Dolly Parton Revealed a Time She Felt ‘Worthless’
Dolly Parton has a glowing, effervescent personality, but she admits that she has felt darker feelings like the rest of us. During her childhood, Parton stole art supplies. She admitted that the way her teacher reacted made her feel “worthless.”
Dolly Parton admitted she felt terrible after a childhood incident
When Parton was growing up, her family struggled to make ends meet. She and her siblings each typically got one gift for Christmas. She admitted she loved getting presents.
“Somehow Mama and Daddy always managed for each of us to get one store-bought gift,” she wrote in her book Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business. “Regardless of what it was, it was a thing of wonder to be revered, looked at with slow eyes, felt with tender hands, and relished for its newness. Best of all was that ‘it’s really mine’ feeling that could carry you around on a cloud for days, or until it was replaced by that ‘it’s really broken’ feeling.”
While Parton and her siblings were even happy with holidays when their parents didn’t get them Christmas gifts, they were still kids. Parton wanted toys and gifts, and she once swiped crayons and chalk from her schoolroom to get them. Her teacher realized she’d done this, and embarrassed her in front of the class.
“Look at what Dolly has done!” he said, per the book Ain’t Nobody’s Fool by Martha Ackmann. “She stole!”
Parton admitted she felt “worthless” in this moment, and feared her teacher would hit her for her wrongdoing.
