Remarkable handwritten prayer, unsigned, one page both sides, 5 x 8, circa 1958. Garland pens a desperate plea, in full: "Dear God—I am asking for help. I need help. I need strength and some kind of courage that has left me. My soul needs healing. My needs are many. Give me the strength to crush my fear and cowardice. Let me face life and the fun it must hold. Help me with my bad nerves and illness until the whiskey is out of my body. Let me see the loveliness awaiting me. Help me find you. Help me make the most of my splendid life. I have lost my way—please God—let me find it. Let me find some dignity and health." In fine condition, with scattered light creasing and a light block of toning to the upper left back corner. With a renewed focus on her musical career, Garland spent much of the late 1950s in the recording studio and performing on various television and theater stages across the country. Garland managed to control her concurrent tax and health problems while touring, but a life on the road and a diet of pills and alcohol soon caught up with the 37-year-old. On November 19, 1959, Garland entered New York’s Doctor’s Hospital with an inflamed liver nearly four times its normal size. Fighting for her life, she was treated for hepatitis, drained of twenty quarts of fluid, and told that her working days were over. After several months of recovery, Garland went on to experience yet another career renaissance with legendary performances at Amsterdam’s Tuschinski Theater on December 10, 1960, and at New York’s Carnegie Hall on April 23, 1961. Pre-certified Beckett Authentication Services.
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