What do you think?
Rate this book
Laura's Ghost: Women Speak About Twin Peaks
In 1990, the groundbreaking television series Twin Peaks, co-created by David Lynch and Mark Frost, opened with a murder mystery when a beautiful homecoming queen, wrapped in plastic, washed up on a cold and rocky beach. Laura Palmer’s character began as a plot device that triggered a small town to face its fractured self.
But after three seasons and a film, Laura Palmer is no longer just a plot device. Instead of solely focusing on the murderer, like most traditional storytelling at the time, the audience gets to know the victim, a complex young woman who explores her sexuality and endures incredible abuse.
Laura’s Ghost: Women Speak About Twin Peaks is an examination of Laura Palmer’s legacy on the 30th anniversary of Twin Peaks. Palmer’s character was one of the few frank and horrific representations of sexual abuse victims which did not diminish the strength and complexity of the victim. Sheryl Lee, who played Laura Palmer, discusses the challenges of the role and how it has impacted herself as well as women she has met over the years, many of whom are survivors of sexual abuse. The role demanded Lee give all of her vulnerability as an actor to this role. This role is one she cannot escape, one with which she will forever be identified. It’s a role that still haunts her today. For many women, this character represents them. Here was a woman who was not just a victim, but who was owning her sexuality as well - a woman coming into her own and discovering her sources of power. This book is a reckoning in which women from the show and community speak about grief, mischief, humor, sexuality, strength, weakness, wickedness, and survival.
But after three seasons and a film, Laura Palmer is no longer just a plot device. Instead of solely focusing on the murderer, like most traditional storytelling at the time, the audience gets to know the victim, a complex young woman who explores her sexuality and endures incredible abuse.
Laura’s Ghost: Women Speak About Twin Peaks is an examination of Laura Palmer’s legacy on the 30th anniversary of Twin Peaks. Palmer’s character was one of the few frank and horrific representations of sexual abuse victims which did not diminish the strength and complexity of the victim. Sheryl Lee, who played Laura Palmer, discusses the challenges of the role and how it has impacted herself as well as women she has met over the years, many of whom are survivors of sexual abuse. The role demanded Lee give all of her vulnerability as an actor to this role. This role is one she cannot escape, one with which she will forever be identified. It’s a role that still haunts her today. For many women, this character represents them. Here was a woman who was not just a victim, but who was owning her sexuality as well - a woman coming into her own and discovering her sources of power. This book is a reckoning in which women from the show and community speak about grief, mischief, humor, sexuality, strength, weakness, wickedness, and survival.
200 pages, Paperback
Published October 20, 2020
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
October 23, 2020
I, like many women, have a difficult time processing the abuse that lies at the core of Twin Peaks.
It is not a lighthearted story, as much as the cherry pie and damn fine coffee would lead you to believe. It is a story of trauma, of incest and death and horror far scarier than anything Stephen king could ever come up with. Twin Peaks is, as its heart, the tragedy of a life lost because no one cared to look.
Personally, I have problems with the show (and its “sequel” film, Fire Walk With Me). A whole host of them, in fact, as much as I love Dale Cooper and Annie Blackburn and the quaint, soap opera-y feel of the show as a whole. I have problems with the way people praise David Lynch for doing the bare minimum, for flaunting poorly constructed, stereotypical women and then tossing them into the ambiguity of the void as an excuse to avoid explaining his methods. I have problems with any man who uses abuse as a plotline, because far too often, it is used without care.
So, when Courtenay Stallings’ Laura’s Ghost: Women Speak About Twin Peaks came along, the concept of the show as empowering was infinitely interesting from an academic feminist point of view.
Out October 20th from Fayetteville Mafia Press, Laura’s Ghost seeks to recontextualize the story of Laura Palmer within Twin Peaks as brave and unique, rather than exploitative. It poses the concept of Laura Palmer as a vehicle for women to process their own trauma, and for the world at large to understand the depth and seriousness of familial abuse. Entertainment as an emotional lens has certainly been researched time and again by literary theorists, and Stallings seeks to prove just how deeply women can connect with the story of the poor, murdered homecoming queen…
…But Laura’s Ghost barely even skims the surface.
A certain level of production quality is to be expected from small press releases, but a large portion of Laura’s Ghost feels sloppy. The chapters feel out of order, and what was promised as an analysis of the central topic – Laura Palmer as a lens for feminine trauma – is presented instead as a series of interviews with female Twin Peaks fans that have almost nothing to do with their beloved homecoming queen at all.
