Bright Lights, Prairie Dust: Reflections on Life, Loss, and Love from Little House's Ma

I loved Karen’s book. It’s about her life, LHOTP is just a small part of it. If you are looking for a book about her time on the show, this isn’t it. I was disappointed to learn how LHOTP ended after thinking it had been cancelled prior to being turned over to the new show. I commend her for telling her story. She is very strong and a tremendous actress. She overcame alcoholism, failed relationships and her conflict with Michael. Like so many other LHOTP fans, I had hoped they had a great relationship and felt it was unfair the way Michael treated Karen during the contract dispute. Unprofessional and perhaps childish reducing her screen time. “Ma” is a very important character and is a big reason the show is so successful to this day. Charles and Caroline will always be my favorite “TV” couple and I still respect Michael as a director and writer. I was glad when Karen mentioned she had spoken to Michael years after the show ended. A good read and well written.

Karen Grassel has my respect, she was hampered by alcoholism but with grace and determination overcame alcoholism. Her story represents hard work and determination. Her story is inspirational and reminds us to be in service to one another; we “do get by with a little help from our friends”.

First, this is NOT a book about “Little House on the Prairie.” This is Karen Grassle’s autobiography, of which Little House has been a big part. I found this to be a very raw, honest account of her life. I mean, she puts it all out there, and whether you personally approve of her choices or not, she’s not asking for approval or sympathy, and I admire her willingness to show her weaknesses as well as her strengths. This gives you a lot of background of her theater days before Little House, and that provides an understanding of how she approached her TV work.Some reviews on her accuse her of bashing Michael Landon. That’s not the whole story. She does have some critical things to say about him, but she also makes it clear that she admired his work and she really wanted to have a good working relationship with him. We all know that Landon was no saint. I think she was being honest with her viewpoint, but also fair. It’s not like she spent the whole Little House section on him.A couple of things that I found lacking were that sometimes someone’s name would appear out of nowhere and I had no idea who the person was or why that person was mentioned (sloppy writing and/or editing), and at the end, once she related how the Little House series ended, she wrapped up the book quickly and I felt like I was left hanging because she’s done theater work after that and I would’ve liked hearing about it.Overall, not the most well-written book (hence 4 instead of 5 stars), but it gives you really good insight into the real woman behind Ma’s bonnet.

If you are a fan of "Ma" and "Pa" from Little House, you will have a hard time reading this book. While others have found it "uplifting" and "full of hope", I finished the book feeling sad. Sad for a woman who rejected Christianity. Sad for a woman who tried to fill the void in her life with alcohol, drugs, sex and even acting. Sad for a woman who justifies her abortions and played victim for much of her life. Much has been made of her conflict with Michael Landon, but honestly, this is only a very small portion of the book. If you are interested in a tell-all about her experiences on Little House, you will be disappointed. No need to buy the book for that--you can read those tidbits in recent news articles. While she does write about some interesting theatre experiences, and I applaud her for getting sober, I was hoping for more about her interactions on Little House and less of her sex life. (for being on the show for 8 years, I would have expected more) Writing is a bit overworked at times, devoid of any humor and I seriously started to get confused between all her sex partners. Unless you are a die hard fan of Little House or Karen Grassle, this isn't a must read.

Karen Grassle's beautifully written story is not for the faint-hearted "prairie fans" that actually believe she IS Ma Ingalls. That just proves her extraordinary acting skills. Her life choices have taken her down a rather jagged road to her best self. I don't need to understand or judge her but just enjoy her beautiful writing. I have known alcoholics, seen their bad choices under the influence, and applaud her strength and courage to find a way out. Enjoyed her story of a woman sorting out the choices over the decades. Loved all the space she gave to her Little House experience. We all know by now that Michael Landon was a highly achieving creator of magnificent family drama that is still inspiring writers today. Every member of Little House that has written a book has mentioned their respect for his enormous responsibilities and sometimes his moodiness. Most books about Little House experience come from a child's memory or a non-leading role. Karen worked with him every day as a co-star. The two of them were both very complicated and strong-minded people so I already imagined prior to reading this book that fireworks might have been there. All in all, a very fine book.

Karen Grassle’s book is an engrossing, well written tome told with honesty, courage and poignancy. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about her early years growing up in a loving, but, troubled family. Unlike other reviewers I was fascinated by her tales of working in the theatre and how this training was instrumental in shaping her work that followed. Her wit and sense of humor is subtle, but, it is seen throughout the entire book. Her struggles with Michael Landon are tempered and balanced out by the many good things she has to say about him. The most, and harshest, criticisms in the book are aimed at herself and the long uphill battle to sobriety and ultimate happiness is inspiring.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. As a loyal LHOTP fan, I know that, despite the tone and status of the show, everything didn’t go well on the set. Others who were there already wrote about it. It is moving and always interesting to read Karen’s story, the ups and downs she experienced, on and off the set, before and after the filming. Writing with sincerity, Karen doesn’t give herself the good part. It’s her side of the story, but she honestly tells about her life, her values, her mistakes and her achievements.It is captivating to read Karen’s account of her childhood and her years as a student and then as a young actress pursuing her dreams, all this through the turbulent 60s and mid 70s, in California, New-York City and London. Reading about the successes, failures and hardships she faced, and how she dealt with them, is quite engrossing, and also intriguing, because clearly Karen and “Caroline” couldn’t be more different ! Yes, Mike Landon is losing a few feathers along the pages, but we already know he was not the saint many fans still believe he was. But Karen’s honesty about her own flaws, demonstrates brilliantly that nothing is either black or white, and she’s able to highlight the good as well as the bad in all those people (celebrities or unknown) who crossed her path.Yes, Mike Landon was not always a good guy. Yes, Karen Grassle was definitely not “Ma”. They were human beings and that doesn’t change at all my fondness for the show.It is also quite interesting to read about the fights Karen lead for women’s rights over the years, and her strong beliefs that were a constant in her life.When you finish the book, you just wish you could meet Karen in a cosy cafe or restaurant and continue the conversation.

Well written a good read

For someone who has grown up with LHOTP all her life, this book was not what I had expected. You have an image of an actress and Im sure we all agree that as Karen played "Ma" and that's the image we all have. The wholesome image. This book takes that image and puts an arrow in it. But in a good way.This book is honest. This book tells Karens version of events (after all Mr Landon is not here to give his). It's unvarnished. It's real and that It gives every aspect of Karens life to us, the reader. Whether the episode is good, bad or ugly, it is there for us to examine in our own way.From my point of view, I love to hear how our writers grew up. Its their upbringing and parental influences that make them who they are and Im sure that some of Karens fathers alcoholism was clearly an influence in her life.I applaud Karen for her brutal honesty and it is just that, brutal honesty. If you picked this book up looking for saccharine sweet "Ma" from LHOTP, put it back because this isn't it. This is the story of a life lived, mistakes made, people met, arguments had, family and career. But at the end of all of it, Karen should be incredibly proud. It takes guts to be so open and raw in a book and put yourself out for judgement by others.Thank you for that honesty. Thank you for your work and most of all thank you for seeing me through my childhood

Very good book and very glad that I purchased it highly recommend it

Not what i expected. I wanted events from behind the scenes not orgasms while dreaming. Only a few pages about LHOTP and mostly to put Landon down. Granted that he must not have been like pa but was it necessary? Couldn’t she have focused on the fun parts with the cast or share things that occured while filming? I give it 2 stars for the work she does in helping others. I won’t be buying anymore books from LHOTP stars.