On Friday, July 31st, Urban Zen in Sag Harbor hosted a book signing party for Hamptons actress and author, Brooke Shields, to celebrate her new memoir: There was a Little Girl.  The New York Times bestselling author paints a poignant, heartwarming and brutally honest portrait of her mother, and reflects on how their fraught but loving relationship influences the way she experiences motherhood herself.

Brooke entered the spotlight at the age of 11 months and never left it, thanks in large part to her manager and mother, Teri Shields, who became a media magnet almost as well-known as her daughter. Brooke and Teri’s relationship was surrounded by controversy and criticism from Brooke’s early years as a child model and actress, through college and adulthood. When Teri passed away in 2012 the press reflected on her life by printing negative anecdotes and quotes taken out of context, and Brooke knew she had to set the record straight, in her own words.

Guests of the party included – Ms. Shields’s daughters, Ronan and Grier Hammond, David Lauren, Lauren Bush Lauren, Donna Karan, Gabby Karan DeFelice, Andrea Greeven Douzet, Andrew Saffir and Daniel Benedict.

Donna Karan’s Urban Zen boutique supports the Urban Zen Foundation, whose mission is to raise awareness and inspire change in the areas of Preservation of Cultures, Well-Being and Education.

*All photos in this feature courtesy of Patrice Casanova