Stallings clearly valued quantity over quality in her writing – twenty-nine women were interviewed for the book, and aside from the testimonies of the four women directly involved with the production of Twin Peaks, all of their testimonials begin to run together after the twentieth page. Instead of discussing their individual interpretations of Laura, or presenting each woman’s quotes as features within a larger essay, Stallings reprints what seem to be entire interviews verbatim, where the questions go no deeper than “when was the first time you watched Twin Peaks?”
Oral histories are a tried and true subgenre of nonfiction, but one expects a certain amount of style and tact to come with them. The lack of organization and depth in Stallings’ interviews gives the impression that she has little experience in long-form writing, repeatedly committing the major sin of assuming her audience knows exactly what she’s referring to without any context. Her interviews, while sincere, veer off-topic like an eighteen-wheeler on black ice – a large portion of each interview is spent discussing interviewees’ experience as women in creative fields, without any connection back to the source topic. Any discussion of Twin Peaks is surface-level, and only a few subjects (Gabrielle Norte and Sezín Koehler, the only two women of color featured in the book) manage to bring up active analysis or criticism of the show.
Laura Palmer is lost to a sea of fangirling from the very offset of the book – a generic jingle of “I love Twin Peaks because I grew up with it” that washes her cries out like the tune of a particularly obnoxious ice cream truck. “Twin Peaks as Subversive Fairy Tale”, Stallings’ analysis chapter on the show as a narrative structure, is shoehorned into the book’s conclusion when it perhaps should have been the crux of it all, overlooked in favor of repetitive testimonial. It feels cheap after two hundred pages of the same thing, as if Stallings made a last ditch effort to tie the project together just before her draft was due. Additionally, the inclusion of an essay on Amie Harwick, a Twin Peaks fan murdered by an abusive partner, felt unconscionable and wrong, particularly when it comes to drawing parallels between her and Laura Palmer that cheapen her to nothing more than the equivalent of a fake character.
The only writing that seems to have any merit is a reprint of Willow Catelyn Maclay’s “Northern Star” essay, which provides the analysis of Laura’s position and lack of agency within Twin Peaks from the perspective of a trauma survivor. It is a diamond in the rough, providing the depth and thoughtful commentary that I’d expected from the rest of the book and failed to find. It posits the real reason why so many women see Laura Palmer as a guardian angel, as a symbol of tragedy as well as hope, and carves into the depth of emotion I’d been hoping to see.
This book feels disjointed — like a master’s thesis that someone crammed a handful of extra, unnecessary material into to turn it into a book. It feels disorganized, underedited, and like it can’t quite reach the point it’s attempting to make. It is not a consistent narrative, but rather shifts forms with each chapter, from an oral history to an essay collection to something that feels like Stallings’ publishers didn’t quite give a final copy edit on.
Conceptually, Laura’s Ghost is a brilliant concept – reclaiming a show with a heavily male fanbase as a source of feminine empowerment runs right up my alley. Seeing a feminine perspective on Twin Peaks feels incredibly gratifying, if only to know that it is possible to carve a space out for oneself when it feels impossible as a woman with trauma. The voices of female artists are important now more than ever, and despite its flaws, I appreciate Stallings’ desire to posit Twin Peaks as a space for women, when so many “classic” television shows are gatekept by men who think they know everything. I appreciate her fervor and love for Laura Palmer, and her support and compassion for those who identify with her story.
I just wish she’d executed it better.
It is not a lighthearted story, as much as the cherry pie and damn fine coffee would lead you to believe. It is a story of trauma, of incest and death and horror far scarier than anything Stephen king could ever come up with. Twin Peaks is, as its heart, the tragedy of a life lost because no one cared to look.
Personally, I have problems with the show (and its “sequel” film, Fire Walk With Me). A whole host of them, in fact, as much as I love Dale Cooper and Annie Blackburn and the quaint, soap opera-y feel of the show as a whole. I have problems with the way people praise David Lynch for doing the bare minimum, for flaunting poorly constructed, stereotypical women and then tossing them into the ambiguity of the void as an excuse to avoid explaining his methods. I have problems with any man who uses abuse as a plotline, because far too often, it is used without care.
So, when Courtenay Stallings’ Laura’s Ghost: Women Speak About Twin Peaks came along, the concept of the show as empowering was infinitely interesting from an academic feminist point of view.
