More Than Love : An Intimate Portrait of My Mother, Natalie Wood

The heartbreaking, never-before-told story of Hollywood icon Natalie Woods glamorous life, sudden death, and lasting legacy, written by her daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner. More Than Love is a memoir of loss, grief, and coming-of-age by a daughter of Hollywood royalty. Natasha Gregson Wagners mother, Natalie Wood, was a child actress who became a legendary movie star, the dark-haired beauty of Splendor in the Grass, Rebel Without a Cause, and West Side Story . She and Natashas stepfather, the actor Robert Wagner, were a Hollywood it-couple twice over, first in the 1950s, and then again when they remarried in the 70s. But Natalies sudden death by drowning off Catalina Island at the age of forty-three devastated her family, made her stepfather a person of interest, and turned a vibrant wife, mother, and actress into a tragic figure. The events of that weekend have long been a mystery, and despite the rumors, scandalous media coverage, and accusations of wrongdoing, there has never been an account of how the tragedy was experienced by her daughter. For the first time Natasha addresses the questions surrounding that night to clear her beloved stepfathers name. More Than Love begins on the morning after her mothers death in November 1981 when eleven-year-old Natasha hears the news on the radio that her mothers body has been found off the coast of Catalina after her parents had spent the weekend on the family boat, The Splendour . From this profound and shattering loss, Natasha shares her memories of her earliest bonds with her mother; her warm, loving, and slightly chaotic childhood as the daughter of two stars; the lost and confused years of her adolescence; and her halting attempts to move forward as a young woman. Beautifully told, More Than Love is an emotionally powerful tale of a daughter coming to terms with her grief, as well as a riveting portrait of a famous mother and a vanished Hollywood. The "graceful, loving," ( The New York Times Book Review ), never-before-told story of Hollywood icon Natalie Wood 's glamorous life, sudden death, and lasting legacy, written by her daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner. Natasha Gregson Wagner's mother, Natalie Wood, was a child actress who became a legendary movie star, the dark-haired beauty of Splendor in the Grass and West Side Story . She and Natasha's stepfather, the actor Robert Wagner, were a Hollywood it-couple twice over, first in the 1950s, and then again when they remarried in the 70s. To Natasha, she was, above all, a doting, loving mom. But Natalie's sudden death by drowning off Catalina Island at the age of forty-three devastated her family, turned Robert Wagner into a person of interest, and transformed a vibrant wife, mother, and actress into a figure of tragedy. The weekend has long been shrouded in rumors and scandalous tabloid speculation, but until now there has never been an account of how the events and their aftermath were experienced by Natalie's beloved eldest daughter. Here, for the first time, is a"deeply intimate chronicle of life with her famous mother and how Wood's death devastated the family" ( Los Angeles Times ). Cutting through the shadow hanging over her mother's legacy, More Than Love is a "poignant" ( The Washington Post ) tale of a daughter coming to terms with her grief, as well as a "revealing new look at Natalie Wood" ( Good Morning America). **The heartbreaking, never-before-told story of Hollywood icon Natalie Wood’s glamorous life, sudden death, and lasting legacy, written by her daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner.**__More Than Love____Splendor in the Grass, Rebel Without a Cause,____West Side Story__But Natalie’s sudden death by drowning off Catalina Island at the age of forty-three devastated her family, made her stepfather a person of interest, and turned a vibrant wife, mother, and actress into a tragic figure. The events of that weekend have long been a mystery, and despite the rumors, scandalous media coverage, and accusations of wrongdoing, there has never been an account of how the tragedy was experienced by her daughter. For the first time Natasha addresses the questions surrounding that night to clear her beloved stepfather’s name.__More Than Love____The Splendour__From this profound and shattering loss, Natasha shares her memories of her earliest bonds with her mother; her warm, loving, and slightly chaotic childhood as the daughter of two stars; the lost and confused years of her adolescence; and her halting attempts to move forward as a young woman.Beautifully told,is an emotionally powerful tale of a daughter coming to terms with her grief, as well as a riveting portrait of a famous mother and a vanished Hollywood.