Get to the Heart: My Story

by Barbara Mandrell and George Mandrell Barbara; Vecsey

Book Overview

To her millions of fans around the world she is beautiful, blond, and talented. A multifaceted performer whose music strikes a chord of truth. A loving wife and mother whose traditional values and tremendous faith touch the heart. But in September 1984 fate placed Barbara Mandrell and two of her children on a Tennessee highway, where a car crossed two lanes of traffic to hit her car head-on...and Barbara Mandrell and her story book life were changed...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553057995
• ISBN13: 9780553057997
• Release Date: September 1990
• Publisher: Bantam
• Length: 392 Pages
• Weight: 1.22 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 6.5" x 1.5"

Customer Reviews

Ms. Mandrell got to my heart!!!

Wow. Buy this book!!! This book was impossible to put down once I started reading it. This woman has more guts and courage than anyone could imagine. It's so sad that her career never really recovered after the horrible car accident she was in. Ironically the accident happened on September 11, 1984.

She Really "Gets To My Heart"!!!

This is a fantastic book! I couldn't put it down. In fact, I have read it more than once. In this book, Barbara Mandrell tells the story of her life in her own words. Barbara takes you on a journey of her life from her early childhood through her famous adult life. You experience every emotion when reading this book. There are cute/funny moments as well as sad moments and everything in between. It is a great insight on the life of Barbara Mandrell straight from her own heart. There are also some great pictures of Barbara and her family and friends. Barbara and her family are extraordinary. They are all extremely talented, sweet, and beautiful people. I highly recommend this book to everyone whether you are a big fan or not.

Great Book!!!

I have been a big fan of Barbara Mandrell for many years now! Anyone who reads this book will be sure to enjoy it! This was a book that I could not put down. Barbara has done a wonderful job on telling her story in this book. After you read this you will really feel like you really know her as a friend. This is a book that I will treasure and a book that I could sit down and read again! Barbara is a very beautiful and talented Lady and you will be sure to see that after you read this book of hers. I know that this is a book I will never get rid of and I will always treasure it in the years to come.

Country When Country Wasn?t Cool

True fans of Barbara Mandrell have always felt like we've known her. She's sort of like the good friend whom we visit whenever possible or that distant relative who seems to have achieved just about everything but never flaunted it in our faces.Her autobiography does a good job of filling in whatever blanks were left for a woman who has spent most of her life in the public eye. However, unlike many celebrity tell-alls that rely on multiple marriages, rampant illicit sexuality, and boastful solipsism, Barbara's story revolves around her long-lasting marriage, devotion to family, and reverent Christianity. Country music aficionados will enjoy her tales of Nashville and the many intriguing anecdotes of Music City's other movers and shakers. These too lack the shock value or backstabbing glee that often oozes from celebrity biographies.A great deal of time is understandably dedicated to the Dudney family `s (Barbara and her two oldest children) involvement in a fatal accident. Tragically an innocent young man lost his life, and under a draconian Tennessee state law, they were forced to sue his family or forego every penny of the millions of dollars in insurance money they could otherwise receive. As of the book's publication, the painful litigation had not been resolved. Hopefully, the dire situation has since been rectified.Other highlights include tales of her early years on the road, the foray into television-- which forced a traditional family to live among the anything-goes Hollywood mentality, and numerous adventures that only world travelers get to enjoy. Yet it is the stories of family that make this work soar. Long before Barbara became a dutiful wife, she was and still is an admiring daughter. She plainly writes of her parents' shock upon finding an engagement ring in their 16-year-old daughter's room and how they forbid any contact between her now husband and their daughter for six months. Despite her pain, Barbara writes of her and then-fiancé Ken's unquestioning honor of her parents directive. Humorously she mentions how unfair she found their action but concedes that now as a mother, her response would be much more severe.Too many times reading a celebrity's autobiography can elicit a feeling like "what a jerk," but Barbara Mandrell proves herself to genuinely be the person her fans always hoped she was.

A Must-Read for Everyone!

This is a wonderful book for Barbara Mandrell fans as well as those who may not be fans, but are just interested in her life story. Barbara writes in a way that makes you feel like a friend who she's telling her story to. I've read this book a couple of times and enjoyed it immensely.