Out October 20th from Fayetteville Mafia Press, Laura’s Ghost seeks to recontextualize the story of Laura Palmer within Twin Peaks as brave and unique, rather than exploitative. It poses the concept of Laura Palmer as a vehicle for women to process their own trauma, and for the world at large to understand the depth and seriousness of familial abuse. Entertainment as an emotional lens has certainly been researched time and again by literary theorists, and Stallings seeks to prove just how deeply women can connect with the story of the poor, murdered homecoming queen…
…But Laura’s Ghost barely even skims the surface.
A certain level of production quality is to be expected from small press releases, but a large portion of Laura’s Ghost feels sloppy. The chapters feel out of order, and what was promised as an analysis of the central topic – Laura Palmer as a lens for feminine trauma – is presented instead as a series of interviews with female Twin Peaks fans that have almost nothing to do with their beloved homecoming queen at all.
Stallings clearly valued quantity over quality in her writing – twenty-nine women were interviewed for the book, and aside from the testimonies of the four women directly involved with the production of Twin Peaks, all of their testimonials begin to run together after the twentieth page. Instead of discussing their individual interpretations of Laura, or presenting each woman’s quotes as features within a larger essay, Stallings reprints what seem to be entire interviews verbatim, where the questions go no deeper than “when was the first time you watched Twin Peaks?”
Oral histories are a tried and true subgenre of nonfiction, but one expects a certain amount of style and tact to come with them. The lack of organization and depth in Stallings’ interviews gives the impression that she has little experience in long-form writing, repeatedly committing the major sin of assuming her audience knows exactly what she’s referring to without any context. Her interviews, while sincere, veer off-topic like an eighteen-wheeler on black ice – a large portion of each interview is spent discussing interviewees’ experience as women in creative fields, without any connection back to the source topic. Any discussion of Twin Peaks is surface-level, and only a few subjects (Gabrielle Norte and Sezín Koehler, the only two women of color featured in the book) manage to bring up active analysis or criticism of the show.
Laura Palmer is lost to a sea of fangirling from the very offset of the book – a generic jingle of “I love Twin Peaks because I grew up with it” that washes her cries out like the tune of a particularly obnoxious ice cream truck. “Twin Peaks as Subversive Fairy Tale”, Stallings’ analysis chapter on the show as a narrative structure, is shoehorned into the book’s conclusion when it perhaps should have been the crux of it all, overlooked in favor of repetitive testimonial. It feels cheap after two hundred pages of the same thing, as if Stallings made a last ditch effort to tie the project together just before her draft was due. Additionally, the inclusion of an essay on Amie Harwick, a Twin Peaks fan murdered by an abusive partner, felt unconscionable and wrong, particularly when it comes to drawing parallels between her and Laura Palmer that cheapen her to nothing more than the equivalent of a fake character.
The only writing that seems to have any merit is a reprint of Willow Catelyn Maclay’s “Northern Star” essay, which provides the analysis of Laura’s position and lack of agency within Twin Peaks from the perspective of a trauma survivor. It is a diamond in the rough, providing the depth and thoughtful commentary that I’d expected from the rest of the book and failed to find. It posits the real reason why so many women see Laura Palmer as a guardian angel, as a symbol of tragedy as well as hope, and carves into the depth of emotion I’d been hoping to see.
This book feels disjointed — like a master’s thesis that someone crammed a handful of extra, unnecessary material into to turn it into a book. It feels disorganized, underedited, and like it can’t quite reach the point it’s attempting to make. It is not a consistent narrative, but rather shifts forms with each chapter, from an oral history to an essay collection to something that feels like Stallings’ publishers didn’t quite give a final copy edit on.
Conceptually, Laura’s Ghost is a brilliant concept – reclaiming a show with a heavily male fanbase as a source of feminine empowerment runs right up my alley. Seeing a feminine perspective on Twin Peaks feels incredibly gratifying, if only to know that it is possible to carve a space out for oneself when it feels impossible as a woman with trauma. The voices of female artists are important now more than ever, and despite its flaws, I appreciate Stallings’ desire to posit Twin Peaks as a space for women, when so many “classic” television shows are gatekept by men who think they know everything. I appreciate her fervor and love for Laura Palmer, and her support and compassion for those who identify with her story.
I just wish she’d executed it better.
