Gladys of the Marvelettes Autobiography

[carlo]

Just finished reading the book today. Spreadinglove21 summed it up perfectly. This is an interesting and engaging read, and Gladys is a solid writer. However, it is indeed more about her struggles after she left the group, and barely about her time at Motown and as part of The Marvelettes, which I had also mentioned in an earlier post. As motony mentioned above, I also suspect that someone went in and deleted a bunch from her original manuscript, as I find it odd that she would have written so little about her time with the group. I did find parts of this book to be repetitive and a bit monotonous, as she seemed to move a dozen times to different places and recounted each move in too much detail. However, I suppose that those parts did add to the overall understanding of how much she struggled. There were indeed some additional glaring grammar errors and typos that should have been corrected before going to print. It was unfortunate to read of Kat's mistreatment of Gladys, and her son, Vaughan. As Spreadinglove21 mentioned, she really did read her to filth lol. It also changed my opinion of Smokey Robinson, as he's certainly not the nice guy he's been made out to be. Being a fan of The Marvelettes and having always had a soft spot for Gladys, due to her talent and knowing how much she struggled through life, I walked away from this book, respecting her even more so. On the other hand, I'm also able to see that she made a number of bad decisions over the course of her life. I agree that in this book, you can feel how much of a big heart she had. I'm glad I could read her story in her own words. I just wish it had been given the proper editing and treatment it deserved, while she was still alive, to bring more focus to her Motown years. I don't regret having purchased or having spent the time reading this book. A few parts of the book made me cringe, or bored, but by the end, I felt like it had redeemed itself. I recommend reading it, if you want to know more about her, as a person, and her life after Motown, as that was my main motivating factor. Rest in peace, Gladys Horton.

I hope the rest of you receive your books soon. I know that frustration all too well, in regards to online merchants that don't deliver on their promises and/or price discrepancies. I hope it works out.