrossing memoir of a tortured, complicated woman
Review: This book is not only my favorite autobiography, but it's also one of my favorite books of any genre. Francis Farmer, the infamous movie star who ended up institutionalized, was a tortured woman. This autobiography, which she wrote shortly before her death, is an extremely well-written, brutally honest, and mostly unflattering self-portrait. She tells of her relationship with her controlling and insane mother (who committed her), her unintentional rise to fame in Hollywood (she wanted to be a theater actress, and found Hollywood mostly empty), her emotional breakdowns, run-ins with the law, drinking problems, loveless marriages, and her time spent in a horrific state mental institution. Despite it all, Francis Farmer doesn't seem to feel a lot of self-pity, and she admirably takes responsibility for much of what happened to her. What really makes the book touching is Francis' description of what ultimately saved her: her friendship with Jean Radcliffe (who published the book after Francis died). Toward the end of her life Francis was able to find a lot of love and happiness, mostly due to the unconditional support she received from Jean and her family. This makes the book not only a juicy tale of a fallen Hollywood star and a disturbing memoir of a mental hospital, but an ultimately inspiring story about the healing power of love and friendship.
Rating:
Summary: Autobiography ignites interest in actress
Review: This book was sold initially as an autobiography by Frances Farmer. Later paperback versions titled it an autobiography "of Frances Farmer" or left out the credit altogether. Book was written by Jeanira Ratcliffe,late author who figured prominently in Farmer's later life in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is this part of the actress' life that is dealt with most definitively in the book. It is here you can find details of the life of Frances Farmer in her last years. I enjoyed the book very much upon publication and return to it often as a story of the strength of the human spirit. The Emily Dickinson poem chosen for the title is especially appropriate and poignant. Although somewhat inaccurate, the book's publication in 1972 ingnited great interest Farmer. This book is a great place to start. Other books of interest include Shadowland by William Arnold and Look Back In Love by Farmer's sister Edith Farmer Elliot (published privately). A great read...but not the whole story.
Rating:
Summary: Civil Rights for the Mentally Ill
Review: This is a very important work as it documents the abuses of the mental health industry in America during the time Frances Farmer stayed in a psyciatric institution in the 1940's. It is frightening as Frances tells us that anybody can declare someone is insane, and this person could be brought before an unsympathetic judge and sent to an insane asylum, and once you are declared mentally incompetent, all your civil rights are stripped from you, and you have no say so in the matter. Reading Frances's book, you see that perhaps she wasnt really insane but tired from overwork & in need of rest. By reading this book you will also be shocked of the methods of controlling the mentally ill at that time; endless shock treatments, hydrotherapy, insulin therapy - and you sometimes wonder who the insane people are, Frances or the people who are caring for her. A book like this is important because it chronicles how such a thing could have happened to a person, especially a person like Frances who was gifted & intelligent & had everything going for her. Thankfully, treatment of the mentally ill has much improved since then, but I still hear people say that the mentally ill homeless should be locked up. After reading this book you would have second thoughts about saying such a thing.
Rating:
Summary: Great, but I think the author was an idiot
Review: Warning: You will not be able to stop reading once you start this book. Don't start it unless you have some time to burn.
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