Thursday, July 9, 2020

Book Review: Ketty Lester: From The Cotton Fields To Grammy Nominated "Love Letters" to Little House on the Prairie by Revoyda F. Buckley

For fans of Little House on the Prairie, she is known as Hester-Sue Terhune. To her family, she is Re-V or Vorda--a unique name given to a talented woman who had careers as a pop/R&B singer and an actress in movies and television.

Ketty Lester: From The Cotton Fields To Grammy Nominated "Love Letters" to Little House on the Prairie brings you through Buckley's beginnings as the fifteenth child to a farming family, to leaving home and attending college for nursing, to her performing in clubs as Ketty Lester and recording records, to her acting career which spanned decades.

Told in a style as if you were sitting across the table with Buckley asking her about her life, you discover she has loved and lost, she has known the challenges of having a career in a competitive industry, she dealt with discrimination and unequal pay, and she has met and worked with other amazing industry professionals.

This is a story told in chronological order which includes several pictures, her filmography, and discography.  This autobiography held nothing back. It will make you admire and feel compassion for Buckley. Though she is now retired, her mark on music and film remains.

As a fan of Little House on the Prairie, I am glad I read this story. I learned more about this talented woman than I knew before. Though the editor in me wanted a more polished version of the story, I totally believe that there is a lot to be said for being true to yourself and telling an authentic story in your own way, which is just what Buckley did.

Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher:  Elite Publishing House (April 20, 2020)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0578662337
ISBN-13: 978-0578662336

I purchased a copy of this book from Amazon. This review contains my honest opinions, which I was not compensated for in any way.

1 comment:

Deborah said...

Well Hello! It's always lovely to come across folks who are fans of Little House as much as I am.

If you're not already a member, there's a Facebook fan group called "Little House on the Prairie Cast Reunion" where a few of the cast are members, most prominently Allison Arngrim who played Nellie Oleson.

The group keeps up with fan events and share their various trips to Little House sites or events.

There's also a recent virtual event with a lot of the cast members including Melissa Gilbert that was pretty fun.

If you're not already a member, I think you'd like it.

Here's the FB link or you can search the group name on FB.

https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=555880417812526

I came across your blog looking for various articles about Laura and Almanzo's courtship for a piece I was putting together. I really love your blog space and I can't wait to read some more!