What if Marilyn Monroe did not die that day in 1962? What if someone close to her happened to stop by and saved her? And what if Marilyn decided she didn't want to be Marilyn anymore and let (almost) everyone believe she was dead and started a new life? This scenario is what Gelles-Cole explores in her 'fictionalized autobiography' of Marilyn. Not only does she start over, but she starts over again and again, learning from various mistakes along the way. The author has given us an inside look at what it would have been like for Marilyn, had she lived, to overcome her total dependence on alcohol and chemical substances while taking on a new identity and seeking a new life. Most people have a difficult time overcoming addiction while remaining who they are in their lives. In the book, what Marilyn accomplishes is remarkable, although she does stumble along the way. The book really is a story of a woman's self-discovery and rebirth. A woman that was so manipulated and, at times, maligned in her life that for her to have accomplished what she did in this fictional tale would have been a miracle. If only it could be true. In the book, 'Marilyn' sets straight just how she climbed to the top in Hollywood, she comes clean regarding the truth about her marriages to Arthur Miller and Joe DiMaggio, and she debunks the whole conspiracy theory surrounding her death in connection with the Kennedy family.

I enjoyed this book, although at times the jumping back and forth had me a bit confused. I think 'what if' novels are so interesting, especially when it takes a famous person or event and turns it on its ear. I mean, how many of us have wished that a beloved celebrity really wasn't dead and had just staged their death to escape the public life. That's why there are so many reports of Elvis sightings or of Jim Morrison being alive and living in France. Heck, I've even wished this about Heath Ledger! Gelles-Cole has taken our wish (especially for Marilyn fans) and breathed it to life. She has made us think about what might have been. ( )

The Memoir of Marilyn Monroe is a fictional account on what could have happened if Marilyn had survived her death on August 5, 1962.

Marilyn Monroe didn't die that night, she was whisked away by Joe DiMaggio's son, Joey, to a safe place, in order to detoxify herself and get her life back on track.

Stepping out of the limelight, she allows the world to believe she is dead. Marilyn goes incognito, reinventing herself for whatever situation she is currently involved with. She slips off the wagon and for two years she demoralizes herself with booze, drugs and seedy men. Swimming in a world of chemical induced blindness, she becomes awakened the day JFK is shot. Her life takes a different spin and she cleans up her life and frees it from the demons that reside just beneath the surface of her skin.

Sometimes she is Norma Jean, sometimes Cherie from Bus Stop or maybe Sugar Kane Kowalczyk or Lorelei Lee from Gentleman Prefer Blondes, whatever or whoever the situation calls for, Marilyn calls on them to get her out of stressful situations.

I am not sure what to make of this "memoir", the slant towards Marilyn's alcohol and substance abuse almost makes Marilyn appear in a bad light, when I feel she was just misunderstood by the jealous people who surrounded around her. There were several editorial issues with the books, things like paragraphs starting in mid-sentence, doubling of words or the lack of words, it disrupted the flow of the story and only helped to hinder the already weak plot.

The print was overly large and one is able to read the book in two hours, other than a few tidbits of nostalgia, I wasn't really impressed with this work, I truly couldn't see the point, other than to offer a different alternative to the ending of the movie that became Marilyn Monroe. If you are a fan of Marilyn Monroe, then I cannot see you enjoying this read too much, however, if your just looking for a bit of fluff to pass a couple of hours with, then this piece would allow you to read a book and not cloud your brain with too much thinking. Its light, juvenile writing style would be an easy read for those who don't require too much substance in their plots or their characters. This "memoir" could have been so much more if the author had envisioned it differently, but the choppy, inconsistent flow of the work will only lead to disappointment for most who believe they are going to read something intelligent and interesting about Marilyn Monroe. ( )