Bright Lights, Prairie Dust

Reflections on Life, Loss, and Love from Little House's Ma

By: Karen Grassle

Narrated by: Karen Grassle

Length: 13 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Karen Grassle, the beloved actress who played Ma on Little House on the Prairie, grew up at the edge of the Pacific Ocean in a family where love was plentiful but alcohol wreaked havoc.

In this candid memoir, Grassle reveals her journey to succeed as an actress even as she struggles to overcome depression, combat her own dependence on alcohol, and find true love. With humor and hard-won wisdom, Grassle takes listeners on an inspiring journey through the political turmoil on '60s campuses, on to studies with some of the most celebrated artists at the famed London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, and ultimately behind the curtains of Broadway stages and storied Hollywood sets. In these chapters, listeners meet actors and directors who have captivated us on screen and stage as they fall in love, betray and befriend, and don costumes only to reveal themselves.

We know Karen Grassle best as the proud prairie woman Caroline Ingalls, with her quiet strength and devotion to family, but this memoir introduces listeners to the complex, funny, rebellious, and soulful woman who, in addition to being the force behind those many strong women she played, fought passionately - as a writer, producer, and activist - on behalf of equal rights for women. Raw, emotional, and tender, Bright Lights celebrates and honors womanhood, in all its complexity.

©2021 Karen Grassle (P)2021 Tantor

great story

I really enjoy hearing the stories from people who portrayed my favorite characters on shows I've watched over and over again for years.

More of a life story

Enjoyed the audio book but was at times a chore to get through it. The first part is not at all LHOTP related which is fine. I feel the LHOTP stuff was overall not interesting. Lots of complaining about salary/ time in scenes. Allison (Nellie's book) is far superior for LHOTP behind the scenes imo. MA aka Karen basically sounded like she drank a lot and was kind of dynsfuctional.
She never admits taking addictions to the set of LHOTP. Perhaps there's another side to why Michael Landon did what he did with the money situation. One thing I will say is it does look like Landon overall kept a safe set for the many child actors on the show and must are sober adults. So I don't buy he's a bad guy. It was the 70s and things were different. Still a nice story. But if you're looking for charming stories and lots of LHOTP again go to Allisons book. Talks of hippy sounding politics, various abortions, and a touch of paranoia. No offense to the actress and her life. She was lovely as C.I. and glad she seems to have moved on with her life choices with drinking.

High Quality Memoir of Ms. Grassle's Life Journey

Karen Grassle gives us a detailed look into her life, not holding back to describe her life experiences both good and bad. She engages the reader with her honesty and openness.

Karen's invisible struggles were very enlightening

I loved her raw honesty and inner beauty on and off the show, I had no idea of the professional struggles and battles a star must undergo to find success and eventual peace, well done Karen.

The making of an actress

Many mixed feeling about this book. I grew up loving Little House so it was hard to hear the dark side of the show. I applaud Karen for being brave in telling of her fight with alcohol.

TMI

This book was gifted by one of my kids for Mother’s Day. Yikes. Well-meaning, since they know of my love for Little House. Simply put, it was a tough book to get through, because now I know too much. Karen Grassle obviously went through so much in her life; much, however, was self-induced/bad choices in addition to mental health struggles. Perhaps sometimes it’s better to write everything down and then have a ceremonial burning of the journals. To Karen Grassle’s credit, knowing what she endured, she’s an incredibly talented actress to have pulled off the role of Ma so beautifully.

LOVED IT!

Thank you Karen Grassle for your life story! Thank you for your transparency. It’s so wonderful to know of all the transitions in your life and to know of the changes in women’s lives due to your passions!
I’m writing this like she will read it! You will love this book, it’s amazing how her telling of her life makes the reader pensive about their own life.

Not what I was expecting

Unable to finish it. Authors voice was to quiet. Hard to follow as there we to many of Karen's friends to follow. Characters became confusing. I would have liked to hear more about her Prarie days.

Wanting more prairie talk

Pros/Cons with some spoilers

Pros
-Loved listening to her beautiful soothing and calming voice.
- Well written and interesting format
- Honest, transparent and vulnerable
- her childhood trauma, struggle with sobriety and life lessons were vividly depicted and honest

Cons
- A lot of time spent explaining life story. Overall interesting but wish more time spent experiences filming LHOTP.
- *Spoiler* I didn’t really like the political innuendo about abortion and was sickened hearing about abortions as I am someone that believes life begins at conception. I felt like she rightly defended and made a platform of defending woman’s rights but she neglects to understand that unborn have rights too. Moreover, it seemed the abortions were a result inconvenient timing which saddens me.
- I also wish she would have talked more about her faith. She discusses walking away from God at the beginning of the book and alludes she comes back to acknowledging him at the end. Wish there was more conclusion to her faith journey.

Overall - captivating and insightful look at her life story. Interesting throughout and a relaxing listen as her voice is so soothing and calming. Detailed, thoughtful and reflective, one of the better memoirs out there!

Refreshingly Reflective

it's Karen's memoir, and a beautiful memoir at that. She's open and reflective. I was a bit apprehensive by the reviews. I can see how people see it as a "poor me" story, but it's a memoir--what do you expect? Even so, she's incredibly valuable. Most memoirs move from A to B to C, but this one felt true to me.

if you're open to listening to Karen's story, it's touching. If you're here for LHOTP only, it may be slightly disappointing. although, I must reiterate that it's her memoir, not a TV tell-all. I loved it... and I consider myself somewhat right-leaning politically but I can appreciate her point of view. It's a soul-baring story, not a "poor me" story. A+ memoir. I plan to listen again.