Book Review: ‘Marilyn Monroe, On The Couch’ by Alma H. Bond, Ph.D.

Famous for her beauty, her acting, her legendary marriages and affairs with the Kennedys, Marilyn Monroe had it all. Or did she?

Beginning life in squalor and orphaned at a young age, she seemed to struggle to find her own place in the world. One of the most beloved figures of our time, she will always remain the enigma of her own doom.

In Marilyn Monroe, On The Couch by Alma H. Bond, Ph. D.,we are voyeurs of a very private woman, one who lived so much more on the inside than on the outside. The depths of pain and disquiet, fear and distain that swirled within played a strong tug-a-war, where in the end Marilyn lived a life that glittered on the outside while constantly searching for the love she felt would make her whole on the inside.

Bond gives us an intensely personal look into the psyche of a tortured spirit. Wanting only love, rejection was the more accurate response for most of Marilyn’s life. Unable to conquer her bouts of depression, she sought counseling, which is where we are privy to her soul.

I have always admired Marilyn’s courage and vivacity, but had no idea of the raw wounds she acquired during childhood that helped develop the person she became. They both shaped her and destroyed her, leaving us a glorious vision that will always be her epitaph. Her beauty will never fade and her fans will never forget.

This work is so full of the vitriol and raw emotion she went through, the sadness and anger leap at you taking you in unexpected places.

Was her death inevitable, a place for her tortured spirit to rest, or was she driven by those around her? Always surrounded in mystery she shines. Even with such a personal take if you ever wanted to know more of this legend, then you will find many answers in Marilyn’s own words. Yet the sadness and pain will have you questing, was there more that she does not say.

This would be a wonderful work for a book club or reading group. Be prepared for sadness for it permeates and retreats in ripples and waves from the glittering rock star of a beautiful American Icon, Norma Jean to Marilyn Monroe and back again.

A true tragedy for a woman of such determination and conviction.