Confessions of a prairie bitch : how I survived Nellie Oleson and learned to love being hated

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. For seven years, Alison Arngrim played a wretched, scheming, selfish, lying, manipulative brat on one of TV history's most beloved series. Though millions of Little House on the Prairie viewers hated Nellie Oleson and her evil antics, Arngrim grew to love her characterand the freedom and confidence Nellie inspired in her. In Confessions of a Prairie Bitch , Arngrim describes growing up in Hollywood with her eccentric parents: Thor Arngrim, a talent manager to Liberace and others, whose appetite for publicity was insatiable, and legendary voice actress Norma MacMillan, who played both Gumby and Casper the Friendly Ghost. She recalls her most cherished and often wickedly funny moments behind the scenes of Little House : Michael Landon's "unsaintly" habit of not wearing underwear; how she and Melissa Gilbert (who played her TV nemesis, Laura Ingalls) became best friends and accidentally got drunk on rum cakes at 7-Eleven; and the only time she and Katherine MacGregor (who played Nellie's mom) appeared in public in costume, provoking a posse of elementary schoolgirls to attack them. Arngrim relays all this and more with biting wit, but she also bravely recounts her life's challenges: her struggle to survive a history of traumatic abuse, depression, and paralyzing shyness; the "secret" her father kept from her for twenty years; and the devastating loss of her " Little House husband" and best friend, Steve Tracy, to AIDS, which inspired her second career in social and political activism. Arngrim describes how Nellie Oleson taught her to be bold, daring, and determined, and how she is eternally grateful to have had the biggest little bitch on the prairie to show her the way. The Actress Who Played The Villain Nellie Oleson On The Television Show Little House On The Prairie Shares Her Experiences On The Show And Discusses Her Life, From Her Bohemian Childhood In West Hollywood To Her Recent Charity Work Involving Abused Children And Hiv Awareness. Mom, Dad, And Liberace -- The Castle -- Keeping Secrets -- Something's Gotta Give -- Welcome To Walnut Grove -- Taking Some Heat -- Palace On The Prairie -- Michael: Sinner And Saint -- The Publicity-seeking Missile -- Melissa And Me...or To Pee Or Not To Pee -- The Infamous Wheelchair Episode -- Boobs, Boys, And Satan -- Being Sold Into Marriage: The Arrival Of Steve Tracy -- On My Own -- A Change In The Relationship -- Michael Gets The Last Laugh -- Divorce Via Fax -- They Love Me -- They Really Really Love Me -- Fighting For Children...and Larry F-ing King -- Happy Ever After. Alison Arngrim.