Surviving Myself

Book excerpt: Jennifer O'Neill knows all there is to know about life in the fast lane. Even before she skyrocketed to movie stardom at age twenty-two, she had already experienced more than most women twice her age: international modeling at fifteen, marriage at seventeen, and motherhood at nineteen. Then came Summer of '42. If her career was already a dream come true, however, her private nightmare had just begun. The dark years that followed saw scandal and sorrow offset by beauty and style: eight marriages, nine miscarriages, a near-fatal gunshot wound, and three other near-death experiences. Even motherhood proved a painful trial when one of her husbands fell into the abyss of sexual abuse, with Aimee, the eldest of her three children, as his victim. But Jennifer O'Neill is a survivor -- by the grace of God. Now, with her faith intact, she looks back on the roller coaster of her past with an unsparing honesty tempered with compassion, humor, and a new understanding of herself. Her story is an unforgettable drama of a beautiful, intelligent, talented, whimsical, yet deeply troubled woman redeemed in the end by the gift of her spiritual awakening.