"Happiness Included: Jan Brady and Beyond" by Eve Plumb

I was scrolling through some special offers from Kobo early last night, and saw "Happiness Included:  Jan Brady and Beyond," a recently published memoir by Eve Plumb of "The Brady Bunch."  I'm a sucker for show-biz memoirs, and couldn't resist having a peek at the online preview (about 10% of the book's contents). 

Of course, once I did, I was hooked. I wound up buying and downloading the book to my e-reader (it WAS on sale...!), and set aside the other book(s) I was reading.  It was a fast, light, easy read (a great follow-up to the heaviness of "Trespasses" and the Troubles of Northern Ireland in the 1970s):  by the time I went to bed a few hours later, I'd read 25%, and I finished it earlier tonight, a little more than 24 hours after I first picked it up (!).   

I wasn't a HUGE fan of "The Brady Bunch" (I was more into "The Partridge Family" -- which ran in about the same time frame, and featured David Cassidy, after all...!), but of course I watched it as a kid. The youngest Brady kids were my age (Susan Olsen, who played Cindy is, like me, a 1961 baby);  the oldest (Barry Williams/Greg) is not quite seven years my senior, with the others falling somewhere in between.  My sister and I even had one of their singing group albums (!) (which I found in a pile of old LPs at my parents' house this spring when we were emptying it out. They all went to the thrift store.).  Our (second) cousins actually saw the Bradys in concert at the Minnesota State Fair with their mom. (None of them were overly impressed, although their mom, who attended with them, thought Bobby/Mike Lookinland was the most talented of the group!) 

I'm pretty sure I've read at least one other Brady memoir in the past (pre-tracking on Goodreads) (possibly Barry Williams's "Growing Up Brady:  I Was a Teenage Greg"), although I don't remember for sure.  At any rate, there were not many huge revelations about the show and cast members that I hadn't read or heard about elsewhere. 

Nevertheless, I enjoyed learning more about Eve and her family, and especially her pre- and post-Brady life.  While Eve's Brady character Jan was a classic middle child, she was actually the youngest of three children, by quite a few years, and grew up as a virtual only child.  She was "discovered" by her next-door neighbour, an agent who represented her throughout her childhood and teen years. Her dad was a musician who later worked for RCA as a scout and a producer.  Among his discoveries:  Jefferson Airplane (!) and the Monkees (!!). Pre-Brady Bunch, Eve attended one of their recording sessions and had her photo taken sitting on Davy Jones's lap. (He told her he'd marry her when she grew up -- sorry,  Marcia!  lol)  

Eve credits her parents for shielding her from the less savoury aspects of the business and emphasizing professionalism, something that was also modelled by her TV parents, Robert Reed and Florence Henderson, and Ann B. Davis, who played the family's housekeeper, Alice. Eve remembers them with great love and respect. She does not see her Brady "siblings" often, but they enjoy being together whenever they do meet up, and continue to regard each other as family. She says she's closest to Christopher Knight, who played Peter, and he wrote the book's affectionate introduction. 

While parts became further and fewer between in the post-Brady years, Eve has continued to work as an actress, in television, films, on stage and behind the scenes as a voiceover artist, in Los Angeles and in New York City, where she now lives with her husband, Ken. She's also an accomplished painter, and has launched a line of home decor products (called PlumbGoods, with the marketing slogan "Happiness Included"). She's also a breast cancer survivor.  

The writing is nothing special, and while the actress reveals some details, she keeps others private (as is her prerogative).  But if you're a fan of "The Brady Bunch," or interested in the experiences of child actors, you will probably enjoy this book. 

(ALI note:  Eve is childfree by choice.)   

3.5 stars on StoryGraph, rounded up to 4 stars on Goodreads.  

This was Book #29 read to date in 2026 (and Book #4 finished in September), bringing me to 73% of  my 2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 40 books. I am currently back on track to meet my goal! You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2026 tagged as "2026 books."