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450 reviews for:
Confessions of a Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated
Alison Arngrim
4.13 AVERAGE
450 reviews for:
Confessions of a Prairie Bitch: How I Survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated
Alison Arngrim
4.13 AVERAGE
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-paced
I found this book interesting- I love seeing a celebrity that uses her fame to further causes near and dear to her heart - difficult subject but so important
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Rape
Great look behind the scenes of one of my all time favorite shows. "Nellie" wrote a funny and heartbreaking memoir. Definitely worth the read.
I grew up watching re-runs of Little House on the Prairie and, of course, despising Nellie Olsen who did everything she could to make Laura's life miserable. Laura was the girl you wanted to be; brave, smart, athletic and Nellie seemed to represent every jerky kid you ran across.
This book was a nice mix of biographical information and show anecdotes, but not so flattering about Melissa Sue Anderson who played Mary and who has written a book as well.
This book was a nice mix of biographical information and show anecdotes, but not so flattering about Melissa Sue Anderson who played Mary and who has written a book as well.
I grew up watching Little House on Sundays so I got really excited when I got this at the library. It's not well written by any means, but Alison Arngrim came from an interesting family, suffered some serious sexual abuse from her brother and excelled at being Nellie Oleson. Enjoyable and fun and full of gossipy tidbits like that boring ol' Melissa Sue Anderson was a bitch and Michael Landon never wore underwear.
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
2021: Here's the deal: I've never watched Little House on the Prairie, I don't know any of the people in this book, and I don't see that changing even after having read the book.
This was another one of those random, end of year books that I get into because I am trying to fill a Reading Challenge prompt (this one being "A book with the word 'bitch' in the title", of which there are surprisingly few!) I really did think that after reading this book, I might be interested in checking out LHOTP. But that was not the case, and I am going to continue to live my Laura Ingalls-Wilder-free life.
This book should come with a huge trigger warning, for not only sexual abuse, but also incest. Arngrim certainly had a very troubled childhood, and she does not hold back from getting into some pretty graphic details. She approaches the stories from a very direct, practical, and processed point of view (by which I mean that she has been to a lot of therapy). I'm thrilled for her seemingly success in surviving her abuse and thriving later in life.
I honestly think this was a pretty good memoir - it was detailed and kept me interested. However, without being able to reference any of the touchstones used in this story, I have to rate it lower. We progressed straight from fun stories from the set of LHOTP to horrible abuse to wow, I'm a functioning and successful adult who advocates on behalf of HIV+ people! It's a bit of a jump when you don't get any of the references, but I can't help but think that if I had been a fan of the show, all I would want is fun stories from set, followed by what the actors are up to now. And that's exactly what you get from this book.
This was another one of those random, end of year books that I get into because I am trying to fill a Reading Challenge prompt (this one being "A book with the word 'bitch' in the title", of which there are surprisingly few!) I really did think that after reading this book, I might be interested in checking out LHOTP. But that was not the case, and I am going to continue to live my Laura Ingalls-Wilder-free life.
This book should come with a huge trigger warning, for not only sexual abuse, but also incest. Arngrim certainly had a very troubled childhood, and she does not hold back from getting into some pretty graphic details. She approaches the stories from a very direct, practical, and processed point of view (by which I mean that she has been to a lot of therapy). I'm thrilled for her seemingly success in surviving her abuse and thriving later in life.
I honestly think this was a pretty good memoir - it was detailed and kept me interested. However, without being able to reference any of the touchstones used in this story, I have to rate it lower. We progressed straight from fun stories from the set of LHOTP to horrible abuse to wow, I'm a functioning and successful adult who advocates on behalf of HIV+ people! It's a bit of a jump when you don't get any of the references, but I can't help but think that if I had been a fan of the show, all I would want is fun stories from set, followed by what the actors are up to now. And that's exactly what you get from this book.
Arngrim's candid memoir on life as Nellie Olson and beyond was a real pleasure to read. I love how she channeled Nellie's inner bitch to become a stronger person. Good for her! Lots of nice gossip on the show too. I loved Nellie and Percival so her tales of friendship with the actor who portrayed him were very touching. A must read for any fan of the show.
This book had me at the title. I was powerless to resist it. It pulled me in like a tractor beam on an alien spaceship.
Confessions of a Prairie Bitch by Alison Arngrim - better known as her alter ego Nellie Oleson of Little House on the Prairie fame - is one of those books that I lap up like a kitten at a milk bowl. I love a good dishy celebrity tell-all. It probably started with Joan Collins' Past Imperfect which I read in the 9th grade (this would be the point at which Heidi would say "and you turned out straight exactly HOW?") Since then, I have always loved those books that tear back the curtain on bits of the pop culture. There's always more going on than what we're allowed to see. And what could possibly be a more wholesome subject than Little House?
