Based on new interviews and research, this ground-breaking biography reveals how Marilyn's childhood contributed to her struggle with bi-polar disorder, and impacted her career and personal life.
Charles Casillo is the author of The Marilyn Diaries, The Fame Game, Boys, Lost & Found, and Outlaw: The Lives and Careers of John Rechy. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, New York Magazine, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and many others. His movies include "Let Me Die Quietly" and "Fetish."
"This biography from Casillo fleshes out the icon, telling Monroe's
tale in great and often harrowing detail and showing how the
notorious blond pin-up was smarter and shrewder than most realize,
yet just as tragic as we knew." --New York Post, "Most
Unforgettable Books of 2018" "A refreshing take on the complex and
talented Monroe....A+." --Tulsa Book Review "Casillo explores the
myriad facets of Monroe's personality with a respectful but
incisive eye...an intricately nuanced portrait of this
misunderstood idol...A worthy addition to the Monroe canon."
-Booklist "A well-written examination of the mystique of a woman
who still fascinates decades after her untimely death."--Publishers
Weekly "A deep dive into the model and screen legend's glamorous
but troubled life...[Casillo] pays particularly sympathetic
attention to her emotional journey...a compelling exploration of a
beguiling film icon's life." --Kirkus Reviews
"Extraordinary...Castillo's sympathetic and psychologically nuanced
Marilyn Monroe bio is compulsively readable and well researched."
--Shelf Awareness "After all I've seen and heard about Marilyn
Monroe, this book is a revelation, an earthy, empathic vision of a
real woman who happened to be an ethereal goddess. Getting to know
Charles Casillo's Marilyn made me feel a level of identification
and understanding that was devastating and thrilling." --Mary
Gaitskill "Charles Casillo has managed to further peel back the
layers on one of our most complex modern day heroines." --Stanley
Buchthal, co-editor of Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes,
Letters
On The Marilyn Diaries
"Casillo provocatively recreates intimate moments in Marilyn's
iconic life." --Bert Stern, author The Last Sitting "A
classic...The essential honesty and vulnerability of our heroine is
never lost. Just as she never lost those qualities in real life."
--Liz Smith
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