One of the Family

By Wendy W. Fairey

This memoir begins with the emergence of a secret. At the age of 46 and five weeks after the death of her mother, the well-known Hollywood columnist and writer Sheilah Graham, Wendy Fairey learned that her true father was the philosopher A. J. Ayer. She had known Freddie Ayer since she was eleven, admiring him far more than her putative father, Trevor Westbrook, the man Sheilah Graham had married to legitimate her baby.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393030938
• ISBN13: 9780393030938
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.26 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 1.0" x 5.0"

Customer Reviews

One of the Family?

Many years ago I read "Beloved Infidel" and learned of the Sheila Graham/Scott Fitzgerald love story. I was so taken with Ms. Graham's book that I then located every book she had written and proceeded to devour them. However, I always wondered about her children and the post-Fitzgerald years. I was excited to find that her daughter, Ms. Fairey had written about her. I ordered the book right away and couldn't wait for its arrival. As well as it was written, it was a real let down. I think that instead of criticizing her mother, that Ms. Fairey should instead have been in utter awe of the strength and survival instincts her mother had. While she does mention these things, she down plays them and puts the focus on the faults her mother had. I don't think that the author really appreciated the type of life that her hard working, successful mother provided for her. She acts very blase about her entire childhood and rather expectant of the things she received. It was through her mother's wits and determination that Ms. Fairey was allowed to attend schools such as "Bryn Mar" and have opportunities that many of us could only dream of. Ms. Graham gave her daughter a very privileged life and more appreciation of that life should have been expressed in this book.