Blame game & sympathy ploy
Although Nancy had a rough first few days of life and was schizophrenic, it seems to me that her mother blames everyone except herself for her daughter's unmanageable behavior. From birth, the child had no discipline, because the Spungens couldn't stand to hear her have a tantrum. Well, boo hoo people that's part of being a parent - having to hear tantrums sometimes. Giving in only creates a monster; you have to have a stronger will than your child. They gave into her and would discipline their other two children but not Nancy. Her mother blamed everything on her, including her own infidelity and then wonders why all Nancy's anger was directed towards her. We had a schizophrenic in the family and as a child she never acted like Nancy, probably because unlike Nancy, she had discipline and structure in her life. This is what happens to your child, sick or not, when you don't discipline them at all. I think Nancy still would've been sick, but perhaps not the monster her mother describes in this book. I feel she also helped dig her daughter's grave by giving her money when she knew she was shooting up. She rails against the press exploiting her daughter and giving her a bad image, yet her own mother descibes what a monster she was in this book and profits from it. What makes her any different than any of the tabloids? Even though I didn't pity Mrs. Spungen and felt like she brought a lot of her child's behavior on herself by not disciplining her, I did enjoy the book. I like how it talks about the birth of punk rock and the beginnings of the sham band the Sex Pistols, a group of non-musically inclined kids who sold an image rather than great music, or even good music for that matter. Don't get me wrong, I love punk, but at least the Ramones looked the part AND could carry a tune.