Love, Pamela: A Memoir of Prose, Poetry, and Truth

Love, Pamela is a 2023 memoir by Canadian actress and activist Pamela Anderson. In her work, Anderson reclaims her reputation, revealing the personal struggles and triumphs behind her show business success and notoriety. She reveals both the joys and traumas of her childhood in small-town Vancouver Island and traces her sudden rise to fame as a Playboy playmate and television actress, focusing on how her personal and professional lives have intersected in each period of her life. Shifting between poetry and chronological narrative, Anderson’s memories reveal her creative pursuits, sensitive personality, and love of nature, adding depth to her one-dimensional public image. This intimate narrative shows Anderson’s life and career in a new light and invites the reader to learn and take courage from her experiences. 

This guide refers to the Kindle edition of this book.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of sexual violence and harassment, rape, gender discrimination, cursing, substance use, emotional abuse, physical abuse, child sexual abuse, child abuse, animal cruelty and death, pregnancy loss, addiction, sexual content, disordered eating, suicidal ideation and self-harm, death, and mental illness.

Summary

In her verse prologue, Anderson shares her love and gratitude for her family, especially her two sons and her mother and grandmother. She describes herself as a “small-town girl who somehow got tangled up in her own dream,” and hopes that her readers enjoy her story of struggle, success, and resilience (10). In Chapter 1 Anderson reflects on her early childhood in Ladysmith, British Columbia, focusing on her love of nature and her close connection with her mother and grandfather. She reveals the darker side of her childhood, too: Her father had an alcohol use disorder and physically abused her mother when drunk, and she was molested by a babysitter. In Chapter 2, the author explains how her childhood and teen years were affected by her father’s frequent reckless behavior and abuse of her mother. After her parents separated, Anderson spent a year in Kamloops with her mother and brother before her parents reunited and moved to another island town, Comox. Shy and self-conscious, Anderson had a difficult time as a teenager, a period marked by terrible violence: her rape by an acquaintance at age 13 and two abusive relationships. Stressed by her father’s violent treatment of her mother, Anderson moved out at age 17. Anderson recalls her early days of living independently, first with her great aunt and then with friends. After moving to Vancouver, Anderson was soon featured on screen at a football game and was shocked to be offered a Playboy photoshoot soon after. She recalls her excitement at being flown to Los Angeles for Playboy, where she accepted an offer of a modeling contract for a centerfold photoshoot in the magazine. She juggled attention and advice from her new friend, producer Jon Peters, who was funding her lavish new life in LA. Concerned about becoming too dependent on him, Anderson left him and moved into her own apartment. Her Playboy photoshoot was a positive experience for her, and she appreciated the Playboy community.

Anderson’s magazine photoshoots led to television acting opportunities as she scored her first roles on Home Improvement and Baywatch. While these roles brought her wealth and fame, Anderson soon learned the downsides of her position, as she lost her anonymity and felt that her public image was a sexualized caricature of who she really was. In Chapter 7, she explains her spontaneous marriage to rocker Tommy Lee and fondly recalls their newlywed bliss. In the following chapter, she remembers how their marriage was soon strained by Lee’s jealous and erratic behavior, and how she lost her first pregnancy. She recalls their shared joy at the birth of their first son, Brandon, and her and Lee’s shared irritation with being constantly stalked by paparazzi. In Chapter 9 Anderson recalls her stress and grief at being plunged into a “sex tape” scandal during her second pregnancy when her personal videos were stolen from a safe in her home. Her marriage to Lee was further strained when he behaved violently with her and their newborn, Dylan; the two divorced. Anderson recalls wanting to learn more about how her romantic relationships reiterate patterns learned in her childhood and striving to be the best parent possible, but she found her infatuation with Lee difficult to overcome.

Anderson recalls meeting her second husband, Kid Rock, and their brief, difficult marriage. She reflects on daily life as a mother to two young boys. She remembers how they all relished living in a trailer in Paradise Cove, a community in Malibu, California, where the kids surfed and made close friendships. Soon after, Anderson enjoyed an unusual career opportunity: performing as a magician’s assistant in Las Vegas. While Anderson loved performing live, she recognized that Vegas was an unhealthy environment for her and decided to return to California. During this time she had a brief marriage to professional poker player Rick Saloman, which soon unraveled due to his substance use disorder. Anderson shares how she tried to use her fame in a constructive way by lobbying for animal rights and wildlife conservation. She proudly discusses her children, their adolescence on Vancouver Island, and their current interests.

Anderson found solace in France, where she enjoyed learning about the local culture, practicing the language, and meeting artists and designers. While there, she volunteered with Choose Love, an organization for refugees, and lobbied for green technology. Anderson explains how she sold her home in Malibu to relocate to her hometown, Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada, where she has immersed herself in creative pursuits like gardening, cooking, and taking care of her animals. Anderson reflects on her life-long pattern of difficult romances and expresses her desire to heal this part of herself. She shares that her role as Roxie in Chicago came as a complete surprise, and she loved immersing herself in the role and experiencing live theater again. In her epilogue, Anderson shares her gratitude for her new life on Vancouver Island and her excitement at pursuing hobbies and opportunities in this new phase of her life.