More Than Love: An Intimate Portrait of My Mother, Natalie Wood

By Natasha Gregson Wagner

Book Overview

The heartbreaking, never-before-told story of Hollywood icon Natalie Wood's glamorous life, sudden death, and lasting legacy, written by her daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner.

More Than Love is a memoir of loss, grief, and coming-of-age by a daughter of Hollywood royalty. Natasha Gregson Wagner's mother, Natalie Wood, was a child actress who became a legendary movie star, the dark-haired beauty of Splendor in the Grass, Rebel Without a Cause, and West Side Story. She and Natasha's stepfather, the actor Robert Wagner, were a Hollywood it-couple twice over, first in the 1950s, and then again when they remarried in the 70s.

But Natalie's sudden death by drowning off Catalina Island at the age of forty-three devastated her family, made her stepfather a person of interest, and turned a vibrant wife, mother, and actress into a tragic figure. The events of that weekend have long been a mystery, and despite the rumors, scandalous media coverage, and accusations of wrongdoing, there has never been an account of how the tragedy was experienced by her daughter. For the first time Natasha addresses the questions surrounding that night to clear her beloved stepfather's name.

More Than Love begins on the morning after her mother's death in November 1981 when eleven-year-old Natasha hears the news on the radio that her mother's body has been found off the coast of Catalina after her parents had spent the weekend on the family boat, The Splendour.

From this profound and shattering loss, Natasha shares her memories of her earliest bonds with her mother; her warm, loving, and slightly chaotic childhood as the daughter of two stars; the lost and confused years of her adolescence; and her halting attempts to move forward as a young woman.

Beautifully told, More Than Love is an emotionally powerful tale of a daughter coming to terms with her grief, as well as a riveting portrait of a famous mother and a vanished Hollywood.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1982111186
• ISBN13: 9781982111182
• Release Date: May 2020
• Publisher: Scribner Book Company
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.11 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.1" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

A Daughter's Story

I was a huge fan of Natalie Wood, and like other people, I was devastated when she died. For a very long time I thought that the story just didn't add up. I am still undecided, and yet, I am leaning more towards maybe it was just a terrible accident. It is one of those tragic deaths that we will never know exactly what happened and why - it just did. I think the author did a good job painting a clear portrait of Natalie as a devoted mother, and also about how close their relationship was. I feel that most of the book was about Natasha and her feelings more than anything else. It was an interesting read, but left me with a lot of questions that will never be answered. Suffice it to say that a very bright light was shut off the day Natalie Wood died and I think most of her fans still miss her and wonder what she would have gone on to accomplish had her life been longer.