Customer Reviews (6)

Shame on Mickey Deans
When Judy died Mr. Deans either would not or could not pay for her funeral and burial. Poor Judy laid in a temporary grave that funeral homes have for almost a year unknown to family & friends before daughter Liza had her mother properly married. What a lame excuse for a man. A shame, Judy could have done much better.

Romanticized Portait of the Last Days of a Great Star
In ME & MY SHADOWS, Lorna Luft recalled that sister Liza Minnelli apologized for her inability to attend Garland's wedding to Mickey Deans by telling Garland that she would come the next time.Garland's family, friends, and associates had seen them come and go, and they knew all too well that Deans was just one more flash in the pan in Garland's increasingly erratic life--and not a particularly attractive one at that.But there would be no "next time."Not long after their marriage, Garland died of an accidental drug overdose, leaving Mickey Deans as the widower of note.

Published in 1972, WEEP NO MORE MY LADY was the second book about Garland to follow her 1969 death, and in it Mickey Deans and co-author Ann Pinchot offer a general biography of Garland along with a portrait of the brief marriage.The Garland children are on record as saying the book is extremely self-serving, painting a "happily-ever-after" vision of a small-time promoter who hitched his wagon to a fading but still powerful star--and it does seem likely that Deans, who vanished from the public eye as quickly as he appeared, ground out this book as a quick cash-in on Garland's then-recent death.But all the same, it is not entirely fair to completely trash the book itself.

As general biography, WEEP NO MORE MY LADY offered nothing new even in 1972, and in light of several later, much more deeply researched works is at best extremely niave.It is also true that Deans puts an extremely sentimental gloss on his marriage to Garland--a gloss so thick that it becomes as sticky as half-melted all-day sucker.It is extremely important to read between the lines here--and to read in knowledge of later, more factual and well-substantiated accounts.But unlike the similar OVER THE RAINBOW WITH JUDY GARLAND ON THE DAWN PATROL by Mel Torme, there is nothing mean-spirited about the book, and although Deans and Pinchot obviously romanticize and glamourize to the nth degree they do occasionally offer interesting sidelights into the last days of a truly great talent.Final thoughts: worth reading, but read Christopher Finch's RAINBOW and Gerald Frank's JUDY first.

What do we want to know about Judy?
If this book only deserved one star, then the other book that was written by Lorna Luft worth nothing.

To me, "Me and My Shadow" is nothing but a book that complaint about all the bad things happened in her family by Lorna Luft. She was just trying to condemn everybody in her life and yelled to the whole world that "I am the only victim."

We all know about the sad experience in Judy's life. But I want to know that Judy had some happy time, too, especially in the last few years before she left the world.

This book narrates in detail what happened to Judy in her very last few years. After finished reading this book, I left with a good feeling because I know that Judy finally found some happiness before she was gone.

The memories of Judys' husband
I don't see what makes people so outraged about this book. I never saw itas reading a biography of Judy. I saw it as a book written by a man who wasJudy Garland's friend for over two years, and husband a few months, and hisexperiences being both. I was charmed when he talked about his surprisehoneymoon in Paris for Judy and their starting a home in London, happy andfull of bliss for the future. The way he told their story, what charmingcompany Judy was, and how funny she was and so witty... I really felt thatthey were truly in love and loved each other. They had their little spats,and quick reconciliations. I must admit, though, that Deans' biographicallook at Judy is somewhat depressing and a bit too shady for some tastes.But still, when he talks about his last few months with Judy as herhusband, it brings a smile to my face... because, now I know, that in herlast few days, Judy Garland was indeed- terribly happy.

Weep no more, is a sell out
I have read Me and My shadows by the lovely and very talented Lorna Luft. Her book is about a loving mother who tried hard to stop her addiction for her family. Mr. Dean's book is about a has-been movie star who wasoverbearing and who wanted to feed her addiction. This book is a horribletribute to the legend of Miss Judy Garland. I was outraged at this book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A loving and affectionate look at Judy the performer and Judy the friend.
I wish this book was more well known than what it is. It is a loving and affectionate look at Judy through the eyes of one of her closest friends Lorna Smith.

Smith portrays Garland as a kind hearted, caring soul who happened to have a mixed up life sometimes and yet through all of it never lost her humour, her strength and most of all her loving nature.

