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I finished chapter 12 last night after stopping, thinking and taking deep breaths! I never read the Coleman bible, but Im so glad I got the chance to read this one. I felt like If I was living all of those moments with Karen. I felt I wanted to hire a colombian and tell him to shoot Tom Burris when he told Karen he wouldn't be with a sack of bones.

I wanted to hug Karen when Agnes couldn't say he loved her and slapped Agnes for being so cold towards Karen....I wanted to support her when she was on therapy. I was about to cry when I learned about all the plans she had for the week she died..She had no idea she wouldn't be able to get all of her plans done.

But, what hurts me is seeing her killing herself step by step without realising..It's like If she never got to realise all the damage she was doing to her own body...That syrup thing was....I'll keep on writing later...gotta go to buy meat for lunch

He was nothing else but a gold digging phony!!!

He was. Itchie, Ev and Frenda realised it, they knew it but Karen was under his spell and didn't wanna hear anything...And she wanted to called off the wedding but Agnes didn't let her...She, her own mother was more concerned about the press and the family coming than her own daughter's feelings and emotions!! That Gestapo officer upsets me!!!

He was. Itchie, Ev and Frenda realised it, they knew it but Karen was under his spell and didn't wanna hear anything...And she wanted to called off the wedding but Agnes didn't let her...She, her own mother was more concerned about the press and the family coming than her own daughter's feelings and emotions!! That Gestapo officer upsets me!!!

A confrontation over a repossessed Rolls-Royce lead to Karen's plantive, "I am not a bank. I am not a bank." I think that just about says it all!!!

He had nothing, owned nothing, could afford nothing, only demand more and more money, just a phony!!!

It is just awful what TB and Agnes did....I can't even come up the words to describe how I feel about TB!! If I ever meet the man, I will surely kick his ass! Would not be hard, as he is what..about 65 or 70 by now? What a waste! And what kind of a mother won't let he daughter change her mind? How could Agnes sit through that wedding knowing Karen did not want to marry that man! All Karen wanted was someone to see and value her for her, plain and simple...and none of them could give her that! Just so sad!!

Yes, it was just soooo annoying!! He was aashhh!!! Money is everything he wanted...How about the car, when Karen got the call from the car company saying they would take the car!! He had nothing to offer her but a mouth full of lies!!!! She deserved someone better for her!!

Another thing that shoot me was when Ev arrived to the house she thought something was going on with Harold, but was in shock when realised it was really Karen.

But, I also liked the first chapters, that happy Karen who followed her brother everywhere; the first recordings, the drumming learning, the first performances....All she did was just incredible

All these people and her failed marriage combined to worsen her mental illness and accelerated her physical downfall.

Tom Burris, what a piece of crap. I absolutely hate him for what he did to Karen, I can't believe she fell so hard for him. As far a Agnes goes, there is no doubt that she favored Richard, but I do believe she loved her Karen. She was a very cold person and people were afraid to stand up to her, with the exception of Richard. The fact that she forced Karen to go through with the wedding knowing that Burris was only after the money, just really, really pissed me off. Why on earth didn't Harold and Richard stand up to Agnes at this point? It just blows my mind that they would rather see Karen marry this phony because Agnes didn't want to be embarressed.

Agreed 100%....I hope TB gets his one day, I really do....!

For some reason I have always pictured Tom Burris not aging, just like Karen hasn't aged. Probably because we haven't seen any pictures of him, either, since then. Imagining him as an old man is new to me. So...maybe we don't have to kick his ass, we could just kick his cane out from under him. Or steal his teeth and cancel his meals-on-wheels delivery so he gets to feel what Karen must've been going through because of him.

What really amazes me in the last few chapters of the book, and therefore the last few chapters of Karen's life, are her friends. Frenda states that they talked in person or on the phone many times a day. Itchie actually moved into the hotel with Karen in NYC, at least for some of that time. How many people have that kind of devotion to their friends? What about any of us; would we really drop everything else in our lives to help a friend go through a crisis? These women were absolutely phenomenal to have spent that amount of time with her when she needed them.

I once had to back off from a friend who became too needy, developing addictions to prescription drugs among her many other issues, some of which were real and some perceived. (She needed professional help, did get some eventually and continues to this day.) But I had to choose to keep my children safe from her and because I work full time I did not have the time to be at her beck and call...she wanted rides to the store and to her appointments, and wanted me to run her around town daily on errands or to do them for her. The difference is that my friend did/does not really want to get better; she lives for the attention she gets from her problems, and from what I've read Karen did actually want to get better and just didn't know how. But even though the two situations were different, the time and energy to deal with someone else's crises is still the same. So I have eternal admiration for Karen's friends who dropped everything to help her.
Edited by Summer, 09 June 2010 - 09:03 AM.

I agree with you!! Those were my exactly feelings when I read the book!! Agnes was just too cold..how was she unable to say "I love you" to her own daughter?

On a funny side, I found charming that Karen put a nickname to everyone and everything and I found cool that the bell of the condo played the first notes of "We've only just begun"...Just think, a personalised bell ....I was thinking: "I wish I could have been to her condo just to hear that music play" hehehe

[quote name='Summer' date='Jun 8 2010, 09:40 PM' post='246844']
What really amazes me in the last few chapters of the book, and therefore the last few chapters of Karen's life, are her friends. Frenda states that they talked in person or on the phone many times a day. Itchie actually moved into the hotel with Karen in NYC, at least for some of that time. How many people have that kind of devotion to their friends? What about any of us; would we really drop everything else in our lives to help a friend go through a crisis? These women were absolutely phenomenal to have spent that amount of time with her when she needed them.

I agree Summer. It's obvious that Karen was loved my many people, but to have the kind of friendship that she had with Frenda and Itchie is amazing.

You know what really touched me was that Richard named is first born daughter the name Karen chose had she ever had a daughter. Personally I think it's a great name. It's the name I chose for my daughter.

I agree...these women are amazing, and thank God Karen had them in her life! Thank you Frenda and Itchie!!