Book Review: Maureen McCormick's Here's The Story

By Heather O'Roark

I LOVED The Brady Bunch when I was a kid. Keep in mind I was born in 1983, so it wasn’t exactly new when I was watching it, yet I still watched The Brady Bunch marathons every Saturday and Sunday for years. I’ve probably seen each episode at least three times. And my favorite Brady was always Marcia. Even though the clothes she wore and the music she liked were out of style by the time I was old enough to idolize her, I still wanted to be just like her – just as I’m sure many young girls did when she first graced their TV sets in the seventies.

So it goes without saying that when I saw Maureen McCormick’s memoir at the library, I knew I had to read it. I wasn’t expecting much, to be honest – I had heard a lot about McCormick throughout the years related to her drug problems, her stint on Celebrity Fit Club a few years back, and mostly about the fact that she had an incredibly tough time finding work after The Brady Bunch was done. And although Here’s the Story wasn’t an amazing or insightful read, as celebrity memoirs go, it wasn’t bad at all. It was interesting to read about the dynamics between the Brady actors throughout the years they were filming the show – there were some interesting stories that I never would have been able to predict. And I was glad to find out that Florence Henderson is every bit as wonderful in real life as I’d always assumed she would be. And the hookups, my goodness – these six teens were NOT like brothers and sisters in real life, if you catch my drift.

Overall, I’d recommend this read for fans of The Brady Bunch. Maureen McCormick definitely had a tough life, and although the book was a little whiny at times (especially when talking about her family), it was very interesting to read about her life after the show. It is also a pretty inspiring story, to be honest – she recovered from a MAJOR drug problem, has a wonderful husband and daughter, and is actually doing very well even without considering all the stuff she’s been through over the years.

Here's The Story: Surviving Marcia Brady and Finding My True Voice (William Morrow/ Oct 2008) by Maureen McCormick

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