An unwanted child in search of a permanent home, Norma Jeane Mortenson found temporary comfort in Hollywood as Marilyn Monroe. The silver screen afforded her “a life more interesting than the one I had,” and she eventually conquered the center of a universe built on make believe and myth creation to become the most famous sex symbol of the 20th century. But despite being so well known, Marilyn Monroe was always a mystery to everyone but the person who created her. Norma Jeane Mortenson knew that the icon everyone loved wasn’t real—and that Norma Jeane had the potential to be even more. As she wrote in one of her many notebooks: “The truth can only be recalled, never invented.” This scrapbook recalls many of those truths. And when they are revealed, they do nothing to diminish the significance of an American legend. In fact, they only serve to make her legacy even greater and more impressive.
