When Terri Schiavo died last year, it seemed like the fight would abate, at least for a little while. But that was before the book deals were signed and now, look for two competing books — one by Terri’s husband Michael, the other by her parents and siblings — to do battle next month.
The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Sandy Bauers tries to offer a preview of coming attractions, but admits the difficulty when the books’ publishers have muzzled the authors and are guarding the galleys. Still, “with gasping tabloid fervor, snippets reprinted in publicity material promise the hidden truth – if one can ever be known – of Terri Schiavo’s life and death.” In other words, she grasps at what few straws are available to write the piece in question.
In TERRI: THE TRUTH, due from Dutton, hubby Michael vows to detail his reasons for getting involved with Jodi Cotenze (whom he finally married last month) while Terri was still alive. While in A LIFE THAT MATTERS: THE LEGACY OF TERRI SCHIAVO — A LESSON FOR US ALL, the family delivers the goods on the “gentle child who brought happiness to everyone she touched,” says Warner Books’ publicity. And they expose her “troubled” marriage to Michael, who crusaded for “her premature and unnecessary death.”
Of course, the battling books aren’t the first on Terri, nor will they be the last, what with 8 out already and more to come. Jonathan Wilcox, who teaches celebrity and culture at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication, attributes to the drama of the case. “Questions of life and death,” he said. “Questions of love and family. Questions of law and politics.”
In other words, it’s “a hat trick of publishing possibility.”