November 16, 2021
I came to this book because I thought it would be a feminist perspective on Twin Peaks; I really struggled with the overt misogyny of The Return and wanted to hear what other women thought about it. But this book is mostly about sexual trauma and violence as suffered by fans of the female Twin Peaks community.
I gave it three stars for the courage it took for so many women to speak up and relate their situations in print, and I hope this book helps more victims do the same. I also found it very illuminating to hear how survivors interpreted the ending of The Return as taking away from Laura's happy ending in FWWM.
But it's strange to me, when the subhead is Women Speak about Twin Peaks, that no one talks with any depth or seriousness about the naked/scantily clad women subjected to violence in The Return; the number of naked women shown vs the number of naked men; their feelings on Agent Tammy Preston or the storylines of Diane and Audrey Horne; etc., and that it's only in the last few pages when they talk about the ramifications of Dale "saving" Laura/Carrie.
I gave it three stars for the courage it took for so many women to speak up and relate their situations in print, and I hope this book helps more victims do the same. I also found it very illuminating to hear how survivors interpreted the ending of The Return as taking away from Laura's happy ending in FWWM.
But it's strange to me, when the subhead is Women Speak about Twin Peaks, that no one talks with any depth or seriousness about the naked/scantily clad women subjected to violence in The Return; the number of naked women shown vs the number of naked men; their feelings on Agent Tammy Preston or the storylines of Diane and Audrey Horne; etc., and that it's only in the last few pages when they talk about the ramifications of Dale "saving" Laura/Carrie.
August 14, 2023
Not what I expected. I thought this would be interpretive academic essays on the show, but it's mostly a collection of interviews with women who either were involved in Twin Peaks directly or are fans of the franchise. Once I adjusted my expectations I was able to enjoy it more, although the collection of fan interviews in the middle of the book gets pretty boring & repetitive in parts. But there are some real moments of beauty and truth here where women relay the importance of this story to them as survivors of abuse and violence -- this to me is the real core of Twin Peaks and David Lynch's overall career project. There were some moments in this book that were deeply emotionally resonant, and it was heartening to see people talk about one of my favorite pieces of media ever in such a powerful, personal way. The interviews with Sheryl Lee and Grace Zabriskie are enlightening as well.
January 22, 2024
This wasn't what I was hoping it would be, and that's partly on me. I was expecting more of, I think, an academic look at the character of Laura Palmer, but this was more of an exploration of Twin Peaks fandom, with a slight focus on women's relationships to that character. I totally respect all of the women who spoke about their experiences, but I wanted more of a focus on Laura. Sheryl Lee's and Grace Zabriskie's interviews with the author are really lovely though - you can tell they've really put a lot of thought into their characters and what they mean.
September 23, 2022
A beautiful collection of women's stories as seen through their identification with the character of Laura Palmer. I actually cried reading this at one point. 4/5
November 28, 2023
Laura Palmer is THAT girl 🫡
March 12, 2024
I will never think about Twin Peaks the same way again.
Every invisible wounded woman is seen through Laura Palmer.
Every invisible wounded woman is seen through Laura Palmer.
February 1, 2024
YOU HAVE TO EMBRACE THE JOYFUL SORROWS OF LIFE OR ELSE IT WILL CRUSH YOU
Despite sometimes finding Stallings' extractions and research on the show, the lore, and sexual abuse as a societal problem to be shallow (like u can only cite RAINN so many times), this was very awesome and I read it in one sitting. It's at times clunky, but I've never read anything about Twin Peaks or any of Lynch's art that left me feeling good after. Love him but let's be serious I always feel that sadness-dipped nausea after Redditing his works. But Ya Reddit u are nothing to me now. No piece of lit has allowed me to wrap my mind around Laura Palmer and, by extension, all of Twin Peaks in such a compassionate and accurate way as this. Stallings' writing itself doesn't do much for me, but most notably Willow Catelyn Maclay's Northern Star essay (Google-able) and the "Sheryl Lee is the One" chapter really ate.
The kitsch, the Americana, the homey-ness of it all is what is so lovely on the surface and what wraps us into a false sense of security before unveiling the horrific truths of incest and sexual trauma in through a scarily-accurate portrayal of a High School Girl from a man. But we know she wasn't created solely from Lynch's mind: she was Jennifer Lynch's diary novel, she was the spirit and humanity Lynch saw in Sheryl Lee, she was the truth Lynch perceived in the world around him — a truth we all bear witness to, but choose to ignore, that we never heard to begin with. Bobby's grief at the funeral, a catatonic Sarah in TR, Jacoby, Hayward, and COOPER in the closing scene of TPTR. The Return was damning (see 3rd Fav Quote), but a harsh mirror, emblematic of the public reception of FWWM.
