Diary of a Stage Mother's Daughter: A Memoir

Melissa Francis

Hachette Books, Nov 6, 2012 - Biography & Autobiography - 304 pages

The Glass Castle meets The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother in this dazzlingly honest and provocative family memoir by former child actress and current Fox Business Network anchor Melissa Francis.

When Melissa Francis was eight years old, she won the role of lifetime: playing Cassandra Cooper Ingalls, the little girl who was adopted with her brother (played by young Jason Bateman) by the Ingalls family on the world's most famous primetime soap opera, Little House on the Prairie. Despite her age, she was already a veteran actress, living a charmed life, moving from one Hollywood set to the next. But behind the scenes, her success was fueled by the pride, pressure, and sometimes grinding cruelty of her stage mother, as fame and a mother's ambition pushed her older sister deeper into the shadows.

Diary of a Stage Mother's Daughter is a fascinating account of life as a child star in the 1980's, and also a startling tale of a family under the care of a highly neurotic, dangerously competitive "tiger mother." But perhaps most importantly, now that Melissa has two sons of her own, it's a meditation on motherhood, and the value of pushing your children: how hard should you push a child to succeed, and at what point does your help turn into harm?

What people are saying

Diary of a Stage Mothers Daughter

User Review  - cms90214 - Overstock.com

The memoir by Melissa Francis was interesting reading of a charmed life filled with fun humour and tragic circumstances. Her story was great reading especially the parts in San Francisco.

DIARY OF A STAGE MOTHER'S DAUGHTER: A Memoir

User Review  - Kirkus

Chilling memoir by a Fox Business Network anchor and child star chronicles the misery of growing up with a cruel, controlling and abusive stage mother.Francis' narrative grabs readers immediately. She ...

About the author

Melissa Francis is an anchor, inspirational speaker, and host on the Fox Business Network and Fox News Channel, and a regular contributor on financial, economic, and political issues on shows such as The Five, Outnumbered, Happening Now, and America's Newsroom. Prior to her role at Fox, Melissa spent nine years at CNBC anchoring Power Lunch, The Call, and On the Money. She co-hosted It's the Economy on MSNBC with Contessa Brewer. She contributed to the Today Show, NBC Nightly News, and Weekend Today.

As an actress she appeared in numerous motion pictures, television series, and commercials. She is best known for her role of Cassandra Cooper Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie.

Melissa grew up in Los Angeles and earned an honors degree in Economics from Harvard University. She now lives in Manhattan with her husband and three children.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Diary of a Stage Mother's Daughter: A Memoir
• Author: Melissa Francis
• Publisher: Hachette Books, 2012
• ISBN: 1602861757, 9781602861756
• Length: 304 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts; Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs