Surviving High Society by Elizabeth Marvin Mulholland

Description
To the outside world, Elizabeth Marvin Mulholland had it all. Adopted into a wealthy New England family, the young Elizabeth was afforded the luxury many people only realize in their dreams. She joined her family on lavish European vacations, lived in a finely decorated home, grew up in a world heavily infiltrated by power and money, and hob-knobbed with celebrities. As a close friend of Katherine Hepburn's niece, she gained an inside look into Katherine Hepburn's guarded inner life, which she details in Surviving High Society.

Her real life, however, was not the fantasy it seemed to others. Elizabeth grew up in a volatile household. Her adopted brother attempted to murder her mother and remained estranged in the decades to follow. Her father, who was her strongest ally, died suddenly when she was twenty-two. And, until her death, Elizabeth's mother used all means possible to exert control over her life. Her mother bounced Elizabeth in and out of psychiatric facilities and used her wealth to persuade doctors to keep Elizabeth locked up and medicated. Throughout, Elizabeth struggled to keep the pieces of her life together.

After her mother disinherits Elizabeth, she successfully seeks to find freedom and a life of her own away from her mother s ever-watchful gaze. Her life becomes a life without fantastic riches, filled with its own obstacles and triumphs. But it is now her life. (amazon.com)

I could not put down this book and read it in one day. This author does a great job telling us the story of her life. Elizabeth has been born illegitimately to her mother and a married father. She has been given up for adoption and got adopted by a wacky, moneyed, blue-blooded family in Conneticut. A year later the family adopted a boy who later attempts to murder her mother.

Her mother had some mental problems and was very controlling. She sent Elizabeth in and out of psychiatric hospitals over the years. When Elizabeth finally got the courage and broke free her mother disinherited her. It is amazing that this lady was able to trust someone else in her life and found love and happiness after what she has been through.
I have great admiration for this lady who was able to turn her life around and recommend this book to anyone.

• Publisher: Bascom Hill Publishing Group (November 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1935098071
• ISBN-13: 978-1935
• Paperback: 184 pages
• 098072

Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris

Synopsis

For Sookie Stackhouse, the day to day activities of the vampire and were communities in and around Bon Temps, Louisiana, are of vital interest, She's blood-bound to the leader of the vamps, a friend to the local were pack, works for a man who is shifter, and has a brother who is a were-panther…

But for most of the humans in Bon Temps, the vamps are mysterious seductive creatures-and they don't even know about the weres.

Until now. The weres and shifters have finally decided to follow the lead of the undead and reveal their existence to the ordinary world.

At first it seems to go well. Then the mutilated body of a were-panther is found in the parking lot of the bar where Sookie works. The victim is someone she knows, so she feels compelled to discover who-human or otherwise-did the deed.

But what she doesn't realize is that there is a far greater danger than the killer threatening Bon Temps. A race of unhuman beings--older, more powerful and far more secretive than vampires or werewolves-- is preparing for war. And Sookie will find herself an all-too human pawn in their battle…

I have read every book in this series and loved every one of them . I can't wait for the next one to come out to see what happens next. Charlaine Harris did an excellent job. The characters are lively and quirky as in all her books. The end of the novel is pretty open and makes me want to know what happens next. Is Sookie staying with Eric or will Bill come back into her life as her lover? Poor Sookie has so much going on in her life and makes you wonder what else can happen to her. I highly recommend this book to anyone who like southern Vampire Mystery.

• Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
• Pub. Date: May 2009
• ISBN-13: 9780441017157
• Sales Rank: 22
• 320pp
• Series: Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire Series, #9