Book Notes: Martha On Trial

[AN: All notes are taken verbatim from the book. I claim no rights to them.]

Martha: On Trial, In Jail, and On a Comeback by John Slater

1. John Cuti>>>married to Alexis for a time
2. She feels that she is finally reading the outside reality in a way that can be helpful to her
3. She now knows that it had been her own distorted version of that outside reality that had gotten her into such trouble
4. It was assumed that even if Martha passed on, her iconic stature would serve as the company’s anchor forever
5. She assumed that just being Martha Stewart was enough to ward off any assault on her world
6. She knew how to marginalize people, to trivialize them, to make them feel inferior to her
7. She began to believe that she really did know what was best for everyone. That became her vision of reality
8. Her taste, her preferences, her rules prevailed. As the teacher, she was always right, never wrong.
9. She had no time for anyone who did not conform to her view of reality
10. Martha Stewart received more media coverage since OJ
11. She was disciplined, perfectionist, ambitious, knew how to take charge, knew how to do a great many things at once
12. More than greed that impelled her to order the stock sale>>it was hubris, the belief that she was above it all
13. To admit that she did something wrong is not in her character
14. Being a perfectionist means never having to say you’re sorry
15. Indicted on6-4-2003
16. All that she had to do was get on the stand and apologize. All she had to say was that she didn’t have the mental intent to violate the law. All she had to do was humanize herself—and she would have gotten off
17. Martha Stewart never showed emotion; meanwhile, Stewart’s daughter Alexis did show emotion
18. Better question to ask is not whether she was innocent or guilty of some crime, but how big a crime was it that she committed?
19. Conceded to Alexis that her life had been wasted
20. Reasons why MSLO would survive:
    1. Large cash reserves
    2. Lack of debt
    3. Ability to launch new products
    4. Andy Stewart wrote a letter to his former wife, saying how sorry he was and asking if there was anything he could do to help
    5. Sad about verdict, extremely concerned over Alexis
    6. She promised herself she would try to make a comeback
    7. Rather than trivialize and marginalize anything that stood in her way; she’d have to deal with them in a whole new way and take them seriously
    8. She never fully came to terms with being in prison
    9. Referred to Alderson as Yale, so she’d never have to say the word “jail”
    10. Ever after she had been out for six months, she found it nearly impossible to mention the “j” word
    11. She lost 10 lbs in jail
    12. Donald Trump thought it was ridiculous that Martha Stewart was in jail and OJ was playing golf inFlorida
    13. She had the public and the media eating out of her hand. In five short months, the personality makeover was complete
    14. Compared to house arrest, prison was the essence of freedom. She found house arrest “confining.”
    15. She had to emphasize she was Martha Stewart the Icon, not Martha Stewart the Felon
    16. The actual reason for Martha’s delay in ending house arrest was never clearly discussed in public
    17. While on probation, she couldn’t travel to her homes inMaineor theHamptonswithout permission
    18. She says someday she’ll talk about her time in prison, but not right now

Pg 219: “Her fame—and her infamy—pushed all other news aside for the moment. On the day of her release, millions of people were trying to recover from a deadly tsunami; one of the worst natural disasters of the era; a beloved and venerate Pope was dying in Rome, affecting at least one billion people on the planet; a 45-year-old singer and dancer, the most popular figure in popular music of his day, was on trial for alleged sexual abuse of children. But on this day in early March 2005, Martha Stewart’s prison release was the top story of the day.”

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