Coming of age while working in films and television in Hollywood definitely has its advantages, but the myriad of negatives can often far outweigh the positives. Melissa Sue Anderson (of the classic Little House on the Prairie and the esteemed horror flick Happy Birthday to Me) proves she was one of the lucky ones with her recent memoir The Way I See It (a humorous reference to her LHOTP’s character’s blindness).
While many show business youths have wound up in jail, drug addicted or dead, Anderson decided at an early age that she would leave the grind of the bright lights behind once she had children. This determination along with the fact that, as a girl, she truly enjoyed the acting process but not its complicated trappings has ultimately led her to this – her resourceful, occasionally humorous book.
Bluntly exposing the truth (with passing mentions of the tensions and scandals associated with the Little House set), but most often simply concentrating on specific episodes of the frontier series that made her famous and (possibly inspired by her screenplay writing husband) incorporating amusing dialogue scenes of her show biz encounters (include a meet and greet with Steven Spielberg), Anderson does provide a cautionary tale here. Having missed out on the normal privacy and activities of regular teens, she counsels that, even when relatively unscarred, the world of visible employment is no place for children.
Most excitedly, she provides joyful memories of her major big screen appearance, Happy Birthday to Me. While other celebs (Carroll Baker in her autobiography, for example) have downplayed their genre appearances in their remembrances, Anderson talks of her thrilled excitement in being cast in this slashing epic and the jovial attitude she took when making the project itself.
Ultimately, as in many of these ‘turn and burn’ deliverances, The Way I See It is slight yet vaguely profound, offering a surprisingly honest glimpse at a lovely woman that a whole generation of television viewers grew up along with.
The Way I See It and Happy Birthday to Me can be found at many bookstores and retail outlets in Indianapolis including the below Half Price Books and Barnes and Noble locations:
http://halfpricebooks.com/039.html
http://halfpricebooks.com/047.html
http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/store/2532
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