Tatum O’Neal was the youngest actress to walk away with an Oscar. In the 1973 film Paper Moon Tatum starred opposite her father Ryan who had taken the country by storm with his roles in the hit nighttime drama Peyton Place and the feature film Love Story. Found: A Daughter’s Journey Home is a frank look at both Tatum and Ryan through the years.
A Troubled Past
In the book Tatum relives some of her unsettling past. She is a recovering addict and her 2008 arrest for possession was the impetus for her to take back her life. She has three children from her marriage to tennis star John McEnroe that ended in a bitter divorce and custody battle. She was basically estranged from her father with whom she has had a shaky relationship, and she experienced an unorthodox childhood. All of these situations are examined in this book, and Tatum O’Neal takes responsibility for her own actions. She also tells of her desire to form a closer bond with her father.
After the death of Farrah Fawcett, Ryan O’Neal’s longtime partner, Tatum decided it was time to try to mend her relationship with her dad. After all, life is finite and neither of them was getting any younger. She knew it was time to leave New York and return to California to work on healing her life and her relationship with her family.
The book is honest, from Tatum’s point of view. She discusses her relationship with each of her children and their history together. She also discusses her memories of her childhood and how she felt abandoned by her father who had taken on the parenting responsibilities of both Tatum and her brother Griffin after their mother’s collapse. Tatum describes a strange childhood, where she was treated as an adult even though she was a child. True, she was a plucky and mature child, but she was still a child and left to bring herself up on her own.
Tatum and Ryan O’Neal
Tatum and her father have a new docu-series Sunday nights on OWN. Ryan & Tatum: The O’Neals is the story of how the two are mending their relationship. The series began June 19, 2011. This book is a great adjunct to that series.
Tatum O’Neal writes honestly about her failings. Although it is an open look at her life and feelings, at times the book is a little whiney and repetitive. Those flaws aside, the book is a telling look at a family who is dysfunctional in many areas.
Drugs, divorce, jealousy, tempers, violence, dysfunction, and love are all part of the O’Neal family. This book covers them all.
- Found: A Daughter’s Journey Home by Tatum O’Neal
- William Morrow Publishing
- 204 pages
- ISBN: 9780062066565
