I Won’t Be Reading High On Arrival
September 24, 2009 by Michelle Smith
Filed under Relationships
A hot topic right now is MacKenzie Phillip’s memoir, High On Arrival. It’s so hot, that even Oprah wants in on the action, having the actress on her show to help her promote her story. In the book, Phillips details her life as the daughter of musician John Phillips.
Born into rock and roll royalty, flying in Learjets to the Virgin Islands at five, making pot brownies with her father’s friends at eleven, Mackenzie grew up in an all-access kingdom of hippie freedom and heroin cool. It was a kingdom over which her father, the legendary John Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas, presided, often in absentia, as a spellbinding, visionary phantom.
Part of her story includes spilling personal secrets such as a 10-year incestuous affair with her father. Why does the world need to know this?
Mackenzie Phillips has struggled with addiction problems since she was a teenager. Is this a necessary part of her treatment and healing? Is this another form of brutal honesty? Her father is dead. He’s not around to defend himself. The affair happened when she was an adult. I do not get the point of telling this particular part of her dark and troubled history. This news is going to affect everyone related to both her father and herself.
Maybe I’m troubled because it’s such a disturbing idea. Incest is one of those subjects that makes me cringe and I’m guessing that most people have the same reaction. I’m puzzled by the purpose of this book. Is it supposed to help people? Is the purpose to gain attention and make money?
Everyone grows up with challenges of one kind or another. Part of being a responsible adult is making healthy decisions. I don’t see writing a tell-all as a particularly healthy decision.
Image credit: Barnes and Noble.com
I see it differently. While it is a very disturbing topic, and because it’s a very disturbing topic, people are afraid to talk about it, yet it affects many, many people. Yes, she was an adult when it happened, yes it’s a bit creepy for most of us, but I imagine she’s not the only one out there who has experienced incest – consensual or otherwise – and I think one of the biggest problems in this country is the fear to talk about…well, anything. Talking about things, no matter how uncomfortable, releases demons inside us that left untalked about can drive people crazy. Literally. I don’t want to read the details, I don’t understand it, but I don’t have to. It’s not my experience.
I absolutely agree that she should talk about it. With a professional, in therapy. It’s not like child abuse. That should have light pointed directly at it. Kids need help. This is different. She was high and she slept with her dad. I feel bad for her sister – it’s her dad, too.
It’s her right to talk about it and it’s my right to go eww yuck and stick my fingers in my ears. I’m so incredibly glad that it’s not my experience.
I appreciate your comment. When people comment I feel less like I’m talking to myself.
When I heard about this book I thought, “Ewww. Does the world really need to know about this stuff?” My opinion is that the book is strictly about making money and I’m sure it will. But it’s a bit sad that her dad is deceased and has no way to defend himself…it’s her word against a dead man’s silence. One good point though is that her life experiences are proof that drugs are bad. Maybe it’ll help a couple of people from traveling that same path. Maybe I’m too optimistic…
Leah, some of what I’ve read makes it look as if this is timed to go with her stint on a celebrity rehab show. Drugs suck. Mackenzie Phillips was a good actress and she’s a great musician. Who knows how different her life would have been if she’d lived without drugs all these years.
why should her dad get to defend himself?? how is this the saddest part of this story? as far as im concerned, a man who introduces his daughter to drugs and then takes advantage of her vulnerable state by having sex with her, doesnt deserve to defend himself- as you cant defend this type of behaviour!!
I don’t think that the saddest part is that he doesn’t get to defend himself. Where did you get that? I think the saddest part is that the decisions she and her father made are now going to hurt the rest of her family (her sisters). Everybody has bad experiences, hopefully not as bad as this, but we don’t all chose to write a tell-all so that we can profit from those experiences.
The affair went on for 10 years. She was an adult the entire time. I think John Phillips was a horrible father, IF he did the things she is saying, but he’s not here to question, so we’ll never know for sure if she’s telling the truth or just trying to get attention and make money.