Loving Natalee: A Mother's Testament of Hope and Faith
Encyclopedia
Loving Natalee: A Mother's Testament of Hope and Faith is an autobiography
written by Beth Holloway
about her missing daughter Natalee Holloway
, with portions contributed by Sunny Tillman. It was first published in October 2007 by HarperOne, an imprint
of HarperCollins
, and has also been marketed under its alternate subtitle
The True Story of the Aruba Kidnapping and Its Aftermath.
, her attorney John Q. Kelly took over the case and she spent the next two years traveling to various high schools and colleges to present messages about personal safety. When she thought about reaching more travelers with her story, Holloway said that her efforts evolved into writing a book.
, including the failure to obtain a warrant to search the home of suspect Joran van der Sloot
.
edition and e-book
were published on October 2, 2007. A paperback
edition was published on April 28, 2009 under the alternate title Loving Natalee: The True Story of the Aruba Kidnapping and Its Aftermath and includes additional material. The hardcover and paperback versions both contain 256 pages. A Dutch language
version, titled Lieve Natalee: het ware verhaal over Natalee Holloway, was released in March 2008 by Schuyt & Co.
magazine. It was later promoted during an interview with Holloway on The Oprah Winfrey Show
. Soon after its initial release in October 2007, the book was on The New York Times best seller list.
Dennis Lythgoe of Deseret News, noting that the book was ghostwritten
, remarked that it was "not very well-written", but complimented it as "a compelling glimpse of this mother's electric personality."
announced plans to create a television film title based on the book. The senior vice president of original movies, Tanya Lopez, stated in the announcement that the network was "pleased to be working closely with Natalee's mother" and that they intended to tell the story of Holloway's disappearance "sensitively and accurately." Jarett Wieselman of the New York Post
questioned whether it was too soon for such a film to be made.
The April 19, 2009 broadcast of Natalee Holloway
attracted 3.2 million viewers, garnering the highest television ratings
in the network's 11-year history. Although it set ratings records for Lifetime, the movie was not received well by critic Alec Harvey of The Birmingham News
. Harvey called the movie "sloppy and uneven, a forgettable look at the tragedy that consumed the nation's attention for months". However, Jake Meaney of PopMatters
found the film to be surprisingly "calm and levelheaded", and praised Tracy Pollan
's portrayal of Holloway's mother. Joran van der Sloot himself watched the film one evening in 2010, according to his friend John Ludwick, and said that some parts were true while others were not.
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
written by Beth Holloway
Beth Holloway
Elizabeth Ann Reynolds "Beth" Holloway, also previously known as Beth Twitty, is an American speech pathologist and motivational speaker. Holloway specializes in teaching special needs children in public schools...
about her missing daughter Natalee Holloway
Natalee Holloway
Natalee Ann Holloway disappeared on May 30, 2005, during a high school graduation trip to Aruba, a Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. An American student from Mountain Brook, Alabama, Holloway graduated from Mountain Brook High School on May 24, 2005, shortly before the trip...
, with portions contributed by Sunny Tillman. It was first published in October 2007 by HarperOne, an imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
of HarperCollins
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
, and has also been marketed under its alternate subtitle
Subtitle (titling)
In books and other works, a subtitle is an explanatory or alternate title. For example, Mary Shelley used a subtitle to give her most famous novel, Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus, an alternate title to give a hint of the theme. In library cataloging the subtitle does not include an...
The True Story of the Aruba Kidnapping and Its Aftermath.
Background
Holloway said that she vowed to share her story shortly following her daughter's disappearance, in the hope that other families would not suffer what she had to go through. After five months of unsuccessfully searching on ArubaAruba
Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
, her attorney John Q. Kelly took over the case and she spent the next two years traveling to various high schools and colleges to present messages about personal safety. When she thought about reaching more travelers with her story, Holloway said that her efforts evolved into writing a book.
Summary
The book retells events leading up to the night Natalee Holloway disappeared during a high school graduation trip to Aruba in 2005, and the ensuing investigation in the aftermath. It then focuses on the obstacles faced by the Holloway-Twitty family in their search for Natalee's whereabouts. Holloway recounts her anger at what she felt was a lack of cooperation from local authorities such as the Aruba Police ForceAruba Police Force
The Aruba Police Force is the law enforcement agency of the island of Aruba. The force operates under the authority of the Ministry of Justice.-Organization:...
, including the failure to obtain a warrant to search the home of suspect Joran van der Sloot
Joran van der Sloot
Joran Andreas Petrus van der Sloot is a Dutch national who lived in Aruba. He has been indicted by a federal grand jury in the United States for wire fraud and extortion related to the whereabouts of Natalee Holloway, who disappeared in Aruba on May 30, 2005, and is charged in Peru with the...
.
