Author Event: Melissa Newman, "Head Over Heels"

Darien Library and Barrett Bookstore welcome Melissa Newman as she shares an extraordinary and deeply personal new look inside her parent's private life. In the lush, illustrated book, "Head Over Heels: Joanne Woodward & Paul Newman: A Love Affair in Words and Pictures," we are offered a fresh perspective on these storied legends, putting their relationship front and center.

Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman became not only movie stars and stage actors, but also artistic collaborators, political activists, and philanthropists whose legacies are expansive and enduringly modern. They are one of America's most indelibly iconic couples and while their love story wasn’t always a fairytale, it is the stuff of Hollywood legend.

About the Book

With over 280 photos, including many that have never been published, and text by the book's subjects, all compiled in a luxurious 10”x12” hardcover. Melissa Newman, who purchased her childhood home from her parents, writes in her preface: “In every closet are bags and boxes, layers of ephemera stretching back to the Cretaceous era. Theirs, mine, a sea of words and images.” The book is chock full of handwritten love notes, snapshots and letters; family treasures that have never been released They offer an intimate view of these towering figures in American public life.

The photos beautifully illuminate the connection between two complex, passionate artists who opened their hearts and minds to each other for over half a century. Not only will lifelong fans of Paul and Joanne have their love affair with the couple rekindled, but a whole new generation of fans are poised to be drawn into a love affair with Hollywood’s golden couple. This book is Melissa's heartfelt gift to her parents—and to all of us.

About the Author

Melissa Newman is an artist, teacher, singer and writer, based in Westport, Connecticut. She is the daughter of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward