David Carradine: The Eye of My Tornado - Softcover

Originally, the main purpose for writing this book was first to help heal myself and maintain a sense of humor as I vented.  I found as I talked to people about what David and I went through, and as friends read chapters, it was helping by opening a door to dialogue, especially about "taboo" subjects.  It then became my mission to help empower others through my experiences and David's - our life together as well as apart.  Through our journey together, maybe others will see how they too can help themselves -- confront their demons, issues, seek answers, recognize patterns, listen to their instincts, get clarity, closure and healing. If people reach out and are open to change, miracles can happen. It's not to say it won't be painful, but we can transform our lives for the better.  By bringing various sensitive issues out in the open, I hope this book sheds a beacon of light on a path for others to find their way as I did.
MA

This is the 2010 version. Look for the NEW EDITION now available - contains updated, new information, additional photographs and contributions! Look for the FULL COLOR photo of them on the cover.

"...it was one long roller coaster thrill... Mr. Toad's wild ride... intense passion and emotion. He was the eye of my tornado."

Marina Anderson was just starting out taking acting lessons at Warner Bros., when she wandered one afternoon onto the candlelit set of a Shaolin temple and met, for the first time, the volatile, dark, and brilliant personality that was actor David Carradine.

David Carradine's acting  career spanned four decades  onstage, television and  cinema. He became an  international sensation as  Kwai Chang Caine in the  1970s hit television series  Kung Fu and cemented his  cult hero status with his  role in the classic movie Death Race 2000. He portrayed Woody Guthrie in Hal Ashby's Bound for  Glory and Bill in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill films. Carradine received four  Golden Globe nominations. He was a talented songwriter and musician and performed in a band called Cosmic Rescue Team.

Twenty years later, Marina and David became lovers. They were married on the Warner Bros. back lot and their six-year relationship was a whirl of auditions, star-studded parties, exotic locations, red carpets and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Marina, who was already an established actress, became Carradine's personal manager and set about rehabilitating the career of an actor who was now known for his heavy drinking. She introduced him to Quentin Tarantino, who cast David in a lead role in the popular Kill Bill films. This vaulted Carradine back onto the Hollywood A-list.

Their private life was replete with love, passion, erotic pleasure and eventually bondage, sexual experimentation, and pain as an avenue to pleasure. Their marriage was marred by a toxic secret that could not be ignored. Marina was on a trip to Toronto when she received word that David was packing and preparing to move out.

With the help of re-known celebrity Dr. Drew Pinsky (Celebrity Rehab, Sober House), issues are addressed with the interview occupying an entire chapter. Anderson was able to exorcise the demons that have haunted her for so long about their relationship and herself that almost destroyed her.

Her writing speaks to readers universally by focusing on their personal journey, revealing the truth about the couple, addresses conquering fear and overcoming obstacles, self discovery, recovery, re-inventing and rebuilding one's self. It's her survival of self in the marriage while desperately trying to save it.

"It's an avenue for his fans and the general public to know, understand and hopefully accept him as a man, not a celluloid fantasy... to be admired for his talents and the motivations behind certain issues in his life understood. We are all human beings with our faults. He was afraid people wouldn't remember him. That will never happen. The legend continues."

David Carradine died in a Bangkok hotel room, June 3, 2009, an apparent victim of autoerotic asphyxiation. Amid sensational media speculation, Marina refused to let David's death remain stigmatized like it was and launched her own investigation into the death of her ex-husband. Suicide? Foul play? A sex act gone wrong? Was he alone? Was there a cover-up? Her conclusions are startling.