[AN: All notes are taken verbatim from the book. I claim no rights to them.]
Martha Stewart: a Biography by Joann F. Pierce
1) Chapter 1
a) Father instilled perfectionist mentality
b) Her daughter is the same way
2) Chapter 2
a) Paternal grandparents were from Poland
b) Maternal grandparents also from Poland
c) Father seems to be biggest influence>>>always demanding perfection
3) Chapter 3
a) Through academia she was determined to do her best
b) Nothing but excellence was acceptable
4) Chapter 4
a) The abusive & domineering traits that she witnessed as a child by her father in respect to her mother, were repeated all over again by Martha in her own way
5) Chapter 5
a) So ambitious, she’s not afraid to burn bridges
6) Chapter 6
a) “Remember I’m not Martha Stewart the person anymore, I’m Martha Stewart the lifestyle”
7) Chapter 7
a) “I have learned that I cannot really be destroyed”
b) Always at the center of everything, with all business aspects radiated from her
c) 2001-most written about woman in America; and the world, save for Queen Elizabeth II
8) Chapter 8
9) Chapter 9
a) The prison she was sent to was called Camp Cupcake
b) Started back in the 1920s
c) First federal women’s prison
d) No privacy
e) Guards can walk in at any time
f) Mainly low-income women with a history of drug & sexual abuse
g) Lost 20 lbs. because the food was so bad
h) Claims her stress level was cut in half during her stay
i) She couldn’t make any business decisions
j) Was allowed to hear what was going on with her business
10) Chapter 10
a) Decided to refocus the business on ordinary everyday people, not the upper-crust
b) “I can almost bend steel with my mind. I can bend anything if I try hard enough. I can make myself do almost anything.”