Author: Melissa Anderson
Narrator: Jane Pfitsch
Started: October 6, 2023
Finished: October 8, 2023
Format: Audio
Genre: Memoir
Melissa Anderson is best known as the eldest daughter of Charles and Caroline Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie, which ran from 1974-1983. Anderson details the way she was cast as the oldest Ingalls child and how excited she was because she had been such a fan of the books. As the series continues, she details the main storylines she was a part of and how she felt about them. She also explains when she knew it was time to hang up her bonnet.
I am a Little House fan and have read the entire series. I will also catch a rerun anytime I can. After reading Alison Arngrim's memoir I knew I wanted to read more behind-the-scenes books. Anderson does a good job of telling her story and does so in such a way that the reader is instantly transported to the episode and can see it in their mind's eye. She also shares details of how she tried to be a regular teenager while on one of the most popular shows of the time. She describes how she felt about Michael Landon and his affair with her body double. She also explains when she knew it was time to leave Walnut Grove for good. The only thing that could have made this book a lot better was if she had read it herself although the narrator did a wonderful job.