April 1, 2020
A Hollywood actress reflects on the life and death of her mother, Natalie Wood (1938-1981). Wagner was 11 years old when her mother, with whom she felt inextricably "entwined," drowned. In this eloquent debut memoir, the author examines Wood's life and the relationship they had while offering her perspective on the mysterious circumstances surrounding her mother's untimely demise. Born Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko in San Francisco, Wood was the daughter of Russian immigrants. At age 4, she caught the attention of a Hollywood director. Five years later, Wood had not only played opposite such legends as Orson Welles; she had also earned enough celebrity status to negotiate movie contracts that included jobs for the star-struck parents who would control their daughter throughout adolescence and young adulthood. In 1957, Wood married Robert Wagner, her "childhood movie crush," in part to escape a lonely and restrictive family life. The two divorced and then reunited in the early 1970s, after Wood ended her marriage to the author's birth father, producer Richard Gregson. For most of the author's childhood, life with Wood and "Daddy Wagner" was idyllic. But as the author remembers her beautiful mother presiding over dazzling celebrity parties, she also remembers the terror she felt being apart from Wood, which haunted her long after her mother's death. When the author's parents returned to full-time acting, the pressures mounted. Wood developed a dependence on alcohol, high levels of which were found in her blood after she died. The author denies years of tabloid speculation that Robert Wagner murdered her mother, suggesting instead that the reports, which came from Wood's envious younger sister and a family employee, were motivated by greed. Fascinating as these details are, it is Wagner's sensitive, probing depiction of how she coped without Wood that makes for the most compelling reading in a book that celebrates both a brilliant actress and a bygone film era. An intimate and heartfelt memoir.
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April 13, 2020
In this heart-wrenching debut, actor and author Wagner (Natalie Wood: Reflections of a Legendary Life) pays loving tribute to her late mother, Hollywood legend Natalie Wood. Wagner was 11 years old and on a sleepover at her best friend’s when she heard on the radio that the drowned body of her mother had been found near Catalina Island, Calif., on Nov. 29, 1981. But rather than casting her mother as a tragic character, Wagner sets aside the controversy surrounding Wood’s death (friends and family believed that husband Robert Wagner was responsible for her death) to show a fiercely loving mother who wanted Natasha and her younger sister, Courtney, to enjoy the simple pleasures of childhood rather than follow in her footsteps as a child star. Wagner pulls no punches as she describes the repercussions of her mother’s death—her sister Courtney’s attempts to self-medicate with drugs; and Natalie’s estranged younger sister, Lana, who continues to believe that Wagner had something to with Natalie’s death, are explored. Endearing details will humanize for readers this beloved Hollywood star, such as the petite Wood’s love of lamb chops and beef bourguignon (but “right before a project she’d do a grapefruit fast”). Wagner’s beautifully written and unashamedly emotional memoir is a love letter to Natalie Wood and an enduring gift to her fans.
April 10, 2020
Actress Natalie Wood drowned 39 years ago off of California's Catalina Island while on a boating trip with her husband, Robert Wagner, and actor Christopher Walken. Her death was ruled an accident, but there have been rumors about foul play over the years. In 2011, the investigation into her death was reopened and Wagner was named a person of interest. However, the mystery has never been solved. If readers are hoping this book will clear that up, they will be disappointed. Though Gregson Wagner, who was Wood's daughter from a previous marriage and who has an HBO special about Wood coming out this year, touches on the speculation about her stepfather, she wants readers to know that he could not possibly have been involved. She considers him a second dad and writes glowingly of him. In fact, the entire book is a puff piece, extolling the virtues of Wood as a mother and debunking any ideas that Wood was a doomed actress. Gregson Wagner, who was only 11 when Wood died, shares her devastation at losing her mother and wonders what might have happened had she lived. VERDICT Nothing new here about Wood. Not an essential purchase.--Rosellen Brewer, Sno-Isle Libs., Marysville, WA
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Starred review from April 15, 2020
Natasha Wagner was 11 when her mother, Natalie Wood, drowned in a boating accident. As a child, Natasha was obsessed with her famous mother, begging her to call frequently when they were apart and even worrying about her when they were home. Her mother's death ripped a hole in her life and left her with relationship anxiety. Natasha's memories are vivid and heartbreaking, carefully pieced together from conversations, photographs, Natalie's writings, news stories, and her family's recollections. Wagner speaks freely about her battle with anxiety, her work in therapy, and her failed marriage. Like her famous parents, she was determined to be an actor, but her journey was rockier and more difficult than her mother's rise from child star to Hollywood icon. This memoir, like Wagner's life, is filled with the film elite, and her insider's view is fascinating. What makes this work memorable, however, is her willingness to share her psychological struggles so candidly. While rumors still circulate about Natalie Wood's death, her daughter remains convinced of Robert Wagner's innocence. She admits that her parents had conflicts but believes in their overpowering love. And it's this love that comes through in this personal account that fans of old Hollywood will savor.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)