The Way I See It

A Look Back at My Life on Little House

By: Melissa Anderson

Narrated by: Jane Pfitsch

Length: 6 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

When other girls her age were experiencing their first crushes, Melissa Sue Anderson was receiving handwritten marriage proposals from fans as young as, and younger than, she was. When other girls were dreaming of their first kiss, Melissa was struggling through hers in front of a camera. From age 11, in 1974, until she left the show, in 1981, Melissa Anderson literally grew up before the viewers of Little House on the Prairie.

Melissa, as Mary, is remembered by many as the blind sister - and she was the only actor in the series to be nominated for an Emmy. In The Way I See It, she takes listeners onto the set and inside the world of the iconic series created by Michael Landon, who, Melissa discovered, was not perfect, as much as he tried to be. In this memoir she also shares her memories of working with guest stars like Todd Bridges, Mariette Hartley, Sean Penn, Patricia Neal, and Johnny Cash.

In addition to stories of life on the set, Melissa offers revealing looks at her relationships off-set with her costars, including the other Melissa (Melissa Gilbert) and Alison Arngrim, who portrayed Nellie Oleson on the show. And she relates stories of her guest appearances on iconic programs such as The Love Boat and The Brady Bunch.

Filled with personal, revealing anecdotes and memorabilia from the Little House

©2010 Melissa Anderson (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Review

Not enough wtitten about other relationships with Little House cast members. Just retelling of episodes.

It was ok

I loved Little House growing up, and read several of the books written by the other cast members. I didn’t get to learn more about Melissa in this book. It was mostly summarizing episodes. She didn’t narrate it herself, and didn’t share that much about her life or herself as a person. There were several instances where she shared information or her opinion about other cast members, where it really didn’t seem to be her place to do so.

Good walk down memory St. with behind the scenes

Enjoyed the behind the scene stories of the episodes and actors of a show I have deeply burned in my childhood memories.

Not what I expected

The sub-title doesn’t adequately describe the book, as it much more a LHOTP Cliff Notes version than a memoir. There are tidbits of fun facts and snippets of personal experiences, but it’s fair to say at least 85% is a re-telling of the TV show’s episodes. If that’s what you’re looking for, you’ll enjoy it, but if you’re well steeped in the show, maybe not so much.

very enjoyable!

I enjoyed this book extremely, every second of it.Thank You, Melissa it was a wonderful listen.

Not really a behind the scenes

I’ve listen to other books by the cast, and they always say how remote Melissa Anderson was, that is on full display here. It’s basically a telling of her favorite episodes with a few background stories - in which she weaves some anticlimactic stories about her personal life. There is one about her getting pulled over with friends when she was younger. The story is literally so inconsequential you wonder how she remembered it, let alone why she included it.

Overall, it’s an enjoyable listen, but unless you’re a diehard fan, go right to Allison Arngrim’s brilliant, revealing, and courageous book.

Good book

I love Little House, so it was great hearing some behind the scenes stories. But, I really disliked the play by play of several episodes. That was annoying. Also, the way she told some of her personal stories as if it was a script was strange too.

Enlighting behind the scenes story.

Narrator was excellent, really brought the story to life. Now I'm rewatching the series from start.

Enjoyable!

I’m glad I didn’t listen to the negative reviews! I liked this story. Yes, she mentions her accomplishments, so what? The book is her story! I enjoyed her reminiscing about many individual episodes. Name dropping? Who cares? They are people she worked with! Some folks simply come across as being a little jealous. Thanks for the memories, Missy!

Delightful

What's fun about Melissa Anderson's book is that it delivers what it promises; a look back at her years on Little House. She has wonderful insights on being a child actress, as well as her feelings toward fellow cast members. There are times the book feels like Melissa is just recapping (sometimes line for line) episodes she was in. The second half of the book has a lot of this episode re-hashing. The good chapters act more like a commentary track, giving you insight was to what was going on behind the scenes or in her life.

If you like Little House, the book is a delight.