Laura is a tulpa for the audience, for everyone who has experienced sexual assault. Sheryl Lee, in occupying a Lifelong role, is their tulpa, too. I see myself in Sheryl Lee who sees myself in Laura Palmer. Oftentimes there is no home to return to.
Fav Quotes:
-“'[FWWM perhaps was not well received because it] reminded people that at the center of Twin Peaks was a story of incest and filicide'" (Chris Rodley)
- “I do believe that if a person would have intervened with Laura she would have made it. She wanted to make it . . . she was a survivor" (Sheryl Lee)
- “in such, Lynch damns himself, Cooper, and the audience, who never weighed the cost of what Twin Peaks coming back meant. Laura spoke, and this time she was heard.” (Willow Catelyn Maclay)
- “The thing I remember most about you, though, Laura, is your loneliness. That loneliness haunted me. Walking back into my empty hotel room by myself each day, left to deal with the fragmented pieces of my own life, your loneliness would still fill my room. My prayer is that you are now someplace where you are truly loved and at peaceful rest.” (Sheryl Lee)
-"“Home/Twin Peaks is both a place Cooper wants to return to and a state of mind where the viewer wants to return to but cannot. The town of Twin Peaks is not the same home that Cooper or the viewers remember: it’s been twenty-five years, and something is off. ”
4.5/5
Despite sometimes finding Stallings' extractions and research on the show, the lore, and sexual abuse as a societal problem to be shallow (like u can only cite RAINN so many times), this was very awesome and I read it in one sitting. It's at times clunky, but I've never read anything about Twin Peaks or any of Lynch's art that left me feeling good after. Love him but let's be serious I always feel that sadness-dipped nausea after Redditing his works. But Ya Reddit u are nothing to me now. No piece of lit has allowed me to wrap my mind around Laura Palmer and, by extension, all of Twin Peaks in such a compassionate and accurate way as this. Stallings' writing itself doesn't do much for me, but most notably Willow Catelyn Maclay's Northern Star essay (Google-able) and the "Sheryl Lee is the One" chapter really ate.
The kitsch, the Americana, the homey-ness of it all is what is so lovely on the surface and what wraps us into a false sense of security before unveiling the horrific truths of incest and sexual trauma in through a scarily-accurate portrayal of a High School Girl from a man. But we know she wasn't created solely from Lynch's mind: she was Jennifer Lynch's diary novel, she was the spirit and humanity Lynch saw in Sheryl Lee, she was the truth Lynch perceived in the world around him — a truth we all bear witness to, but choose to ignore, that we never heard to begin with. Bobby's grief at the funeral, a catatonic Sarah in TR, Jacoby, Hayward, and COOPER in the closing scene of TPTR. The Return was damning (see 3rd Fav Quote), but a harsh mirror, emblematic of the public reception of FWWM.
Laura is a tulpa for the audience, for everyone who has experienced sexual assault. Sheryl Lee, in occupying a Lifelong role, is their tulpa, too. I see myself in Sheryl Lee who sees myself in Laura Palmer. Oftentimes there is no home to return to.
Fav Quotes:
-“'[FWWM perhaps was not well received because it] reminded people that at the center of Twin Peaks was a story of incest and filicide'" (Chris Rodley)
- “I do believe that if a person would have intervened with Laura she would have made it. She wanted to make it . . . she was a survivor" (Sheryl Lee)
- “in such, Lynch damns himself, Cooper, and the audience, who never weighed the cost of what Twin Peaks coming back meant. Laura spoke, and this time she was heard.” (Willow Catelyn Maclay)
- “The thing I remember most about you, though, Laura, is your loneliness. That loneliness haunted me. Walking back into my empty hotel room by myself each day, left to deal with the fragmented pieces of my own life, your loneliness would still fill my room. My prayer is that you are now someplace where you are truly loved and at peaceful rest.” (Sheryl Lee)
-"“Home/Twin Peaks is both a place Cooper wants to return to and a state of mind where the viewer wants to return to but cannot. The town of Twin Peaks is not the same home that Cooper or the viewers remember: it’s been twenty-five years, and something is off. ”
4.5/5
Read
May 15, 2024I had this borrowed for a full month and a half and ended up returning it to the library without bothering to finish. I found the title so misleading - women do speak about Twin Peaks in the book but it was "Laura's Ghost" that had piqued my interest & gave me the wrong idea on what it would be about.
