Home > Author > Brooke Shields
1 " associate me with names that connoted fame, money, and power. These were the relationships she supported, also because they were less attainable. She loved that I had briefly dated John Travolta, Jimmy McNichol, Leif Garrett, Scott Baio, and John Kennedy. "
― Brooke Shields , There Was a Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother and Me
2 " Smoking kills. If you’re killed, you’ve lost a very important part of your life. "
― Brooke Shields
3 " Don’t waste a minute not being happy. If one window closes, run to the next window—or break down a door. "
4 " You are only as pretty as you are nice and smart. "
5 " High school basically continued with bouts of her getting drunk and then stopping for a day. There was not one major moment or birthday celebration during which she could remain sober. I learned how to plan my joy. I would front-load my birthdays with breakfast activities or plan to be with her for only the beginning of an event. Then I would go off to be with friends and know that that would be the last I would see of my mother’s real facial expressions. "
6 " My feelings about my mother and about our relationship are so confused that to write them down with clarity would mean I had them all figured out, which I do not. —Brooke Shields’s diary "
7 " With regard to my mother, it felt like it was never enough. Nothing I said or did seemed correct or could make her stop getting drunk or feel deeper happiness. I felt helpless. Why wasn’t I enough to help her stop drinking? "
8 " My unhappiness was rooted in my mother’s inability to stop drinking. "
9 " To me, being spooned has always been an instant sleeping pill. This closeness with my mom gave me the utmost feeling of comfort and safety. "
10 " No. I wanted to talk to you first.” It was true that I had not told our lawyers yet. I wanted to keep to my word about this being a personal decision and I wanted to show her respect by coming to her in person, and first. I was a bit hurt that she thought I had already contacted an actual lawyer but felt clean knowing I had not. The idea had not come from Perry or Andre—they were just helping with practical elements. “Well then, do whatcha gotta do.” There was a hint of her thinking it bullshit that I wanted to save our personal relationship. I saw her smirk as if I were just using it as the excuse. She was a mix of hungover and "
11 " felt abandoned by her when she drank, but as long as I wasn’t hurt and she was accounted for and alive, I could justify that everything was all right. Never really knowing what I was going to come home to established a constant underlying sense of anxiety in my gut. I remained unrealistically optimistic that every day would be different. Mom would keep her promise and not get drunk at that birthday or that particular function. "
12 " My unhappiness was rooted in my mother’s inability to stop drinking. My sense of worthlessness stemmed from feeling insecure as to who I was and inadequate in getting my mother to stop drinking. I had lower self-esteem, "
13 " I believed for a long time that I could affect my mother’s drinking. Like many children of alcoholics, I thought if I asked a certain way, or made some type of deal with my mother where I promised something, it would be compelling enough to make her stop. "
14 " tchotchkes "
