Lynch - The secret diary of Laura Palmer

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Based upon characters created by David Lynch and Mark Frost for the television series Twin Peaks .

Gallery Books

A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

1230 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10020

www.SimonandSchuster.com

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright 1990 by Twin Peaks Productions, Inc.

Foreword 2011 by Mark Frost

Foreword 2011 by David Lynch

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Pocket Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

First Gallery Books trade paperback edition December 2011

GALLERY BOOKS and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

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Cover design by Jae Song

Cover photo of journal by Shutterstock/jannoon028

Cover photo of Laura Palmer courtesy of ABC via Getty Images

ISBN 978-1-4516-6207-8

ISBN 978-1-4516-6478-2 (ebook)

Twin Peaks feels like a dream now, a dream conjured to life by two friends over twenty years ago in a lightning strike of creative freedom and exuberance, a vision shared and brought to life by over two hundred talented artists, actors, craftspeople, and technicians. With no studio leaning on us, over the course of eighteen months we produced nine hours of the show in splendid isolation, before a minute of it was ever broadcast. This was, in the best sense of the word, an amateur endeavor: driven by our love of the work, not the cold-blooded professionalism that drives most of this industry.

When the show mainlined into the consciousness of American pop culture, through the delivery system of a conventional TV network, it hit with the force of what felt like a hurricane for those of us in the center of the eye. It changed the lives of everyone involved forever and somehow still resonates for audiences around the world, long past the usual expiration date for prefab entertainment. We built the show to last, steel rivets and solid beams, and its still standing. Craftsmanship matters.

It began, appropriately, over a cup of coffee in the mid-1980s. Pie was definitely involved. When David and I met we hit it off from the get-go, with a shared passion for classic films and senses of humor that clicked like Ike and Mike. I had admired his work at first sight. The eerie nightmare called Eraserhead , the emotional triumph of Elephant Man , the surreal subconscious riptide of Blue Velvet . Unique, indelible, courageous. All, as it turned out, just like the guy himself.

After writing a couple of screenplays together we were asked if creating a network TV show appealed to us. As long as nobody tried to tell us what it should be or how to do itthey cant say yes if you dont ask, right?we agreed to take the plunge. Three principles guided the work: Trust our instincts. Fight for what we believe. Dont let other peoples fears become ours.

All the lights turned green. All the perfect collaborators appeared, new faces or friends from our collective past. The cast came together as if theyd been waiting in the next room. On a magical scout outside Seattle we found every single location exactly as wed written them, all within a twenty-mile radius. Then David rolled cameras and, through the mysterious alchemy of his art, damn if that whole world wed cooked up didnt come to life before our eyes. When David and Angelo Badalamenti laid down the score they split the bulls-eye, a soundtrack so pitch-perfect to our world that its recognizable today after a single note.

A while later, once the real world laid eyes on what wed doneover thirty-five million viewers watched the premiereit felt like that world had lost its mind. Media feeding frenzies, viewing parties, Peakies, annual conventions, early internet obsessions, doctoral dissertations, cherry pies left on doorsteps. Strange days. We know more about how this process works now: Pop culture devours its own tail. Compared to the ravenous beast its become today, what we went through feels almost quaint. But falling into its maw is still a weird and destabilizing trip and it cant help but crank your lenses to the wrong focal length; slightly away from the work. Welcome to the real world.

One of the artifacts of our dream was this book. Written by Davids young daughter, Jennifer. Fearlessly, like her Dad. Another surprise at the time: it hit the top of the bestseller lists, something a so-called TV spin-off book hadnt done and wasnt supposed to do. Lauras private story still casts its own feverish spell. For anyone whos ever sampled or obsessed over the show, heres another bright pane in its hall of mirrors.

David has always felt we made a mistake early on, giving in to heavy network pressure to solve Lauras mystery as soon as we did. I agree with him now. We let their fears become ours and it cracked the magic. The dream would have lasted longer, most likely, if wed stuck to our guns. But it still would have ended, eventually, as all things do.

The happier ending is Twin Peaks is still out there. Waiting, watchful, alive. Haunted, full of shivers and delights, a candle glimpsed in a log cabin window, while passing through a deep and darkening wood.

Some dreams survive.

Mark Frost

Dear Friends of Twin Peaks ...

Even though Mark Frost and I started catching ideas in a Los Angeles coffee shop, it was the great mystery of the woods that began to creep inriding on a kind of dark night wind, bringing everything that was to become Twin Peaks . Mark and I just had to smile and marvel at what was being revealed! We just leaned into the wind and welcomed it all like a deep and thrilling dream.

Laura Palmer was born in this dream, and so was her diary; Jennifer Lynch found The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer in the heart and mind of Laura herself. Thank you to Jennifer Lynch; thanks to all the great Twin Peaks family; and the biggest thanks to Mark Frost!

Lets get some pie and coffee and enjoy reading this secret account of a lifethe life of a girl who lived near the dark woods... in a town called Twin Peaks.

David Lynch

July 22, 1984

Dear Diary,

My name is Laura Palmer, and as of just three short minutes ago, I officially turned twelve years old! It is July 22, 1984, and I have had such a good day! You were the last gift I opened and I could hardly wait to come upstairs and start to tell you all about myself and my family. You shall be the one I confide in the most. I promise to tell you everything that happens, everything I feel, everything I desire. And, every single thing I think. There are some things I cant tell anyone . I promise to tell these things to you.