For all those people who still think Judy was a tragic figure and also a nasty creature, than read this book and tell me if you can't reach the end of the book without loving the wonderful person.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

An Honest Book About Judy
I adore Judy Garland. (I also appreciate Mel Torme's singing.)
She is one of the greatest entertainers of the 20th Century.
That said, this book is a journal of what a nightmare it can be like dealing with what the French correctly call a "sacred monster".
Torme doesn't tarnish Judy's legacy.Here he harshly but honestly illuminates a dark corner of her life.
She wasn't perfect.By this time of her life, she was somewhat impossible to work with:like an injured creature, wounding those around her.
This isn't an easy read for many Garland fans, I know.But it is a valuable contribution to understanding her.

Not that bad!
This book moves along pretty well, and reads pretty well.

I believe that Mel was being honest, as he saw things. He gave Judy her due many times. He talks about how he got goosebumps the first time she sang in rehearsal. He freely attributed the "Get Happy / Happy Days are Here Again" duet idea to Judy Garland. He talked about Judy's idea for an American tribute show after Kennedy was killed, and how it was quashed by the network brass.

He also talked about Judy's darker side, and how that affected the show.

He also talked about the problems the show had with the network / format changes, etc.

He seemed to be pretty self-aware, and talked about his problems along with the rest.

I think he was still bitter over the outcome, who wouldn't be? I think this book was his way of getting closure on an intense experience which had good and bad parts.

Mel Who?
What an a##!!....and a bitter one at that. What kind of man writes about someone who is, to many, still the worlds greatest entertainer, so shortly after her tragic death...or for that matter....after her death period....I would hazard a guess he was the worlds greatest coward. Demons, Ms. Garland most certainly had, though...she proved relentlessly that when it came to her public...her fans...her art....she could and would rise above them...as she so stunningly proved to the world with her CBS show in 1963-64 (Save your money and purchase the DVD collection of her CBS sitcom)......It wasn't, as...umm...what's his name again?....her fault the show ended...but rather a constant and intolerable assault by the powers of CBS...and even, perhaps..what's his name...though I rather doubt he had any type of power to do such a thing.
Years from even now, 2006....people will remember the great Judy Garland....and still wont know what's his name or what he even did.....I hope Ms. Garland has finally found the peace she never did in her lifetime.....what a tragic waste......and she is still missed...even so many, many years after her death.
Save your money...this book is only good for starting a fire in the fireplace.

As a writer, Mel Torme is a good singer!
First published shortly after the death of Judy Garland in 1969, this book attempts to show the true personality of the legendary performer. Written in a manner that points all criticism for the failure of Garland's CBS Television series to her, and away from him and others behind the scenes, Torme instead shows how much bitterness he still had 5 years after the demise of the show. Inaccuracies abound throughout the book and, after reading it, you feel Garland was a shameless has-been. Nothing could be further from the truth. As testament one only needs to view the recently released DVDs of the complete television series which show Garland as a powerful entertainer who elevated show after show to something quite entertaining even today. For a better view of Garland and the TV-series, read "Rainbows End" by Coyne steven Sanders - a book that puts you center stage for all of the shows, and behind the scenes for all of the intrigue that helped doom the show. 'The Other Side of the Rainbow' is a poor choice of reading material to learn about the magic that is (still) Judy Garland. ... Read more

Product Description
In her extraordinary debut novel, critically acclaimed poet Nicole Cooley takes readers on a humorous, achingly beautiful journey to a world of magical escapes and startling restorative truths. Judy Garland, Ginger Love is about motherhood and sisterhood, being and becoming, loving and learning to let go.

I know about sisters. Being a sister is the role in life I've always been best at, the one part I could play well. When I tried to become a mother, I failed.

After a tragic pregnancy leaves Alice Carson bereft and unmoored, she turns for comfort not to her husband, but rather to her estranged identical twin Madeline. However, this attempted return to the past is fraught with emotional landmines. While Alice, calm and serious, is the older sister, born five minutes earlier, the explosive and wild Madeline has dominated the pair's solitary lives since childhood.

From birth, Alice and Madeline shared a private, imaginary worldone colored by the larger-than-life tale of the dazzling and tragic MGM star Judy Garland. Handed down from their grandmother to their mother and now to them, the dramatic story of the actress' rise to stardom inspires Alice and Madeline to create their own Emerald City. Playing out their deepest fantasies in the empty swimming pool of the cheap New Orleans motel they called home, the young Alice and Madeline transform themselves into Judy Garland and her "baby sister" Ginger Love.

The twins' enchanted world is shattered the day their mother abandons them, vanishing with little more than a brief goodbye. Now, years later, Alice gives herself up to her sister's outrageous scheme to find Lily. Having lost her unborn daughter, Alice desperately hopes to get her mother back.

