Bright Lights Prairie Dust

Karen Grassle, the beloved actress who played Ma on Little House on the Prairie, grew up at the edge of the Pacific Ocean in a family where love was plentiful but alcohol wreaked havoc. In this candid memoir, Grassle reveals her journey to succeed as an actress even as she struggles to overcome depression, combat her own dependence on alcohol, and find true love. With humor and hard-won wisdom, Grassle takes readers on an inspiring journey through the political turmoil on ’60s campuses, on to studies with some of the most celebrated artists at the famed London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, and ultimately behind the curtains of Broadway stages and storied Hollywood sets. In these pages, readers meet actors and directors who have captivated us on screen and stage as they fall in love, betray and befriend, and don costumes only to reveal themselves. We know Karen Grassle best as the proud prairie woman Caroline Ingalls, with her quiet strength and devotion to family, but this memoir introduces readers to the complex, funny, rebellious, and soulful woman who, in addition to being the force behind those many strong women she played, fought passionately—as a writer, producer, and activist—on behalf of equal rights for women. Raw, emotional, and tender, Bright Lights celebrates and honors womanhood, in all its complexity.

When other girls her age were experiencing their first crushes, Melissa Sue Anderson was receiving handwritten marriage proposals from fans as young, and younger, than she was. When other girls were dreaming of their first kiss, Melissa was struggling through hers in front of a camera. From age eleven in 1974 until she left the show in 1981, Melissa Anderson literally grew up before the viewers of Little House on the Prairie. Melissa, as Mary, is remembered by many as “the blind sister”—and she was the only actor in the series to be nominated for an Emmy. In The Way I See It, she takes readers onto the set and inside the world of the iconic series created by Michael Landon, who, Melissa discovered, was not perfect, as much as he tried to be. In this memoir she also shares her memories of working with guest stars like Todd Bridges, Mariette Hartley, Sean Penn, Patricia Neal, and Johnny Cash. In addition to stories of life on the set, Melissa offers revealing looks at her relationships off-set with her costars, including the other Melissa (Melissa Gilbert) and Alison Arngrim, who portrayed Nellie Oleson on the show. And she relates stories of her guest appearances on iconic programs such as The Love Boat and The Brady Bunch. Filled with personal, revealing anecdotes and memorabilia from the Little House years, this book is also a portrait of a child star who became a successful adult actress and a successful adult. These are stories from “the other Ingalls sister” that have never been told.

Confessions of a Prairie Bitch is Alison Arngrim’s comic memoir of growing up as one of television’s most memorable characters—the devious Nellie Oleson on the hit television show Little House on the Prairie. With behind-the-scenes stories from the set, as well as tales from her bohemian upbringing in West Hollywood and her headline-making advocacy work on behalf of HIV awareness and abused children, Confessions of a Prairie Bitch is a must for fans of everything Little House: the classic television series and its many stars like Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert; Gilbert’s bestselling memoir Prairie Tale... and, of course, the beloved series of books by Laura Ingalls Wilder that started it all.

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 I grew up with the living embodiment of the strength, devotion, and intelligence Laura Ingalls Wilder described in her books. My mother, Frae Ella Berry, was a one-room-schoolhouse teacher who married a man who was a devoted partner but whose restlessness also challenged all her strength. #2 My mother’s story was that she and her sister Edith, her big sister, grew up in San Jose. Their father, who they called Daddy, had met their mother, Frae, in a take-out stand in Missouri. They left Missouri after their mother died. #3 My parents had wanted to have a family, but they had suffered several miscarriages. When they heard about Dr. Penland, they decided to try again. Their baby was positioned and ready, but I wasn’t. #4 I was born in 1942. My parents were very optimistic, and when the doctor delivered me, my parents were able to buy a house in Oakland. But things did not go well in Gilroy, and my parents had to move to help their sister.

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview: #1 I grew up with the living embodiment of the strength, devotion, and intelligence Laura Ingalls Wilder described in her books. My mother, Frae Ella Berry, was a oneroomschoolhouse teacher who married a man who was a devoted partner but whose restlessness also challenged all her strength. #2 My mother’s story was that she and her sister Edith, her big sister, grew up in San Jose. Their father, who they called Daddy, had met their mother, Frae, in a takeout stand in Missouri. They left Missouri after their mother died. #3 My parents had wanted to have a family, but they had suffered several miscarriages. When they heard about Dr. Penland, they decided to try again. Their baby was positioned and ready, but I wasn’t. #4 I was born in 1942. My parents were very optimistic, and when the doctor delivered me, my parents were able to buy a house in Oakland. But things did not go well in Gilroy, and my parents had to move to help their sister.

Celebrating its 50th anniversary and still airing in the U.S. and around the world, Little House on the Prairie is one of the most cherished family dramas in television history, and this smart, candid memoir from beloved star Dean “Almanzo” Butler, who played Laura “Half-Pint” Ingalls’ eventual husband, is a must-read for fans, filled with insider stories and anecdotes. Cast just before his twenty-third birthday, Dean Butler joined Little House on the Prairie halfway through its run, gaining instant celebrity and fans’ enduring affection.Ironically, when the late, great Michael Landon remarked that Little House would outlive everyone involved in making it, Butler deemed it unlikely. Yet for four decades and counting, Butler has been defined in the public eye as Almanzo Wilder—a role he views as the great gift of his life. Butler had been cast as a romantic lead before, notably in the made-for-TV movie of Judy Blume’s Forever, opposite Stephanie Zimbalist. But Little House was, and remains, one of the most treasured shows in television history. As the eventual husband of Laura “Half-pint” Ingalls—and the man who would share actress Melissa Gilbert’s first real-life romantic kiss—Butler landed as a central figure for the show’s devoted fans. Now, with wit and candor, Butler recounts his passage through the Prairie, sharing stories and anecdotes of the remarkable cast who were his on-screen family. But that was merely the beginning of a diverse career that includes Broadway runs and roles on two other classic shows—Moondoggie in The New Gidget and Buffy’s ne’er-do-well father, Hank, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Coming of age during a golden era of entertainment, Butler has evolved along with it, and today enjoys success and fulfillment as a director and producer—notably of NBC Golf’s Feherty—while remaining deeply loyal to Little House. The warmth, heart, and decency that fans of Laura and Almanzo fell in love with on Little House echo through this uplifting memoir, a story, in Butler’s words, about “good luck, good television, and the very good—if gloriously imperfect—people who made it so.”

Christy Carstairs suffered with the "games" her father made her play with him in the rat-infested shed. Until the fire. The fire that destroyed that nasty place and left her father scarred for life.Years later, as a young adult, Christy cherished the Phoenix necklace given her by her aunt with a promise that she would emerge from the flames of her abused childhood a bright and beautiful bird. And so she had...But now, a series of arson fires is plaguing her life and a mystery unfolds as Christy begins to doubt her own mental stability.