Burdened by this dark secret for 30 years, Mackenzie Phillips, 49, has decided to share it, along with other tales of her days as Hollywood's pre-eminent wild child, in this heart-wrenching story of growing up in a legendary rock-and-roll family.
The daughter of John Phillips and stepdaughter of Michelle Phillips (both lead singers in The Mamas and the Papas), Mackenzie Phillips grew up in a wild household, where a typical evening might involve rolling joints for her dad or fending off advances from Mick Jagger Far from an idyllic childhood, she describes her parents' home as 'dirty and broken' with 'very little going on inside except sex, drugs and rock and roll'.
When Mackenzie was a teenager, Hollywood and the world took notice of the charming, talented and precocious actress after her star-making turn in American Graffiti. Mackenzie went on to star as Julie Cooper in the hit TV sitcom One Day at a Time alongside Valerie Bertinelli. As a young woman she joined the nonstop party in the hedonistic pleasure dome her father created for himself and his fellow revellers, and a rapt TV audience watched as Mackenzie wasted away before their eyes.
As an adult, Mackenzie has paid dearly for a lifetime of excess, working tirelessly to reconcile a terrible past in which she succumbed to the power of addiction and the pull of her magnetic father. For the next 20 years she battled her drug addiction, going through rehab several times and managing to stay clean for 10 years until Labor Day 2008, when she landed back in the tabloids after being arrested for possession of cocaine and heroin at LAX.
As her astounding, outrageous and often tender life story unfolds, the actor-musician-mother shares her lifelong battle with personal demons and near-fatal addictions. She overcomes seemingly impossible obstacles again and again, and journeys toward redemption and peace. By exposing the shadows and secrets of the past to the light of day, the star who turned up High on Arrival has finally come back down to earth - to stay.
Industry Reviews
"I felt many things while reading this book -- which I did in one overnight sitting -- but when I reached the last page I felt only one: a tremendous respect for its author and a deep appreciation of just exactly how courageous she is to publish this book. This is no celebrity addiction memoir. And it is no 'former child star falls from grace' saga, either. It is the heart-wrenching and perilous story that thousands and thousands of perfectly ordinary women and men lived themselves, silently, numbly, and with obedience and love. By making her search for redemption public -- despite the inevitable backlash -- Mackenzie Phillips may very well help others find it for themselves. Rich with compassion, forgiveness, and wisdom, this is a brave memoir executed with an unwavering loyalty and commitment to truth." -- Augusten Burroughs
