Little Girl Blue

The Life of Karen Carpenter

De: Randy L. Schmidt

Narrado por: Cheryl Bentyne

Little Girl Blue is an intimate profile of Karen Carpenter, a girl from a modest Connecticut upbringing who became a Southern California superstar.

Karen was the instantly recognizable lead singer of the Carpenters. The top-selling American musical act of the 1970's, they delivered the love songs that defined a generation. Little Girl Blue reveals Karen's heartbreaking struggles with her mother, brother, and husband; the intimate disclosures she made to her closest friends; her love for playing drums and her frustrated quest for solo stardom; and the ups and downs of her treatment for anorexia nervosa. After her shocking death at 32 years of age in 1983, she became the proverbial poster child for that disorder; but the other causes of her decline are laid bare for the first time in this moving account.

Little Girl Blue is Karen Carpenter's definitive biography, based on exclusive interviews with her innermost circle of girlfriends and nearly 100 others, including childhood friends, professional associates, and lovers.

©2010 Randy L. Schmidt (P)2013 Randy L. Schmidt

Revealing

Very good read. Revealed many aspects of Karen’s life and career that I did not know. Worth reading.

Kept me listening all week

Narrator had a smooth voice which seemed to fit the kind of vanilla image Carpenter had, as well as Carpenter's own voice. I found the end of the book with her marriage, attempts to get better, solo album, and decline to be far more interesting than the beginning. My only criticism is that I would have liked to hear more psychological evaluations of the family. There is no doubt in my own mind that Karen's mother was a dangerous narcissist, and I suspect both kids were as well, including Karen, at least to a degree. And her relationship with her brother was also very bizarre. Karen's personality, at least as expressed in this book, is very contradictory and could have used some analysis.

a delight but also suffused with sadness

very well researched and written
accurate description of her life and music.
can't stop listening.

One of my favorite books

I enjoyed reading about Karen Carpenter’s life as a singer and through her struggle with anorexia. She’s one of my favorite singers.

I love karen

very informative. easy to follow and insightful on the life and loss of the amazing star: karen carpenter

If I Ever

Wonderful, loving presentation of KAC. If your even remotely a fan, this is for you.
KC if I ever happen to pass your loving spirit someday, somewhere. Please gently tug on my sleeve.

She Played Second Fiddle to Richard in Everything

What a great book but so sad that her parents could never see Karen’s talent above Richard’s. Without Karen, there wouldn’t have been The Carpenters. I loved her sense of humor her friends shared in the book. She seemed like an awesome person and friend. The voice reading the book was very soothing but made me visualize the people who were part of the book. I learned so much about Karen the person. Another good soul taken too soon.

Say Goodbye to Love

Say “Good Bye to Love” is the reason why Karen left us a 32 years old…a voice for the ages. The lyrics say it all in the second verse especially:

“So I've made my mind up I must live my life alone
And though it's not the easy way, I guess I've always known
I'd say goodbye to love
There are no tomorrows for this heart of mine
Surely time will lose these bitter memories
And I'll find that there is someone to believe in
And to live for something I could live for”

Her who life was rooted in not being loved or excepted by who and what matters most; her family. She longed for being loved and never got it. Her fans loved her,but than didn’t matter. Her friends adored, but that didn’t do it either. She longed for being just once to not be second fiddle. In her mind, love would never be given in the way she wanted it. She had no control over it; ever!

But, what she could control was her weight. A 5’4” overweight little girl, then a Tom Boy who played drums for her brother’s band and then sang as well. One of the guys was enough for her. To be accepted for her talent was what kept her going until it didn’t. Always under the magnifying glass to do this or that the way everyone wanted. Sheltered by her fame and eventual popularity and ultimate fortune. That was not enough.

But, her weight was too much. Reminded as a young girl by an oppressive overbearing mother did her in.?it never stopped. She was never enough for anyone and most importantly not even herself. So, the only thing left to control was her weight. Wanting it to never be an issue. She obsessed on it every second of every day. Compulsive to lose it and then eventually to control it in anyway possible. Until, it was also uncontrollable. She couldn’t stop, until her body gave up.

A talent gone too soon, why?? Because she could never find what she was looking for all of her life. So, she said goodbye to love and had no more tomorrows.

Karen as Victim

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I was pleased to see this in audio format. I don't regret listening to it. However it was disappointing. I was hoping to hear a deeper account of Karen's creative process, not just an anecdotal account of her life with excessive detail about her death.

Amazing book...

If you really want to know what happened to Karen Carpenter. This book is a must