As the open road draws the sisters closer to their past, two women come face to face with life's painful realities; for the nearer they come to recapturing Emerald City, the more Madeline unravels, and the more Alice begins to see where her home is, and where her heart truly belongs.

Judy Garland, Ginger Love resonates with profound insights that will leave no reader untouched.

"A touching return to love."
Barbara Esstman, author of Night Ride Home ... Read more

Customer Reviews (20)

Amazing and wonderful
I found this book to be so very great that i read the entire book in a Saturday afternoon. I am shocked by the negative reviews, and feel the people who wrote them lack a bit of imagination. This is a wonderful story of 3 generations of woman ( 2 of twins ) and dealing with a life less then perfect or planned.I truly loved it.

An exhausting emotional journey...
Twins Alice and Madeline grew up in a run-down motel, where their young single mother Lily worked as a maid and encouraged their fantasies about stardom. Along with the tales of Judy Garland, Lily also gave her daughters tips on bulimia, which she'd learned from the grandmother who raised her.

Growing up, the twins used the motel's old swimming pool, long ago drained of water, as their personal "Emerald City" -- the place where they imagined they were Judy Garland and Ginger Love, the younger sister they'd dreamt up for her. When the world around them was less than promising, Alice and Madeline knew they could always turn to Emerald City for comfort.

By the time the girls are in high school, Alice has left Emerald City behind as part of her childhood. Madeline, however, has not. In fact, she seems even more childlike than ever, and drops out of high school to engage in dress-up and remain with her Judy Garland paper dolls all day. Alice feels helpless, especially when Lily doesn't seem to care.

A few months before their 18th birthday, Lily moves her daughters to a condemned house in Florida. Her grim parenting duty done, she leaves the two a little money, and disappears.

Despite the hopelessness of the situation, Alice digs in, and rises above it all. She pursues her lifelong interest in art, furthers her education, and marries a loving, supportive man. The one dimmed spot in her happiness is Madeline, from whom she has become estranged after Madeline's stay in a mental hospital.

After Alice tragically loses her much-awaited baby, she receives an invitation from Madeline. Her twin is convinced they can find Lily, and when they do, the three of them will be a family again -- the only family she believes any of them can ever have. Despite her husband's reservations, Alice sets off for Florida, where she attempts to rebuild her relationship with Madeline. Unlike her sister, she isn't too sure they can find Lily -- or that they'd even want to -- but after what's happened with her own daughter, Alice is full of all sorts of questions and jumbled feelings about the relationships between parents and children, which she needs to resolve before she can even think about trying to move on with her life.

As many other reviewers said, this is indeed a rather odd, and exhausting, novel. It's almost as though the reader is forced to live through Madeline's complicated presence along with Alice, which may well be the effect that Cooley intended. Still, it's definitely an interesting read, which will leave you unable to abandon it until you get the answers that Alice and Madeline are seeking themselves.

Poetry
I know very little about twins and even less about Judy Garland, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book.Thematically, the book examines the darker sides of love, intertwining the lives of the main characters and the life of Judy Garland.The coupling is beautifully surreal and the end result is a novel that often reads like poetry.

Judy Garland, Ginger Love
I think that the author is one of those "Oh, I know everything about Judy Garland" type of people. This woman knows no more than my five-year-oldnephew does. I can rightly say this because I have read many articles and interviews with her children, Lorna and Liza, and I have had the pleasure of reading Lorna's book. Fifty percent of the information in "Judy Garland, Ginger Love" was incorrect and a slander to someone not around to defend herself. People should not read incorrect information not only because it would mislead them, but because it shows the author's ignorance.

So you want an HONEST opinion?
I honestly

would not

waste my time!

With this book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Another bouquet for Ms. Garland
Such a lovely and love-filled tribute to Ms. Garland. As with most of the books and retrospectives that have been in abundance as we realize what an absolute phenomenon she was, the only tragedy is ours, in that she is goneand cannot enjoy these accolades with and from us. A book filled withwonderful pictures and anecdotes, as well as facts, regarding her careerand life. One is amazed that so many years have gone by and still, we cheerfor her. We didn't know what we had while we had it, folks. Fortunately forus, there are books, CDs and videotapes to show us. Now, if only theAcademy of Arts and Sciences would give her the honor she deserves forhaving been the greatest of entertainers and a moneymaker at the boxoffice, leaving behind classics on film: "Oz", "Meet Me InSt. Louis", and of course, "A Star Is Born". How many fromHollywood can claim even one unforgettable performance? How many will evenbe remembered, as Judy Garland is, so many years after they have died?? ... Read more