by Mary McDonough
My Rating: 3 out of 5 ⭐⭐⭐
My Rating: 3 out of 5 ⭐⭐⭐
Synopsis:
For nine seasons, Mary McDonough was part of one of the most beloved families in television history. Just ten years-old when she was cast as the pretty, wholesome middle child Erin, Mary grew up on the set of The Waltons, alternately embracing and rebelling against her good-girl onscreen persona. Now, as the first cast member to write about her experiences on the classic series, she candidly recounts the joys and challenges of growing up Walton--from her overnight transformation from a normal kid in a working class, Irish Catholic family, to a Hollywood child star, to the personal challenges that led her to take on a new role as an activist for women's body image issues.
Touching, funny, sometimes heartbreaking, and always illuminating, Lessons from the Mountain is the story of everything Mary McDonough learned on her journey over--and beyond--that famous mountain.
Touching, funny, sometimes heartbreaking, and always illuminating, Lessons from the Mountain is the story of everything Mary McDonough learned on her journey over--and beyond--that famous mountain.
I love The Waltons, and I honestly didn't know that any of the cast members wrote autobiographies of their time on the show so I was pretty excited to come across this. Mary McDonough who played Erin Walton is the first to do so. Though I found out Joe Conley who played Ike Godsey wrote a book as well. I guess I should amend this and say the first main cast member to write a tell all, or the first of the Waltons kids to write a memoir. Coincidently outside of John Boy, Erin was my favorite character.
If you're hoping for a lot of talk on the making of the show, behind the scenes antics, maybe even potential scandals this ain't the book for you. It really doesn't dwell on the show, or really any other show or movie McDonough did. I have to be honest, that was super disappointing. I wished she would've shared so much more about her time doing the show. Maybe that's unfair on my part, her life is more than just that show. She does talk about her acting career and drops a few juicy tidbits here and there, but her memories are shared randomly and in no particular order. She went through some harrowing stuff, and Judd Nelson was a dick to her one time. Honestly I struggled to the finish line, I kept putting the book down. I found the second half far more interesting, when she talks about her implants and how they made her sick, her Lupus diagnosis, and her activism. I will say she was honest enough about her self doubts as a child star, her body image, and her struggles to make it post Waltons. This book is not a tell all, it's not even a biography, it really is about tidbits of lessons McDonough learned along the way that had a profound impact on her. So if you think about it the title of this book is pretty accurate. McDonough doesn't really ever tell a whole story, just fragments of one. A lot of it feels so incomplete. She shared what she was gonna share, and that's that. Not an entirely bad read, there are some interesting factoids, just not enough for anyone looking for a deep dive into her life or the Waltons.
If you're hoping for a lot of talk on the making of the show, behind the scenes antics, maybe even potential scandals this ain't the book for you. It really doesn't dwell on the show, or really any other show or movie McDonough did. I have to be honest, that was super disappointing. I wished she would've shared so much more about her time doing the show. Maybe that's unfair on my part, her life is more than just that show. She does talk about her acting career and drops a few juicy tidbits here and there, but her memories are shared randomly and in no particular order. She went through some harrowing stuff, and Judd Nelson was a dick to her one time. Honestly I struggled to the finish line, I kept putting the book down. I found the second half far more interesting, when she talks about her implants and how they made her sick, her Lupus diagnosis, and her activism. I will say she was honest enough about her self doubts as a child star, her body image, and her struggles to make it post Waltons. This book is not a tell all, it's not even a biography, it really is about tidbits of lessons McDonough learned along the way that had a profound impact on her. So if you think about it the title of this book is pretty accurate. McDonough doesn't really ever tell a whole story, just fragments of one. A lot of it feels so incomplete. She shared what she was gonna share, and that's that. Not an entirely bad read, there are some interesting factoids, just not enough for anyone looking for a deep dive into her life or the Waltons.
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