Loving Natalee

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.[1] 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.[2]

Loving Natalee: A Mother's Testament of Hope and Faith
First edition hardcover
AuthorBeth Holloway
Sunny Tillman (contributor)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish, Dutch
SubjectAutobiography
PublisherHarperOne (English)
Schuyt & Co. (Dutch)
Publication date
October 2, 2007 (hardcover, e-book)
March 2008 (Dutch paperback)
April 28, 2009 (English paperback)
Pages256
ISBN978-0-06-145227-7
OCLC154702068
363.2336 22
LC ClassHV6762.A75 H66 2007

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 Aruba, 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.[3]

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.[4] Holloway recounts her anger at what she felt was a lack of cooperation from local authorities such as the Aruba Police Force, including the failure to obtain a warrant to search the home of suspect Joran van der Sloot.[5]

Editions

The first hardcover edition and e-book were published on October 2, 2007.[6] 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.[2] A Dutch language version, titled Lieve Natalee: het ware verhaal over Natalee Holloway, was released in March 2008 by Schuyt & Co.[7][8]

Promotion and reception

Excerpts from the book were previewed in Good Housekeeping magazine.[9] It was later promoted during an interview with Holloway on The Oprah Winfrey Show.[10] Soon after its initial release in October 2007, the book was on The New York Times Best Seller list.[11]

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."[5]

Film adaptation
Main article: Natalee Holloway (film)

In October 2008, the Lifetime Movie Network 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."[12] Jarett Wieselman of the New York Post questioned whether it was too soon for such a film to be made.[13]

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.[14] 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".[15] However, Jake Meaney of PopMatters found the film to be surprisingly "calm and levelheaded", and praised Tracy Pollan's portrayal of Holloway's mother.[16] 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.[17]

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See also

References
  1. "Catalog record: Loving Natalee: A Mother's Testament of Hope and Faith". Library of Congress. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  2. "Loving Natalee: The True Story of the Aruba Kidnapping and Its Aftermath (mass market paperback)". HarperCollins. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  3. Rachel Cohen (April 2009). "The Beth Holloway Interview". Lifetime Movie Network. Archived from the original on June 11, 2010. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
  4. "Loving Natalee by Beth Holloway". True Crime Book Reviews. June 3, 2009. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  5. Dennis Lythgoe (October 7, 2007). "'Natalee' heartbreaking story". Deseret News. Retrieved August 25, 2010.
  6. "Loving Natalee: A Mother's Testament of Hope and Faith (hardcover)". HarperCollins. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  7. "Sunny Tillman". Florida State University. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  8. "Lieve Natalee: het ware verhaal over Natalee Holloway". bol.com. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
  9. "My Daughter Disappeared". Good Housekeeping. October 2007. Retrieved August 25, 2010.
  10. Elizabeth Fry (January 16, 2008). "Exclusive: Marion Jones's First Interview - Show Recap". About.com. Retrieved August 25, 2010.
  11. "Best sellers: Hardcover Nonfiction". The New York Times. October 21, 2007. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  12. "Lifetime planning Natalee Holloway movie". United Press International. October 7, 2008. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
  13. Wieselman, Jarett (July 13, 2009). "Natalee Holloway Movie: Too Soon?". New York Post. Archived from the original on October 1, 2010. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  14. Kissel, Rick (April 20, 2009). "Lifetime Movie scores with 'Holloway". Variety. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
  15. Harvey, Alec (April 17, 2009). "'Natalee Holloway' a disappointing TV movie". The Birmingham News. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
  16. Jake Meaney (January 22, 2010). "Review: Natalee Holloway". PopMatters. Retrieved August 20, 2010.
  17. Nancy Grace (June 16, 2010). "Friend of two-time suspected killer Joran van der Sloot breaks silence". CNN. Archived from the original on June 22, 2010. Retrieved August 23, 2010.
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