Editions
The first hardcoverHardcover
A hardcover, hardback or hardbound is a book bound with rigid protective covers...
edition and e-book
E-book
An electronic book is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices. Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital...
were published on October 2, 2007. A paperback
Paperback
Paperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...
edition was published on April 28, 2009 under the alternate title Loving Natalee: The True Story of the Aruba Kidnapping and Its Aftermath and includes additional material. The hardcover and paperback versions both contain 256 pages. A Dutch language
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
version, titled Lieve Natalee: het ware verhaal over Natalee Holloway, was released in March 2008 by Schuyt & Co.
Promotion and reception
Excerpts from the book were previewed in Good HousekeepingGood Housekeeping
Good Housekeeping is a women's magazine owned by the Hearst Corporation, featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, health as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good Housekeeping Seal," popularly known as the...
magazine. It was later promoted during an interview with Holloway on The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
. Soon after its initial release in October 2007, the book was on The New York Times best seller list.
Dennis Lythgoe of Deseret News, noting that the book was ghostwritten
Ghostwriter
A ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written...
, remarked that it was "not very well-written", but complimented it as "a compelling glimpse of this mother's electric personality."
Film adaptation
In October 2008, the Lifetime Movie NetworkLifetime Movie Network
Lifetime Movie Network is a cable channel that is part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, LLC, a subsidiary of A&E Television Networks, LLC. A&E Television Networks is a joint venture of the Disney-ABC Television Group, Hearst Corporation and NBCUniversal. LMN offers women-oriented movies...
announced plans to create a television film title based on the book. The senior vice president of original movies, Tanya Lopez, stated in the announcement that the network was "pleased to be working closely with Natalee's mother" and that they intended to tell the story of Holloway's disappearance "sensitively and accurately." Jarett Wieselman of the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
questioned whether it was too soon for such a film to be made.
The April 19, 2009 broadcast of Natalee Holloway
Natalee Holloway (film)
Natalee Holloway is a 2009 film directed by Mikael Salomon. The made-for-television movie is based on Beth Holloway's book about the 2005 disappearance of her daughter Natalee Holloway. The film stars Amy Gumenick as Natalee Holloway, Tracy Pollan as Beth Holloway-Twitty, and Jacques Strydom as...
attracted 3.2 million viewers, garnering the highest television ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
in the network's 11-year history. Although it set ratings records for Lifetime, the movie was not received well by critic Alec Harvey of The Birmingham News
The Birmingham News
The Birmingham News is the principal daily newspaper for Birmingham, Alabama, United States, and the largest newspaper in Alabama. The paper is owned by Advance Publications...
. Harvey called the movie "sloppy and uneven, a forgettable look at the tragedy that consumed the nation's attention for months". However, Jake Meaney of PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
found the film to be surprisingly "calm and levelheaded", and praised Tracy Pollan
Tracy Pollan
Tracy Jo Pollan is an American actress. She is perhaps best-known for her recurring role as Ellen Reed on the sitcom Family Ties in the mid-1980s. It was on this show that she met future husband Michael J. Fox.-Personal life:...
's portrayal of Holloway's mother. Joran van der Sloot himself watched the film one evening in 2010, according to his friend John Ludwick, and said that some parts were true while others were not.
See also
- Aruba: The Tragic Untold Story of Natalee Holloway and Corruption in ParadiseAruba: The Tragic Untold Story of Natalee Holloway and Corruption in ParadiseAruba: The Tragic Untold Story of Natalee Holloway and Corruption in Paradise is an autobiographical true crime book by Dave Holloway about his experiences searching for his missing daughter Natalee Holloway, co-written with R. Stephanie Good and Larry Garrison...
by Dave Holloway - De zaak Natalee HollowayDe zaak Natalee HollowayDe zaak Natalee Holloway: mijn eigen verhaal over haar verdwijning op Aruba is an autobiographical non-fiction book written by Joran van der Sloot with Zvezdana Vukojevic. It was released in 2007 in the Dutch language by Amsterdam-based publisher Sijthoff...
by Joran van der SlootJoran van der SlootJoran Andreas Petrus van der Sloot is a Dutch national who lived in Aruba. He has been indicted by a federal grand jury in the United States for wire fraud and extortion related to the whereabouts of Natalee Holloway, who disappeared in Aruba on May 30, 2005, and is charged in Peru with the... - Overboord: hoe ik Joran van der Sloot aan het praten kreeg by Patrick van der EemPatrick van der EemPatrick Paul van der Eem is a Dutch Antillean entrepreneur and convicted drug dealer known for his part in the undercover television report about Joran van der Sloot that was produced by Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries...
External links
- Loving Natalee: A Mother's Testament of Hope and Faith at HarperCollinsHarperCollinsHarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
- Loving Natalee: A Mother's Testament of Hope and Faith at The Oprah Winfrey ShowThe Oprah Winfrey ShowThe Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....