Amazon Alma Bond's Books Alma Bond's Books Category:  Historical Fiction Publisher: Bancroft Press ISBN-10:  1610881087 Pages: 219 Copyright:  2013 ISBN-13: 9781610881 The story of Marilyn Monroe’s the fictionalized psychoanalysis with Dr. Darcy Dale, famous New York psychoanalyst. Marilyn reveals her life story to the doctor, who provides insight as to how the facts of Marilyn’s early life contributed to her emotional illness. The book also illuminates the gradually deepening relationship between doctor and patient, and how it led to Marilyn’s growth as a woman and great actress Marilyn Monroe: On the Couch is the story of Marilyn Monroe’s the fictionalized psychoanalysis with Dr. Darcy Dale, famous New York psychoanalyst. In the book, Marilyn reveals her life story to the doctor, who provides insight as to how the facts of Marilyn’s early life contributed to her emotional illness. The book also illuminates the gradually deepening relationship between doctor and patient, and how it led to Marilyn’s growth as a woman and great actress. Her three marriages are discussed in detail, and make clear why none of them were successful. The book is humorous, touching, and insightful, and provides a picture of Marilyn Monroe no author has understood before. The book also makes clear why no other ending to her life was possible. No one who has not read Marilyn Monroe: On the Couch will ever know the true story of Marilyn Monroe, which could only have been written by Alma Bond, experienced psychoanalyst. Excerpt Preface I am Dr. Darcey Dale, a Fifth Avenue psychoanalyst in New York City. I have been in practice for 37 years, and want to tell you about the loveliest, most famous, complicated, and most difficult patient of my long and highly successful career. It is not the work I am most proud of, and I wish I could do it over again and profit from my mistakes. But telling you about it perhaps will give me some insight into the human mind, and may help me struggle more successfully with some other desperate soul. One day many years ago, my secretary Rivka Ruben told me she had made an appointment for me with a new patient who was sitting in the waiting room. Rivka had a strange expression on her face as she told me about it, which I had never seen before. Curious, I asked, “What is your impression of the woman, Rivka?” She thought for a moment and then answered, “I must say, I didn’t think much of her. Her name is Norma Jeane Mortenson. She is a shy little woman wearing no make-up, with a dowdy babushka over her hair. In fact “dowdy” is a good word to describe her. She is not the kind of elegant patient you usually see.” “Fine,” I thought. “I’m tired of the glamorous ladies of the Upper East side whose major concerns deal with which interior designer they are going to employ. This patient may be an interesting change.” I thanked Rivka, nodded, and walked into the waiting room, and saw immediately what Rivka meant. Indeed the little woman sitting there was unimpressive, and I wouldn’t have been surprised to discover that she was a ladies maid or a nanny sent for therapy by an empathic employer. She was absorbed in a magazine, upon which was a cover of the great screen actress and sex symbol, Marilyn Monroe. I walked over to her and extended my hand. “Good afternoon, Ms. Mortenson. I am glad to meet you.” The woman looked up, and to my shock a complete transformation came over her before my very eyes, like watching Dr. Jekyll turning into Mr. Hyde. It seemed a light suddenly was turned on inside of her, as if she had some radioactive core underneath her skin. Her persona, her body language, her demeanor, everything about her changed. She looked and acted like another person, a blazing effigy, an out thrust of magnetism and sexuality such as I had never seen before. The coat that even the Salvation Army would reject dropped off her shoulders and her babushka dropped to the floor revealing hair that resembled white spun gold. She literally glowed. She leaped up and seized my outstretched hand. “Oh, thank you, Dr. Dale,” she said passionately. “I’ve been wanting to see you for years, but was too scared to make an appointment. My good friend, Paula Strasberg, said you are the one person in the world who can save my life.” Her face was aglow, and her corn flower blue eyes sparkled like diamonds. Sunny blond curls surrounded her gorgeous face. Her tight white knitted dress revealed a figure like no one else’s in the world. Contrary to my first impression of a woman approaching middle age, she looked considerably younger than her thirty-three years. At that moment I realized who she was, and saw first hand her qualities that enchanted the whole world. When she dropped her disguise, no one alive would fail to recognize that stunning face and body. It took me a moment to recover my analytic poise, and say, “Come into my office, Ms. Mortenson, and tell me why you need me to save your life.” I stood at the door of my office and waved the woman in.” “Oh no, doctor,” this most celebrated woman said, falling back. “After you.”

Praise for Alma Bond’s Marilyn Monroe: On the Couch
Praise for Alma Bond’s Marilyn Monroe: On the Couch

“Unlocks the secrets of her charm and attraction!”
― Dr. Abe Bortz, Co-Editor of the Book of the Month Club and History Book Club Selection Live by the Sword: The Secret War Against Castro and the Death of JFK



Seeing Beneath the Holllywood Star
“In Marilyn Monroe: On The Couch, Dr. Alma Bond lets us see Marilyn Monroe as no one else has. We see beneath the Hollywood star and get some insight into who Norma Jean Baker really was before becoming the celebrity icon of the 1950s and 1960s. Through intimate therapy sessions Marilyn had in New York, Dr. Alma Bond lets us sit in and listen to the beginnings of Marilyn and her tortured thoughts that led her to the untimely death. Even if you've read other Marilyn Monroe books, this one stands out as a must read for the dedicated fan. A personal connection can be made to the star, for it is easy to become engrossed in the emotional sessions, where she goes into detail about her marriage and feelings to Joe DiMaggio. If you've ever wondered what really went on in the mind of Marilyn Monroe, this book will give you some good insight. An enjoyable but sad read.”
―Jamilyn Nicholls, coordinator of Palzoo.net, one of the largest celebrity forum fan bases


Reading the mind of the dead
“If ever anyone could be said to read the minds of the dead, it must be Dr. Alma Bond. She has once again gotten into the soul and spirit of a tragic heroine, this time of Marilyn Monroe. As Bond sees her, Marilyn was a needy child, an intelligent woman, a driven actor, and a sexpot extraordinaire all in one, calling on her strengths when needed, resorting to pouty lips and seductive sway when all else failed. Able to go from sultry siren to dependent child in a matter of minutes, Marilyn was front-page news wherever she went. Norma Jeane, on the other hand, could walk through a crowd and never turn a head. In this book, a fictional psychiatrist—a stand-in for Dr. Bond—tries to help Marilyn reconcile her disparate feelings, her overwhelming need for approval from men, and her dysfunctional upbringing.
We all know the story doesn’t end well, but in Bond’s capable hands, we have a more thorough understanding of the devils that drive Marilyn to her self-destructive sexual and addictive behaviors. We want her to ‘just say no!’ but—like going to see Gone with the Wind and hoping it ends differently—we can only be voyeurs to her impending death. The book is well written, almost all of it from Marilyn’s point of view. Fifty years have gone by since her death, and she still remains a thoroughly memorable, iconic sign of her times. Bond captures that with finesse, style, and incredible detail.”
―Ann Beardsley, Scribes World Reviews