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    Della: A Memoir of My Daughter
    Della: A Memoir of My Daughter
    Della: A Memoir of My Daughter
    Ebook196 pages3 hours

    Della: A Memoir of My Daughter

    By Chuck Barris

    3/5

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    About this ebook

    This surprisingly candid, often funny, and entirely moving memoir is Chuck Barris’s story about life with his only child, Della. Born on Christmas Eve in 1962, Della was a lovable charmer like her father, an adventurous and quick-witted kid. She had a carefree suburban childhood, even while her father was fast becoming an entertainment superstar, inventing, hosting, and producing his legendary game shows. When Barris and his wife eventually divorced, Della was shuttled between parents in New York and California, then moved from boarding school in Switzerland to Beverly Hills High, among other places. Bored, lonely, and often depressed, she discovered drugs and petty crime early in adolescence, and her escapades soon took on a far more alarming and dangerous aspect. She was lost, yearning for attention and guidance, and growing up in Los Angeles amid temptation everywhere. Her father felt helpless: caring for a daughter was more than Barris had bargained for. Ranging from late-night phone calls from the neighbors to emergency room visits, Della’s behavior was out of control.

    When Della decided at age sixteen to move out on her own, Barris didn’t object. He gave her a trust fund and let her go out into the world alone, a regret that he shares with readers here in heartbreaking and clear-eyed detail as he chronicles Della’s descent into addiction and her eventual death from an overdose at age thirty-six. But Della is not just a grief-stricken story. Filled with loving memories and spontaneous humor, it is a brave and hard-earned reflection on fatherhood and a tribute to innocence lost.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster
    Release dateJun 1, 2010
    ISBN9781439168080
    Della: A Memoir of My Daughter
    Author

    Chuck Barris

    Chuck Barris is a former television show creator and producer, whose credits include The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game, The Gong Show, and Treasure Hunt. He is the author of several books, including Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (adapted into a major motion picture) and the New York Times bestselling novel You and Me, Babe. Chuck and his wife, Mary, live in Manhattan.

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    Reviews for Della

    3/5

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    • 3/5
      I agree that this is a painful book to read. Although I can see that it seems Chuck Barris was thinking more of himself than Della throughout her short life, none of us knows for sure what we would have done in a similar situation. I remember watching Chuck on The Gong Show and when Della was on there with him, you could see the love he had for her. I feel certain that Chuck did try to help Della as much as he could. Sometimes frustration can just take over, making situations just seem so hopeless. Perhaps during the times when he appeared to be so self-centered, he was just trying to keep his own sanity.I'm sorry for both Della and Chuck. I wouldn't wish the pain they both endured on anyone.
    • 2/5
      This is a painful book to read and a difficult book to review.On the one hand, Chuck Barris is a good storyteller, and his memoir of the tragic life of his drug-addicted daughter keeps one reading. On the other, however, it could be said that Barris is exploiting the memory of the daughter he never had enough time or love for in life for his own personal gain. He often comes across as self-serving and self-pitying. After Della's death, he wonders "would [I] ever feel good about myself again", as if his self-esteem was the most important thing.Some scenes in the book are frankly implausible, such as Della's brief reunion with an old boyfriend. If Della had truly undergone the physical transformation Barris said she did (through plastic surgery and drug addiction) I doubt he would have recognized her.All in all, this is a disturbing tale of relentlessly bad parenting. It's as if Barris knew what he should have done throughout Della's life, and at every instance he willfully failed to be the father she needed.

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    Della - Chuck Barris

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