La Toya Jackson, The Ex-Drug Trafficker: Starting Over

Starting Over 

By La Toya Jackson

352 pages. Gallery Books. $26

La Toya Jackson. What can we not say about her? She is hands down the most infamous member of the Jackson Family Entertainment Clan. Whether it was her not so obvious, public competition to upstage Michael in pioneering a new era in cosmetic enhancements or her 1980’s Playboy spread, the mere sound of her name causes time to stop. She was a socialite before it was pop culture term and she is always known for making a headlining statement. Beyond her wacky, dramatic but surprisingly welcoming persona, La Toya Jackson has a pretty amazing story of survival.

The senior, Miss Jackson if You’re NASTY is no stranger to writing books. In 1991 La Toya released her first Autobiography, La Toya: Growing Up in the Jackson Family (1991, Dutton, 261p) which caused a tremendous uproar in the Jackson family and ultimately caused La Toya’s excommunication. Not only that, this title also made the best sellers list. In her first autobiography, La Toya spoke candidly about abuse from her Father and how she managed to get away. We would later find out that her then Husband/Manager Jack Gordon was also abusive towards her. The aftermath of Jack Gordon? Starting Over.

La Toya’s new book, “Starting Over” is an emotionally captivating tale of tragedy and triumph.  The title refers to life after losing her King of Pop, Icon brother Michael and divorcing and fleeing from her Husband/Manager in which she was in an abusive and controlling relationship for over a decade.

“Starting Over” picks up where her last book left off. She opens the book discussing how she was told if she didn’t do something, her manager threatened to kill her. Those threats ultimately led to her first autobiography, Playboy spread and her speaking against Michael when he was first accused of child molestation. 

La Toya recalls several, riveting candid details of abuse. Specifically one of the times Jack Gordon almost beat her to death. “I was lying in a pool of blood on the cold marble floor of my New York Apartment. I started thinking to myself, this is it. I am dying. What was my purpose here?” She recalls.

She often talks about how the abuse would often lead her to getting locked in closets without being able to use the restroom, or eat for days at a time. She often recalls times of confusion and ultimately just complying with whatever Jack Gordon told her, just to be able to use the restroom and eat. “Gordon knew not to threaten me in front of anyone. He would just give me that look.”

La Toya’s story goes into great detail about prostitution, money laundering, blackmail, abuse and drugs on a hierarchal level.  She recalls that Gordon was able to attain such control by playing mind games. Such has beating her and convincing her that he didn’t do it.  He would say to me “Why are you crying? I never touched you! Oh my God, You’re losing your mind.”

One mind-boggling story is when Jack Gordon attempted to pimp out La Toya to Mike Tyson for sex. She recounts, “Gordon always knew that Mike Tyson had a crush on me and wanted to marry me before Robin Givens. Gordon knew this and told Mike, You give me one hundred thousand dollars you can have her for the night.”

La Toya was not only being passed around for potential sex. Jack Gordon also had her trafficking drugs. La Toya recalls, “The agent detailed an extensive scam that Gordon and his associates ran through me, through ought the world for years, without me having a clue: international smuggling and money laundering.”  La Toya continues, “Because I was a known entertainer, officials would just let me pass through, thinking the same thought: she’s fine.”

La Toya does not dive off into the Michael Jackson business, as we would have thought. She does go into great detail about the things that happened after his death and slight mention of premonitions he was having about his own death.

What La Toya doesn't make up in taking advantage of Michael's death, (we can't help but associated - they are related) she does share a few Jackson family photo's that make us like them more than we already do.

“Starting Over” was really an explanation of the first book and how she reconciled her traumatic experiences at the time she was forced to grieve the loss of her younger brother. It does provide a wow factor and normalizes the most infamous Jackson, just enough for us to empathize with her.