Marilyn Monroe : on the couch : inside the mind and life of Marilyn Monroe

With so much written, rumored, told, and retold about Marilyn Monroe, it's amazing to consider how much we still don't know. On the screen she was iconic, radiant, and yet her talent so rarely earned her respect. In life she was intelligent, brilliant, and yet regarded as little more than Hollywood's blonde bombshell. She was the wife of baseball stars and playwrights and the plaything of the president. She was full of life, even as drugs and depression drove her ever-closer to death. But who was the real Marilyn Monroe, beyond the hit films and the headlines? Take away Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and The Prince and the Showgirl, Some Like It Hot and The Misfits, and who was the Norma Jean underneath? Psychoanalyst and longtime biographer Dr. Alma Bond has explored the hidden lives of remarkable women like Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Camille Claudel. Now she turns her analytical eye to the untold story of Marilyn Monroe, the woman everyone wanted to see and touch, but whom almost no one actually wanted to know. Dr. Bond imagines, in detail, a several-year stretch during the late 1950s and early 1960s, when Marilyn, an exceedingly fragile figure, submits to analysis on the couch of Manhattan psychoanalyst Dr. Darcy Dale. When Marilyn returns to Hollywood, their sessions turn to correspondence as the truth of Marilyn's final years is revealed. Brilliantly, entertainingly, and movingly, Marilyn Monroe on the Couch shows just what lay beneath Marilyn's iconic beauty. Dr. Dale, a fictional stand-in for the author, sees Marilyn Monroe as few ever have, both inside and out, and transfers those insights to readers. It's impossible to imagine anyone providing a better, more complete, intimate, and unforgettable understanding of this truly remarkable, even pivotal figure in film and sexual history There is much written, rumored, told, and retold about Marilyn Monroe, but the most unusual and remarkable fact about her is this: In person as well in her films, she appeared to be outright luminous―enveloped by a glow, like a firefly in the dark. Even Laurence Olivier, who costarred with Marilyn in the 1957 film The Prince and the Showgirl, saw it. Though he seemed to dislike her intensely, he had to admit that, in all her scenes, she lit up the screen. But exquisite as it can be, luminosity can be a kind of camouflage. It can hide the truth underneath. What exactly was Marilyn illuminating in the atmosphere that surrounded her? Her beauty was certainly stunning, dazzling—blinding, even—but what did it hide? Marilyn, more brilliant than many understood, knew well the difference between looking upon the light and seeing beyond the glow. “Men do not see me,” she said. “They just lay their eyes on me.” Psychoanalyst and longtime woman's biographer Dr. Alma Bond imagines, in detail, a several-year stretch during the late 1950s and early 1960s, when Marilyn, an exceedingly fragile figure, submits to analysis on the couch of Manhattan psychoanalyst Dr. Darcy Dale and, following her. return to Hollywood, corresponds with her. Brilliantly, entertainingly, and movingly, Marilyn Monroe: On the Couch shows just what lay beneath Marilyn's radiance. Dr. Dale, a fictional stand-in for the author, Dr. Bond, sees Marilyn Monroe as few ever have, both inside and out, and transfers those insights to readers. It's impossible to imagine anyone providing a better, more complete, intimate, and unforgettable understanding of this truly remarkable, iconic, and even pivotal figure in film and sexual history. There is much written, rumored, told, and retold about Marilyn Monroe, but the most unusual and remarkable fact about her is this: In person as well as in her films, she appeared to be outright luminousenveloped by a glow, like a firefly in the dark. But exquisite as it can be, luminosity can be a kind of camouflage. It can hide the truth underneath. Through the fictional framework of Marilyns therapy sessions and relationship with New York City based psychoanalyst Darcy Dale, psychoanalyst and women's biographer Alma Bond captures just what lay beneath Marilyns radiance and spell, drawing readers into a fascinating and tragic portrait of Norma Jean Baker, the real life woman behind the American legend. In her very own raw voice, Marilyn shares the untold experiences of her orphan childhood, youth, and adulthood, dominated by ill-fated relationships with men, that could not be mended by stardom and fame and that inevitably led to tragedy. And yet, the Marilyn that emerges in Bond's story is not a victim, but a woman far ahead of her time. Her natural embodiment of female sexuality helped bring about the Cultural Revolution of the 60's. Smashing "the glass ceiling" Marilyn was the first woman to challenge a major studio (20th Century-Fox) by single-handedly establishing her own motion picture company (Marilyn Monroe Productions). She was a true original, who operated on her own ideas. In Marilyn Monroe: On the Couch, Dr. Alma Bond sees Marilyn Monroe, inside and out. What emerges is an intimate understanding of one of the most beloved and celebrated icons in film and sexual history.