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Vendor
Liepman Literary Agency
Marc Koralnik
Original language
English

LOVE HER MADLY

Bill Cosgrave

A Memoir of Jim Morrison, Mary and Me

A riveting memoir that works its magic like a slow-acting drug, revealing the story of Jim Morrison's first love, a long-lost friendship, and the man who existed before The Doors.
In the spring of 1965, eighteen-year-old Bill Cosgrave was smuggled across the border into the United States. With only $115 in his pocket and no concrete plans, he'd been denied official entry, but he had an
irresistible invitation from his friend Mary Werbelow to claim a spot on her couch. Upon arriving at her apartment in Los Angeles, Mary introduced Bill to her fiancé, a shy, charming young man named Jim Morrison. Jim and Bill bonded quickly, and Bill had to relinquish his romantic notions about Mary.

When Jim and Mary's relationship faltered, Jim headed for Venice Beach with a notebook, in which he transformed his heartbreak into verse. Bill joined him and the two friends spent endless days in an altered
state, enjoying the aimlessness of their youth and the freedom of those unique times. In the late summer, Bill and Mary were astonished to learn – never knowing him to hum or sing a note – that Jim was cofounding a rock and roll group called The Doors. The contents of that notebook evolved into
stratospheric hit songs, and they watched from the sidelines as the young man they loved set off on a meteoric and ultimately tragic path.

Mary would eventually disappear. But 45 years later, Bill set out to find her

Love Her Madly works its magic like a slow-acting drug, immersing the reader in a lost but not forgotten era and an unknown side of Jim Morrison. Simultaneously, it's the story of the man who escaped the same temptations; the man who lived in the moment but knew when to walk away.

On the Road meets The Fortress of Solitude in this spare, frank story, which will leave the reader wistful for what might have been.

BILL COSGRAVE was born in Toronto. After his vagabond days in Los Angeles, he settled down in British Columbia and cofounded what became the largest inclusive tour company in Canada, which he named, appropriately, Fun Seekers
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Published 2020-10-01 by Dundurn Press

Comments

"Throbbing with life, Bill Cosgrave's memoir Love Her Madly recalls a brief time in America's history when all things seemed possible . . . Love Her Madly is a memoir that's filled with adventure, love, and loss, distilling the hopes and dreams of a generation." – Foreword Reviews

AST

among the 18 books for the music fan this holiday season