Woman of Substance .... Review on Family Album - Danielle Steel

Family Album.....the title seemed very intriguing when I saw the book and finally when I started reading the book, I could not put it down without reading it at one stretch.

The book starts with a family at the funeral of Faye Price Thayer. The press tries hard to capture the emotions of husband Ward Thayer and the family. But who was this Faye Price Thayer.

The book divided into parts starts with the story from Guadalcanal where Ward Thayer was in the barrack with numerous soldiers and Faye Price, glamorous actress had been on tour to entertain the soldiers.

There was something very special of Ward which made Faye have dinner and a small talk with him. The pain in his eyes was instantly seen by Faye. When the time arrived to depart from the tour at the godforsaken forest among the soldiers, Ward had instantly amid all the din and chaos promised to come and see her when the war was done.

Ward had made Faye think all about him, but she being an actress with a very strict disciplined schedule and working habits had a tough time forgetting her.

Faye Price, a young actress with lots of fame and money worked herself hard from dawn to late nights while on sets, an actress who was a perfectionist.

True to his words, two years later, Ward returns home safely from war and manages to get a sneak preview at Faye at one of her sets immediately after his return. Faye, had almost forgotten him, but seeing him alive in front of her brought back memories and relief that he was alive.

Ward now woos Faye, and she being a perfectionist actress, tries very hard to stay away from him. There was something mysterious about Ward, something she did not know, and all the people in town seemed to know him when he finally began to draw Faye out for drinks and fun. The paparazzi had a field time getting their pictures on front page and it was from the papers Faye realized that Ward was a playboy millionaire with a shipyard business.

Ward's proposal to Faye was accepted after a lot of fun and frolic times and Faye gives up her career while being at the career peek best to settle for a happily married life with Ward Thayer.

Theirs was a fairy tale wedding with lots of luxury thrown in , a wonderful estate with a swimming pool, carousel readily built for soon to be born kids, a lavishly decorated home ....and kids soon in the way.

The first child was born soon - Lionel, the eldest boy, followed by Greg within less than a year and then the twins Valerie and Vanessa.

Life seemed complete except for the fact that Ward was a spendthrift and Faye also not working ......money was soon on its way to red line.

The fifth child Anne was born and by then Ward had exhausted all the money and was in very major debts.

Faye then takes over the situation and the fairly tale house is sold..... And they soon move into a small house on rent. The lavish lifestyle which Ward was used to now no longer existed and his drinking habits were only worse.

Faye after moving away from Hollywood had to get back to some sort of work, in order to support the kids. She gets in touch with her agent with some hope of reliving her dream of becoming a director and women directors were somebody hard to find and getting a chance was a distant miracle.

Hard work and perseverance pays off and Faye gets her chance first with a measly pay and long working hours. The next chance was slightly better and third time was golden chance with Faye's movie being an instant hit and the doors of opportunity opens.

Ward, not used to working at all, begins to have an affair with a rich actress of Beverly Hills and Faye is hurt to the maximum.

With no support from a husband who had no guts, she had to face the trauma alone and finally happens to knock some sense into her husband who also starts working at a bank.

The experience does him good, and then Faye thinks of making him a produce a movie with herself as a director.

She had the magic at her hands through which she was able to get something extra of the actors. The Academy awards won as a director was a gift he entertainment could offer her.

This is just the beginning of the difficulties and happiness faced by Faye. The book is very well written and makes a wonderful read.

The difficulties faced by the Thayer’s in bringing up five kids, each of them very different in their ways, the growing up...the endless hours of work put at the studios makes one feel for Faye.

The guts of Faye Price Thayer, the magic of love between her and Ward with all the added difficulties is wonderful to read....One feels the pain and relief of Faye.

A must read book.....In conclusion, one feels the guts and intuition of this woman who makes it from rags to riches and then from riches to almost rags and again back to riches with lots of hard work.

She was the women who demanded the most from her actors but only by herself setting the example first of hard work.

An amazing book.......