Rose Cherami: Gathering Fallen Petals

by Michael Marcades

In Rose Gathering Fallen Petals, Rose's only son, Michael Marcades, pieces together the fragments of Rose's troubled life - involving substance abuse, prostitution, and violence - to reveal startling truths about the events leading up to the assassination of President John Kennedy and what Rose may have known. Based on true events, JFK Lancer's "Gathering Fallen Petals" is an incredible and historically accurate account of one woman's struggle to overcome her demons.

Kindle Edition

Published October 15, 2016

Reviews

[Pete daPixie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glimpses of Rose Cherami, real name Melba Christine Youngblood Marcades first appeared to me in the opening scenes of Oliver Stone's movie 'JFK' in the early 1990's. I was provided with further details of this case at JFK Lancer's November in Dallas conference in 2003 by Bob Dorff and Jim Olivier. Although I was aware of the publication of the first edition in 2016, it was the authors Skype link to Dealey Plaza U.K. in 2020 that really drew me to obtain a signed copy of his second edition direct from Dr. Michael Marcades.
Although this is a real life biography of his mother, a work that has involved decades long research, 'Rose Cherami: Gathering Fallen Petals' contains fictional dialog to assist the flow of this harrowing life story, but with a solid factual base. In that respect, this book is somewhat unique in comparison to other books in the JFK assassination canon, unless we include the Warren Report.
Joan Mellen's back cover review warns readers to 'expect nightmares'. 'Crit' had a short life spent with alcoholism, prostitution, heroin addiction, multiple police arrests, imprisonment, hospitalisations and involvements with organised criminal enterprises, as well as her inability to look after her son Michael.
I think that it is the way this story has been starkly written that makes it hard to lose sympathy and understanding with the character of 'Rose Cheramie'.
As regards the JFK assassination involvement she can be included along with Joseph Milteer, who seemed to possess fore knowledge of JFK's killing. Her knowledge of Ruby and Oswald (or possibly an Oswald double) stands on solid foundations. A further revelation is her final demise, a far more frightening scenario than the opening scene in Stone's movie.
However, leaving the JFK aspect to one side, this book stands testimony to a woman who just had to keep on keeping on throughout her long and crazy escapades. The result is a compulsive page turner!

[Laquita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone that was living in the 1960's remembers the unrest America was experiencing with our young president, John F. Kennedy. And we all remember exactly what we were doing the day he was shot. There have been theories about who was responsible, how long had it been planned, who really tried to warn him and even after all these years, are we even closer to the truth?
In Michael Marcades book about his mother Rose Cherami: Gathering Fallen Petals, we read that she knew it was planned and when it was going to go down and how she tried to warn people about the upcoming assassination.
Because of her tragic life in and out of prison, mental hospitals and it being centered around alcohol, drugs, mafia bosses, prostitution and unrest, no one took her seriously. In this book, which I couldn't put down, I was saddened by her life of constant disturbance, but saw her tenacity to continue on with her life as hard as it was. Her story is one of love for her son and her protection of him. I would often think of her son Michael and how hard it was to write such a book about his mother's life, but I want to thank him for giving us a glimpse of how a life of great sorrow can be used today to show us a bit of history that may not have ever been told. LaQuita Scaife Franklin TN

[Shanna Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! I didn’t expect to get so invested in this story! It reads like a Netflix series you can’t help but binge. My husband knew the author in college, so we were intrigued to read the book. It reminded me of reading Glass Castle or Educated. It makes you realize the amazing gift of a stable home and being grounded. As a parent, it was hard to think of all the suffering Tom and Minnie endured as they tried to continue to love their daughter. Their sacrifices for her and for Michael paint a beautiful picture against the harsh setting of Crit’s life. The only reason I didn’t give this 5 stars was because there should have been a bit more editing. There were some places where the grammar/syntax got a little distracting. Overall, a top read. More people should know about this book!

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like reading true stories of people's lives. This was a good book and I read it quickly. The choices Crit made throughout her life were heartbreaking for her son and family. Her decision to straighten out her life was made just a little to late. It's really sad that her son Michael had to grow up without his mother. When I finished this book I just felt numb. I will think about this story for a long time trying to reason why things happened as they did for this family.

[Margaret Schwemer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Marcades’s narrative of his mother and her addictions in the 1950s and 1960s is hard to put down. Having grown up in Dallas, the settings are all too real and familiar to me. The descriptions of her incarceration in both prisons and metal health facilities are heart wrenching. And her connection to the JFK assasination is very eerie and seems to support a conspiracy theory of which I have never bought in to. Kudos to Michael for sharing this story. Margaret

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love books that are based on true events. In the summary of this book it talks about how Rose revealed events leading up to the assassination of JFK. While this is true, this is a very small part of the story that doesn’t happen until almost the end. So if you think this book talks a lot about JFK you will be disappointed.

With all of that said, this book was amazing! The life of Rose was a long hard one full of ups and downs. My heart broke for her so many times. She never really fit in anywhere. Rose needed constant excitement and the everyday tasks we all deal with her boring to her.

This book is written by her son. This makes it even more heartbreaking when you read the story of her life that is full of crime, prostitution and drugs. It makes my heart break for not only Rose but for Michael.

I received this book for free in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions in this review are 100% my own.

[Kathleen Kidder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This gripping recreation of Rose Cherami's life taken from documents and memoirs gathered by Marcades left me wondering how much more we don't know about the gatekeepers of political secrets and those who control our justice systems. I could not put this book down and in light of what is going on currently in the World, you won't be able to either. Amazing the courage it took to write this book. Michael Marcades has done a wonderful job sharing the tortuous life of his mysterious mother.

[Crystal Lenette Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story behind the woman

I could not put this book down. It was way better than I thought it would be. It had some grammatical issues, but it was still good. She made some terrible choices. This story illustrates the reality of what addiction can do. Plus, she hung around the wrong people. Despite her flaws, she didn't deserve to have her life taken from her. She was a witness to one of the most tragic events in American history. It's amazing that investigators never took her claims seriously. She obviously knew a lot.