I read up through Grace Zabriskie's interview (incredible woman, even though the interview was more about her poetry and film work, it was a fascinating peek into her life) and decided to drop it, the interview format was not for me, and half of the questions were unrelated to Twin Peaks or Laura at all, coming off as David Lynch fangirling more than anything else. This isn't to say the questions were bad or uninteresting, but it wasn't what I had hoped to get out of this - Laura Palmer is such an incredibly fascinating character who had such a profound impact on popular culture and so many people, and exploring abuse topics through that lens and through the lived experience of women who identified with her would have made for a much different read. Sheryl Lee touches upon that on some of the Fire Walk With Me extra content and I would have loved to read about Twin Peaks under that angle.
Expectations on the content aside though, I found the introduction chapter's writing to be incredibly shallow and basic, so it was a pretty big disappointment overall. Either pausing this or DNFing it but either way, not too eager to get back to it at the moment
I read up through Grace Zabriskie's interview (incredible woman, even though the interview was more about her poetry and film work, it was a fascinating peek into her life) and decided to drop it, the interview format was not for me, and half of the questions were unrelated to Twin Peaks or Laura at all, coming off as David Lynch fangirling more than anything else. This isn't to say the questions were bad or uninteresting, but it wasn't what I had hoped to get out of this - Laura Palmer is such an incredibly fascinating character who had such a profound impact on popular culture and so many people, and exploring abuse topics through that lens and through the lived experience of women who identified with her would have made for a much different read. Sheryl Lee touches upon that on some of the Fire Walk With Me extra content and I would have loved to read about Twin Peaks under that angle.
Expectations on the content aside though, I found the introduction chapter's writing to be incredibly shallow and basic, so it was a pretty big disappointment overall. Either pausing this or DNFing it but either way, not too eager to get back to it at the moment
November 13, 2020
*I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair an honest review."
I really wanted to give this book a higher rating, but it's not quite what I expected. I think from the description, I assumed it would be essays, or have a more academic approach to talking about Twin Peaks. It's an interview format, which felt a lot like reading a podcast. If it were a podcast instead of a book, it's one I would definitely tune in to listen to -- the interviews just started to drag after a while, and got shorter as the book progressed, which made me wonder why some of them were included at all. There were some interesting ones and some that I was less interested in, mostly depending on the degree of closeness the interview subject had to Twin Peaks. Obviously, the interviews with actors, producers, and showrunners from the series, as well as Jennifer Lynch, were the most in-depth and interesting. Once we moved to the fan base interviews, it got less interesting to read and felt more like the best Twin Peaks podcast I've never heard. Best one of those was Milly Moo, whose Twin Peaks dollies are awesome and I only know about because of the book.
I would only recommend this to hardcore Twin Peaks fans, because for a casual fan, this won't be a satisfying read.
Don't sleep on that podcast idea though....?
I really wanted to give this book a higher rating, but it's not quite what I expected. I think from the description, I assumed it would be essays, or have a more academic approach to talking about Twin Peaks. It's an interview format, which felt a lot like reading a podcast. If it were a podcast instead of a book, it's one I would definitely tune in to listen to -- the interviews just started to drag after a while, and got shorter as the book progressed, which made me wonder why some of them were included at all. There were some interesting ones and some that I was less interested in, mostly depending on the degree of closeness the interview subject had to Twin Peaks. Obviously, the interviews with actors, producers, and showrunners from the series, as well as Jennifer Lynch, were the most in-depth and interesting. Once we moved to the fan base interviews, it got less interesting to read and felt more like the best Twin Peaks podcast I've never heard. Best one of those was Milly Moo, whose Twin Peaks dollies are awesome and I only know about because of the book.
I would only recommend this to hardcore Twin Peaks fans, because for a casual fan, this won't be a satisfying read.
Don't sleep on that podcast idea though....?
September 18, 2020
This is—excuse me—a damn fine book.
“Ghosts can have light and dark influences,” writes author Courtenay Stallings, and like a ghost, Laura Palmer from “Twin Peaks” continues to haunt the hearts of fans of the show thirty years later. For many women in particular, Laura’s story of survivorship is a testament to the strength of her engrossing, powerful, disarming, ultimately hopeful character.
