This book is one of the several no holds bar life stories I read this year. She shares with you everything about her journey, She takes you through her how her addiction started and how she got caught. She tells you all about her prison term- including landing in solitary confinement. She really shows you what life with her addiction was like. She's open. She's honest. She's not proud of her decisions, but she learned from them. And she tells you how she learned it all.
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. I was floored by how open and honest she was. Mostly, I was inspired by how she got her life back in order.
I didn't grow up listening to Elton John music. I knew of him from the late 1980s, which was long after he had mellowed out. While I didn't know a lot about his life, I was eager to read what he had to say. I was pleasantly surprised. He was open and honest about all he had done- from the temper tantrums to the people he hurt. As he takes you back to his starter days, he would own up to bad behavior. He made no excuses for how he behaved and would tell you he wished he behaved better. But you also got to see how he shaped his career on his terms- which was something few artists can say from that time period. He was openly gay, which wasn't something most people were. He was true to himself and stood his ground. Which was ground breaking for the music industry.
This book allows you to meet a humble, honest and more mature Elton. A man who has lived and learned, loved and lost. He lays bare all of his history for you to read. I respect him all the more for it. through his words, he became more human to me than famous entity.
I've been a follower of Kristina's Instagram for a couple years. Her videos are inspirational and humanizing at the same time. She has such a gift for reminding you to take the pressure off yourself and know that you are awesome- all while making you laugh. So when she said she was writing a book I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. The wait felt like forever, but the book was worth it.
She takes you to her early days, living in Croatia. She tells you about the war that broke out and the bullets that made their way into her own bedroom. She tells you about her first marriage and then leaving it. Within these pages you learn how she picked herself up from the ground and, step by step, built a better life for herself. When she gives you encouragement, it's from a person who's been there in the trenches of emotional hell. She'll tell you how she felt worthless and like a failure. Her story is so real and will remind you that you aren't the only one who has lost everything and had to rebuild. Her videos are amazing, but they don't tell the whole story of what she's overcome to be the inspiration she is now. Her book does.
Open Book isn't just the title of her book, it's a heads up. She literally opens up about everything. She uses journals she kept to relive and talk about things that went on in her life. She shares everything. The highs and the lows. The loves and the losses. The goods and the bads. I started this book with an idea of who she was, but finished it seeing her in different light. I had so much respect for her. She was respectful about telling this, but honest. The relationship stuff with John Mayer was especially eye opening. I didn't know much about their relationship, but I did now.
You will close the book with a new respect for her. You will see a strength in her you may not have seen before, There's a reason why this book has been praised as much as it has. It's phenomonal.
I was a fan of General Hospital. I remember Sonny Corinthos and his storylines. But I didn't know a lot about his portrayer, Maurice Benard. All I knew prior to this book was that he had been diagnosed with bipolar. Instinctually, I knew he had an incredible story to share with his readers and I wanted to be a part of it. Mental illness is hard enough to manage and live with without the pressures of the entertainment industry to factor in. So, how did he do it?
Maurice takes you front and center to his life. prior to his diagnosis and every break down leading to it. He bares it all- the good, the bad, the ugly and the absolutely terrifying. He doesn't sugar coat his relapses or the breakdowns. He doesn't leave the gritty parts out. You're as close to being there, without actually being there. And you are amazed at what he's gone through and come through. I wanted to applaud him after I finished his book. I wanted to thank him for writing this honest book. Not only does he share his incredible story with you, he makes you know you aren't alone. I know several people who share his same diagnosis, so I'm familiar with it. It's never an easy life for the person, or their loved ones. But he took more of the shame away from it. He shows how it's possible to live and thrive despite mental illness. He even got his character disgnosed with bipolar.
You see the phrase "it takes a village" come to life in his story. You see all the people who become his support system- family, friends, bosses & costars. While mental illness is often a dark cloud floating around, Maurice shows you all the blessings that can come from it. That while there are lows, the highs are full of love and happiness.
I may not be a big fan of Demi Moore, but I was curious to know more about her. I had no idea how much more I would know her by the time I finished her book. You feel like you're having lunch with her and she's telling you everything you're reading. Her addictions. Her faults. Her struggles. her relationship with her family. Her achievements. And how she finally found herself amongst it all.
As you can tell, 2020 was the jackpot in life stories. I don't remember the last time I read, and loved, this many autobiographies in one year. Truthfully, I don't usually read this many autobiographies in a year. But each one was amazing, gripping, inspiring and touching. It was a gift to read these life stories and learn about what the authors overcame and endured. My heart goes out to them for what they lived and applaud them for being brave enough to share their stories with honesty and humility. I'm always cautious about someone telling their life story because so many have breezed through it without really telling you. This batch of books was the furthest thing from that. I hope you consider reading some of these, if you haven't already.
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