Life with my Father Glen Campbell

Debby Campbell, oldest daughter of the country music icon Glen Campbell, shares with us her perspective on family allegiance after touring with her father for nearly a quarter of a century, only to get canned with the rest of the band. The family politics divide along the battle lines between Glen’s four marriages, each with their own set of children. Debby, Glen’s oldest daughter, is two years older than Glen’s current wife, Kim. Although Kim and Debby’s children are the same age, Kim’s children are Debby’s siblings.

Debby writes with unpolished passion about her lifelong struggle to maintain a relationship with her famous father throughout the divorces, the substance abuse, and the strain of touring. Her story compels us to overlook amateurish ramblings and repetitions we might hold against a more seasoned writer. Why? What draws us in is not the juicy gossip of the rich and famous, although there is plenty of it. Debby puts a familiar face on the modern American family with all of its splits and dysfunctions. She writes for her own therapy and unintentionally shows the shallow glamor of stardom to reveal suffering children, estranged by the trappings of fame.