“Laura’s Ghost: Women Speak about Twin Peaks” features not only essays and interviews from the women most fundamental in bringing Laura to life—Sheryl Lee (Laura’s actor), Grace Zabriskie (who plays Laura’s mother), Jennifer Lynch (writer of Laura’s notorious diary), and Sabrina S. Sutherland (production coordinator and executive producer of the series)—but also stories from female artists, writers, critics, and filmmakers inspired to this day by Laura’s journey both wonderful and strange.
Stallings brings the trauma and persona of Laura to the forefront of this book with compassion and unflinching honesty, revealing how Laura, a teenager just trying to live, affected women like her on the deepest, most personal level imaginable.
This book sticks with you. Five stars.
“Ghosts can have light and dark influences,” writes author Courtenay Stallings, and like a ghost, Laura Palmer from “Twin Peaks” continues to haunt the hearts of fans of the show thirty years later. For many women in particular, Laura’s story of survivorship is a testament to the strength of her engrossing, powerful, disarming, ultimately hopeful character.
“Laura’s Ghost: Women Speak about Twin Peaks” features not only essays and interviews from the women most fundamental in bringing Laura to life—Sheryl Lee (Laura’s actor), Grace Zabriskie (who plays Laura’s mother), Jennifer Lynch (writer of Laura’s notorious diary), and Sabrina S. Sutherland (production coordinator and executive producer of the series)—but also stories from female artists, writers, critics, and filmmakers inspired to this day by Laura’s journey both wonderful and strange.
Stallings brings the trauma and persona of Laura to the forefront of this book with compassion and unflinching honesty, revealing how Laura, a teenager just trying to live, affected women like her on the deepest, most personal level imaginable.
This book sticks with you. Five stars.
September 20, 2020
This book is fantastic. Being a Twin Peaks fanatic, I try to read all that is out there. This book is different and beautiful. It’s the reactions, stories, and emotions tied to Laura Palmer’s impact. The stories essays and interviews told within this book are all from women. I thought it was an interesting topic before I read it, and now I know why it was important to be an all female viewpoint. After reading this, I have more insight into what Laura means beyond the fandom of Twin Peaks, especially to those that are survivors of abuse.
The author gathered a great assortment of people for this book, some involved with the show, to people who are big fans. This is a must read for anyone who enjoys Twin Peaks to help dive into the character of Laura Palmer (and the actress Sheryl Lee who played her), the importance of her character, and understanding of how people see her as an inspiration dealing with their own abuse. The book opened my eyes as a fan and a human. A great, Important read.
The author gathered a great assortment of people for this book, some involved with the show, to people who are big fans. This is a must read for anyone who enjoys Twin Peaks to help dive into the character of Laura Palmer (and the actress Sheryl Lee who played her), the importance of her character, and understanding of how people see her as an inspiration dealing with their own abuse. The book opened my eyes as a fan and a human. A great, Important read.
June 22, 2023
I really enjoyed this but the interviews could have used at least two more rounds of edits as I found some of them repetitive and lacking substance. I hate being critical about this type of book because I know how much work goes into it and how few resources are typically allocated, but that's my honest take. The content wasn't what I was expecting when I bought it, but I did find value in reading about why different women connected so deeply with "Twin Peaks."
The highlights for me were the essays by Willow Catelyn Maclay and Samantha Weisberg, along with the section of interview snippets grouped by category ("Women in the Fan Community Speak about Laura Palmer"). I actually wish all of the interviews had been organized in this way instead of initially separated out by interviewee, although I understand the editor's rationale. Overall, I'm happy to own a copy and will certainly revisit parts of it during my David Lynch rewatches.
The highlights for me were the essays by Willow Catelyn Maclay and Samantha Weisberg, along with the section of interview snippets grouped by category ("Women in the Fan Community Speak about Laura Palmer"). I actually wish all of the interviews had been organized in this way instead of initially separated out by interviewee, although I understand the editor's rationale. Overall, I'm happy to own a copy and will certainly revisit parts of it during my David Lynch rewatches.
December 27, 2020
thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with an ARC through NetGalley! i’m a big fan of twin peaks so this book held a lot of promise for me. it’s obviously well researched and created with a lot of tenderness and care, but the repetitive structure of each interview collected within made the book drag for me. personally i felt that it was a slow read without much payoff but i really appreciate the intention put into the interviews by the author.
