Wrote a book about her mother,
Bette Davis, called "My Mother's Keeper". It is often compared to the 'tell-all' book written by
Christina Crawford titled "Mommie Dearest" which was about the abuse she experienced as a child at the hands of her mother
Joan Crawford. Merrill's book, however, was about her relationship with her mother after childhood. The book created a rift with her adopted brother
Michael Merrill who had earlier begged her not to write the book, and
Bette Davis who had lived long enough to write "This N That" in response to her daughter's attack. They never reconciled, and Davis cut her out of the will.
