An Only Child and Her Sister
ISBN13: 978-1532910494
A True Hollywood Memoir of Two Little Girls Lost and One Found
Overview
Two sisters born to the same parents but treated so differently; one ended up pregnant and married at thirteen. The other didn’t fare so well.
Casey and her little sister, Christine, started off with what looked like a good beginning. But looks can be deceiving. Their mother, Eve Whitney, a stunning Hollywood beauty, didn’t much care for children. Unfortunately, she had two of them. Their father, Eddie Maxwell, was a successful songwriter and comedy writer; he was a brilliant, handsome, hugely charismatic man, but he had a secret drug habit that sent him careening between warm and loving parent one day, to hair-trigger monster the next.
If Casey got only sporadic moments of love and caring, Christine got nothing. Neither Eddie nor Eve ever had a kind thought for their youngest child. And so the sisters were forced to find their own paths through this dreadful excuse of a childhood, each making choices that pulled them farther and farther apart when the one thing they needed was each other.
Casey’s incredible journey sent her see-sawing between glamorous parties at the homes of Hollywood’s elite, and nights spent sleeping in a carport in the rain. Somehow Casey managed to find the humor in it all, and to turn the little bit of love she received into a very successful life, becoming a network executive and ultimately a successful television writer. And best of all, finding true love and happiness with the man of her dreams.
Told without an ounce of self-pity or bitterness, this tale of a truly bizarre Hollywood life is both unique as well as universal. The scenes of pain and incredible neglect live side by side with amazing moments of humor, magic, and triumph.
Praise
“I could not stop reading… Ms. Clair tells this heartrending story with such perception and unforced humor, such a welcome lack of bitterness or self pity... a tribute to the writer as a person, and the person as a writer... You can win.”
—Elayne Boosler, Comedian/Writer
“...So powerful, riveting and so shocking... I kept waiting for the blood bath ending... instead I got warmth, love and family... a testimony to the resilience of the human spirit and the strength of Clair's soul.”
—Don Murphy, Film Producer, NATURAL BORN KILLERS, APT PUPIL, FROM HELL, TRANSFORMERS, REAL STEEL, GEMINI MAN
“Casey Clair has written a book about living through the kind of childhood that people turn into movies. She grabs you on the first page and pulls you in...”
—Merrill Markoe, Comedian/Writer
“A funny, heartbreaking story of a young girl who took the few rays of light that found their way into her childhood and turned them into a hugely successful life."
—Matt Miller, Author/Columnist