150 guests included: Cold Cave’s Wesley Eisold, Mad Men’s Jessica Paré, Howie Pyro, and The Standells' Larry Tamblyn attended.
DEAR NOBODY is a true first-person account of what proved to be the last years of Mary Rose’s life. Her words tell a universal young person story with the urgency and perspective of a girl dealing with more than the usual. The places Mary Rose spent so much of her time still exist. Only the names, with the exception of Mary Rose’s, have been changed. Most of the people in her notebooks are either dead, in jail, or have disappeared. Mary Rose’s mother’s name has been omitted. Even though she doesn’t always come off well in the book, she is a courageous woman for allowing her daughter’s words to be published and fighting for her story to be told.
Mary Rose died a minor, meaning both her parents had to approve the publication of the book. In order to prevent Mary Rose’s absent father from interfering, Mary Rose’s mother, McCain, and McNeil took the case to the Montgomery County court to have the father removed as a beneficiary. Five years, three male judges, and over $35,000 in legal fees later, a female judge finally removed Mary Rose’s father from her estate and made publication possible.
Gillian McCain and Legs McNeil are the co-authors of the internationally acclaimed Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk, which was one of Mary Rose’s favorite books. When they aren’t collaborating, McCain writes poetry and McNeil writes non-fiction. They are currently working on two new oral histories together.