Last night I was lucky to be taken by a girlfriend to the opening night of Grey Gardens, the musical, at the Ahmanson Theater in downtown LA. I’m a big fan of the documentary by the Maysles and the HBO movie with Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore, so I was curious to see how the story would be told as a musical. Who would have thought that Big Edie’s song “Jerry Loves My Corn”, sung by the incredible Betty Buckley, would bring tears to my eyes! I think the Edies’ story has always resonated with me – it’s a mother, daughter struggle to the finish – and I identify with that deeply. At the end of the musical; it’s more a chamber piece really, Little Edie decides not to leave Grey Gardens, puts her suitcase down and climbs the stairs up to her mothers’ room. Watching this moment on stage, I realized that this is how my story very well could have played out. I could have stayed with my mother, as her companion and jailer. But I escaped. The Edies didn’t. And that’s why it breaks my heart every time I see it.

I just mailed off ten signed copies to the winners of the Goodreads Giveaway. Heart of Glass is heading to homes all over the country – Boulder Co., Derwood MD., Birmingham AL., and Satellite Beach FL. to name a few. I hope they enjoy my new book.

The photo above, which ended up on the cover of Heart of Glass, was taken by a late friend of mine, the photographer Ann Marsden. All I had was this little scrap of a picture torn from a contact sheet. I sent it to my publisher in New York, and they used some super-duper machine they have to make a copy. Amazing.