The book starts out with a bang as it describes Arngrim's hilarious encounter with a woman at the L.A. County Fair where she was signing autographs alongside other former child stars. I won't give it away, but her husband sums it up best by saying "we need to start bringing video cameras to these things." As it turns out, Nellie Oleson still elicits strongly negative reactions in people, even though Little House has been off the air for nearly 30 years. Everyone identified with Laura "Half-Pint" Ingalls and in so doing, everyone hated her nemesis, Nellie. I was not a religious watcher of Little House by any stretch of the imagination, but even I knew that Nellie was the spoiled brat foil to Laura's good-hearted eagerness.
Arngrim's life is fascinating and as expected, the bulk of the book encompasses the Little House years. The stories from the set are always interesting and are told in such a funny and readable way that even if you had no interest or exposure to the show, you still can't quit reading. She is a natural storyteller and relates incidents like Michael Landon's failure to wear underwear on the set and the enigma of Melissa Sue Anderson with great flair. She even explains why Carrie Ingalls falls into the grass in the opening credits of the show (you'll never guess) and talks at length about her life-long friendship with Melissa Gilbert.
But her life was not all great. Her youth also involves a heartbreaking story of sexual abuse at the hands of a family member. We also learn of her devastation at the death from AIDS of the man who played her Little House husband. His illness launched her into the next phase of her career - AIDS activism - which then led naturally to activism on behalf of abused children.
Confessions of a Prairie Bitch contains material that Arngrim uses in her stand-up act of the same name. What I loved is how at peace she seems to be with everything - with Nellie Oleson, her connection with the character and with her life in general. She has really lived her life and now she's happy. This was one of my favorite parts of the book.
"...I'm happy, I'm just that. There's no static on the line now. It's not 'I'm happy but...' or 'I'll be really happy when...' I am just ridiculously, stupidly happy. I am often cheerful to the point of being annoying as hell. I don't know if this is a sign of good mental health or recovery, or if it means I've finally snapped and just gone the rest of the way to completely batshit crazy."
Whatever it is, she's got it figured out. I can't recommend this book highly enough.
Confessions of a Prairie Bitch by Alison Arngrim - better known as her alter ego Nellie Oleson of Little House on the Prairie fame - is one of those books that I lap up like a kitten at a milk bowl. I love a good dishy celebrity tell-all. It probably started with Joan Collins' Past Imperfect which I read in the 9th grade (this would be the point at which Heidi would say "and you turned out straight exactly HOW?") Since then, I have always loved those books that tear back the curtain on bits of the pop culture. There's always more going on than what we're allowed to see. And what could possibly be a more wholesome subject than Little House?
The book starts out with a bang as it describes Arngrim's hilarious encounter with a woman at the L.A. County Fair where she was signing autographs alongside other former child stars. I won't give it away, but her husband sums it up best by saying "we need to start bringing video cameras to these things." As it turns out, Nellie Oleson still elicits strongly negative reactions in people, even though Little House has been off the air for nearly 30 years. Everyone identified with Laura "Half-Pint" Ingalls and in so doing, everyone hated her nemesis, Nellie. I was not a religious watcher of Little House by any stretch of the imagination, but even I knew that Nellie was the spoiled brat foil to Laura's good-hearted eagerness.
Arngrim's life is fascinating and as expected, the bulk of the book encompasses the Little House years. The stories from the set are always interesting and are told in such a funny and readable way that even if you had no interest or exposure to the show, you still can't quit reading. She is a natural storyteller and relates incidents like Michael Landon's failure to wear underwear on the set and the enigma of Melissa Sue Anderson with great flair. She even explains why Carrie Ingalls falls into the grass in the opening credits of the show (you'll never guess) and talks at length about her life-long friendship with Melissa Gilbert.
But her life was not all great. Her youth also involves a heartbreaking story of sexual abuse at the hands of a family member. We also learn of her devastation at the death from AIDS of the man who played her Little House husband. His illness launched her into the next phase of her career - AIDS activism - which then led naturally to activism on behalf of abused children.
Confessions of a Prairie Bitch contains material that Arngrim uses in her stand-up act of the same name. What I loved is how at peace she seems to be with everything - with Nellie Oleson, her connection with the character and with her life in general. She has really lived her life and now she's happy. This was one of my favorite parts of the book.
"...I'm happy, I'm just that. There's no static on the line now. It's not 'I'm happy but...' or 'I'll be really happy when...' I am just ridiculously, stupidly happy. I am often cheerful to the point of being annoying as hell. I don't know if this is a sign of good mental health or recovery, or if it means I've finally snapped and just gone the rest of the way to completely batshit crazy."
Whatever it is, she's got it figured out. I can't recommend this book highly enough.
has any celebrity or "celebrity" ever managed to write or "write" a memoir that isn't infected every 2nd page with self-obsession and self-consciousness