By DREW BARRYMORE, TODD GOLD (Pocket Books; 1990)
In the category of memoirs written by fourteen year olds LITTLE GIRL LOST is about average. A recollection by actress Drew Barrymore (written in collaboration with People magazine correspondent Todd Gold) of her descent into drugs and slow climb out, it’s whiney and self-absorbed, which are to be expected given the author’s age (I understand her subsequent book WILDFLOWER, from 2015, is more mature in its outlook). In truth quite a few young women have undergone experiences much like those described here, although the adolescent Drew Barrymore clearly believed her situation was unique.
What is unique is her family tree. She’s the granddaughter of the legendary John Barrymore, who together with his equally legendary siblings Lionel and Ethel was known for excess. So was Drew’s none-too-legendary father John Drew Barrymore, who took his frustrations, in the form of alcoholic rages, out on Drew and her mother Jaid—who ended up raising Drew by herself. That, combined with the fact that Drew experienced enormous success at an absurdly young age, led to rebellion and substance abuse.
Drew B.’s success, for those who don’t know, occurred in the phenomenally successful E.T.: THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL when she was just seven. Her subsequent films included the decidedly less successful IRRECONCILABLE DIFFERENCES (the filming of which she calls “utter hell”) and the Stephen King adapted duo FIRESTARTER and CAT’S EYE. It was shortly after wrapping the latter when, at age nine, Barrymore began abusing alcohol and marijuana, and graduated to cocaine before too long.
Jaid was certainly no help, as she attempted to be her daughter’s best friend, accompanying her to various Hollywood social functions and ignoring the many warning signs. By the time Jaid caught on to the fact that not all was well Drew was completely out of control, leading to an all-out battle between mother and daughter that climaxed with Drew flying across country with her mother’s credit card and purchasing plane tickets to Hawaii (but getting apprehended before boarding the flight).
That final outrage, precipitated by Drew’s jet-setting Hollywood lifestyle, was perhaps a bit out of the ordinary, but otherwise the info contained here isn’t anything you won’t hear spoken by scores of non-famous girls on daytime talk shows. That’s also true of the details of Drew’s stay in rehab, a setback-filled process that, despite an admitted relapse, you can be sure ended happily.