Prairie Tale by Melissa Gilbert

Shedding the Image of Half Pint

A Book Review
Jan Faris

For many, we still see Melissa Gilbert as a child growing up on the prairie. The mention of her name takes us back to the days of Little House on the Prairie and seeing her (in our eyes and heart) as Laura Ingalls.  We have a strong connection which makes us want to protect her from the world. Prairie Tale will dispel all that and more.

Gilbert’s touching memoir takes us through the carefully planned publicity campaign controlled by her step father, Harold Abeles, that was created to show an image of life filled with sunshine and roses. It was all an illusion.

There has been much speculation about Gilbert by both friends and family, but this version is all Melissa….a candid, honest, funny, happy and at times the sad event filled life of our “half pint.”

At a mere 360 pages, this book is a fast read which takes on a life of its own. You won’t want to put it down.

Prairie Trail is available at Amazon in soft cover and Kindle edition.

Gilbert is Candid

Gilbert and her brother, Jonathan, both adopted, grew up in a house full of talent. Both her parents, Paul and Barbara (Crane) Gilbert were veterans in show business.

Her parents divorced and her mother married Abeles, a prominent attorney. They had a biological daughter together, Sara Rebecca Abeles, better known to us as Sara Gilbert. By the time Sara was born, Gilbert had already begun her long run on Little House and her career was being carefully orchestrated by her step father.

This is where the crafted illusions began in Gilbert’s life, which Gilbert shares and then shatters them in the  Prairie Trail.

Sets of Twos

Gilbert’s story weaves around her life long TV and movie career (still on going), stage plays, relationships within the industry (there isn’t too many people she hasn’t worked with or for), her two failed marriages, the births of her two sons, two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild,  her alcohol and drug abuse, death of her father Paul Gilbert at the age of 56, and the tender reunion of her broken relationship with Michael Landon a week before his death.

Gilbert is honest and candid about her life, she doesn’t seem to hold anything back. Her mother was totally against her writing Prairie Tale  as she knew it would destroy the image her late husband, Abeles. Gilbert shares the relationship with her mother was at best, complicated.

Only One Disappointment

Loved every minute of the time spent reading about a life that was so different from the one we were allowed to see. Gilbert gives us a true inside look at her life as it really was. She tells wonderfully funny stories about co-stars she has worked with through the years and speaks fondly of those she loved working with. If I had to find fault with anything, Gilbert is very careful not to trash talk those who are still alive. Therefore, the mystery surrounding her true relationship with Melissa Sue Anderson still remains a secret…for now. Darn.

Gilbert gained three solid friendships from her years in the industry; Alison Arngrim (author of Confessions of a Prairie Bitch and Nellie Oleson in Little House), Leslie Landon (yes, related to Michael), and Patty Duke.

Duke wrote in the foreword of Prairie Trail that in Gilbert’s words, Gilbert considers Duke a “teacher and friend…”  Yet her forward leaves one with the impression Duke feels the same of Gilbert.

Both Duke and Gilbert share a common bond; a dark side of their lives not seen by the general public. Gilbert shed’s her “half pint” image through revealing a lifetime of trials and tribulations, yet during all this gave us a film legacy which still withstands the test of time.

Lessons Learned from Prairie Tale             

• Never judge a book by its cover (or someone else’s life), life isn’t always sunshine and roses
• Always tell the truth in any situation, it clears up the confusion
• Mend broken relationships before it’s too late, they should be preserved. 

   

  [ Click Here to Read Jan Faris’ Review of Confessions of a Prairie Bitch by Alison Arngrim]

  

  Five Stars Out of Five

Tagged Alison Arngrin, book review by Jan Faris, books, Confessions of a Prairie Bitch, Little House on the Prairie, Melissa Gilbert, Melissa Sue Anderson, Patty Duke, Prairie Tale, reviews