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Simon & Schuster
June 2010
On Sale: June 1, 2010
199 pages
ISBN: 1439167990
EAN: 9781439167991
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
This surprisingly candid, often funny, and entirely moving
memoir is Chuck Barris’s story about life with his only
child, Della. Born on Christmas Eve in 1962, Della was a
lovable charmer like her father, an adventurous and
quick-witted kid. She had a carefree suburban childhood,
even while her father was fast becoming an entertainment
superstar, inventing, hosting, and producing his legendary
game shows. When Barris and his wife eventually divorced,
Della was shuttled between parents in New York and
California, then moved from boarding school in Switzerland
to Beverly Hills High, among other places. Bored, lonely,
and often depressed, she discovered drugs and petty crime
early in adolescence, and her escapades soon took on a far
more alarming and dangerous aspect. She was lost, yearning
for attention and guidance, and growing up in Los Angeles
amid temptation everywhere. Her father felt helpless: caring
for a daughter was more than Barris had bargained for.
Ranging from late-night phone calls from the neighbors to
emergency room visits, Della’s behavior was out of control. When Della decided at age sixteen to move out on her own,
Barris didn’t object. He gave her a trust fund and let her
go out into the world alone, a regret that he shares with
readers here in heartbreaking and clear-eyed detail as he
chronicles Della’s descent into addiction and her eventual
death from an overdose at age thirty-six. But Della is not
just a grief-stricken story. Filled with loving memories and
spontaneous humor, it is a brave and hard-earned reflection
on fatherhood and a tribute to innocence lost.
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