Untied: A Memoir of Family, Fame, and Floundering

A Letter from Author Meredith Baxter
For about fifty of my 63 years, (that’s 79.365079365079% of my life) I was miserable. I thought I’d been a victim for most of it and, consequently, was pretty sure I was not to blame. I could save the blame for all the others who had conspired (so it seemed) to keep me down. I was the saddest girl you’d ever met and probably would have lived out my days in that sadness had I not experienced the miracle of a change in my thinking.

I thought that was worth writing about--the lessons I’ve learned--because they’ve been so many and so profound. I had to learn that, although I was indeed the center of my own life, I wasn’t necessarily the center of the lives of others. Most of you know that within your first decade, but I just took my time.

My book is about the price I paid for being so self-centered, where it all took me and how I broke the cycle of thinking that was so disastrous for me. Of course, along the way, I talk about my family, my career, my marriages and children, Family Ties and many movies. I talk about infidelity, domestic abuse, divorce, devastation and drinking my way through a few movies.

Once I get sober, all sorts of fun things start to happen. I get some great movie roles. I get married yet again. I get breast cancer and another divorce. Then, I realize I like girls. Finally, all’s well in my world and because all of these changes are so surprising and happening so fast and I don’t want to forget any of them, I decide I better write it all down.

A Look Inside Untied

Meredith in Hollywood, 1956
Bridget Loves Bernie publicity shot
Family Ties publicity shot
The twins and Meredith reading on the beach