January 2, 2022
This wasn't quite what I was expecting, as there wasn't actually that much discussion of Laura Palmer or "Twin Peaks". This was a very interesting read about women in and adjacent to the entertainment industry, but a lot of times the focus had to kind of circle back to the show or the characters. There are a lot of moving, resonant stories and experiences shared here, but the connection to the show that this book is framed as is tangential more than direct.
October 1, 2020
Beautifully written and curated, these stories of survival serve the greater purposes of validating the experiences of anyone who has survived trauma, and assuring them that they are not alone. The women on this book along with Laura Palmer’s ghost will haunt the reader in the most intimate corners of their mind, in the best, most loving way imaginable.
December 29, 2020
Even a die hard Lynch fan like myself won't take a lot away from this. Although, the audience is really intended for a subset of the David Lynch and Twin Peaks Fandom - females and survivors of trauma. I think women who are deeply involved with the Laura Palmer lore will get the most out of this. Interesting in parts and it's a nice piece to acknowledge the fans of this great series.
May 15, 2023
This book is by fans for the fans. I think the description online, and inside the book of "essays" is false and being far too generous. What's published are conversations between the author/editor and people involved in the fan community.
I think the most relevant idea that's brought up is whether or not Laura has agency after the original show's run.
I think the most relevant idea that's brought up is whether or not Laura has agency after the original show's run.
September 30, 2020
This book will break your heart and then fill it with hope. Sheryl Lee shares so much about what it was like to play Laura and Courtenay creates a safe space for all these women to share their stories.
January 23, 2021
Just ok.
I’m a sucker for anything Twin Peaks, and this looked really promising. Unfortunately I was not particularly interested in endless “when did you first watch TP?” stories. Laura deserves better.
I’m a sucker for anything Twin Peaks, and this looked really promising. Unfortunately I was not particularly interested in endless “when did you first watch TP?” stories. Laura deserves better.
December 28, 2022
I wanted to give this 4 stars, but I guess I was expecting more long form essays and analyses on the show/film. The interviews were fine but did get repetitive. I would’ve liked more chapters like the “Northern Star” essay reprint and interview.
September 30, 2020
This book was very interesting for me!
May 9, 2021
If you’re a fan of twin peaks you gotta read this bad boy. Twin Peaks discourse/academia often misses the mark on including femme voices in the discussion and I think this text bridges that gap.
May 23, 2021
A wonderfully rich collection of interviews, essays, poems, and other reflections on Twin Peaks, strongly focused on the key questions it raises about incest and sexual abuse.
June 14, 2021
Powerful
Real stories of the impact Twin Peaks has had on the actors and the fandom. Bright at times and others very dark.
Real stories of the impact Twin Peaks has had on the actors and the fandom. Bright at times and others very dark.
September 29, 2021
“You can try to pull Laura back into the world, but it won't quite be her.”
January 2, 2022
If you are at all a fan of the show, read this
August 27, 2023
I was so incredibly disappointed in this book --> it was sold as a book about women who fought back against their abusers and found their voice with the help of Twin Peaks. Instead, the book focused on women who are in the arts or who were involved in the show in some way and how it impacted their life. A good book if it would have been packaged correctly.
April 25, 2022
I recently reread this book, and it was still as moving as it was the first time. Stallings is a true “Twin Peaks” scholar. Her love of everything regarding the series and film(s) comes through in such a passionate way. This book focuses on the character, Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), and how the women involved with the show and the female fans that were inspired creatively by her. Sheryl Lee (Laura), Grace Zabriskie (Sarah Palmer), Jennifer Lynch (author of “The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer), and Sabrina Sutherland (producer of “Twin Peaks”) give heartfelt and incisive interviews to Stallings. Many of the fans interviewed talk about how the shoe and the character affected/shadowed their lives. Stallings reveals why she always wanted to write this book and how she could relate to Laura. Semi-spoiler trigger warning: Laura was a character that was sexually abused and that subject is brought up by many of the women interviewed for this book, whether they are talking about the character or their own stories.
“Laura’s Ghost” is a very powerful book. Stallings makes sure that for all of us, Laura Palmer lives within us.
“Laura’s Ghost” is a very powerful book. Stallings makes sure that for all of us, Laura Palmer lives within us.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews