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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
slow-paced
The good: This book helped me refine my understanding of my personal reading preferences, especially for memoirs.
The bad: It turns out that this book was not for me. (I read this for a book club. Otherwise I would have DNF’d.). It turns out I'm not a fan of celebrity-adjacent memoirs (for me, the story would have worked better if it was more about Leonard (the celebrity) or more about Adam (as an addiction memoir, and also possibly as a generational trauma story)).
I also prefer memoirs by authors who are masters of self-awareness and empathy (e.g., Lara Love Hardin). One of my favorite parts of reading, especially with memoirs about others who have very different lives from me, is the way that a book can help expand my empathy and understanding about a life I haven’t experienced, and yet, I couldn’t help but pass judgment about this author based on the way he told a lot of the stories. At times, his lack of self-awareness was confounding to me. It’s not so much that someone cannot write a story about how growth is not linear - it’s that for me, the author has to be honest and self-aware about that struggle.
The method of storytelling also didn’t work for me. We all have different preferences for the details we want to hear about a story, and I didn’t particularly care for (or agree with) what he believes to be the pivotal details in most of the stories he tells. Perhaps others will enjoy what he choses to focus on, but for me it was often distracting and confusing. For example, in the middle of finding out terrible news about a loved one, he starts listing off the fancy cars in the place his car is being repaired. He also skips over a lot of details around some of the things I would have liked to know more about - including the core conflicts the book addresses (and, in particular, his role in those conflicts). He is honest about the fact that he struggles with his feelings likely as part of the generational trauma he is linked to, so perhaps this is the way he needs to tell his story. It is his story, and he should be true to his voice. I just find it very hard to connect with that style of storytelling (and perhaps others won't have that same struggle).
The structure was also challenging for me. This is more a collection of essays than a cohesive memoir, and perhaps it should have been packaged that way. I think some stories could have been consolidated and that the book could have benefited from additional editing.
That said, every book has its audience. I'm sure there are readers out there who will enjoy the things I struggled with. Perhaps other readers who process things like Adam will be able to see themselves in this book and will find comfort. This is just my attempt to articulate why it didn't work for my personal preferences.
The bad: It turns out that this book was not for me. (I read this for a book club. Otherwise I would have DNF’d.). It turns out I'm not a fan of celebrity-adjacent memoirs (for me, the story would have worked better if it was more about Leonard (the celebrity) or more about Adam (as an addiction memoir, and also possibly as a generational trauma story)).
I also prefer memoirs by authors who are masters of self-awareness and empathy (e.g., Lara Love Hardin). One of my favorite parts of reading, especially with memoirs about others who have very different lives from me, is the way that a book can help expand my empathy and understanding about a life I haven’t experienced, and yet, I couldn’t help but pass judgment about this author based on the way he told a lot of the stories. At times, his lack of self-awareness was confounding to me. It’s not so much that someone cannot write a story about how growth is not linear - it’s that for me, the author has to be honest and self-aware about that struggle.
The method of storytelling also didn’t work for me. We all have different preferences for the details we want to hear about a story, and I didn’t particularly care for (or agree with) what he believes to be the pivotal details in most of the stories he tells. Perhaps others will enjoy what he choses to focus on, but for me it was often distracting and confusing. For example, in the middle of finding out terrible news about a loved one, he starts listing off the fancy cars in the place his car is being repaired. He also skips over a lot of details around some of the things I would have liked to know more about - including the core conflicts the book addresses (and, in particular, his role in those conflicts). He is honest about the fact that he struggles with his feelings likely as part of the generational trauma he is linked to, so perhaps this is the way he needs to tell his story. It is his story, and he should be true to his voice. I just find it very hard to connect with that style of storytelling (and perhaps others won't have that same struggle).
The structure was also challenging for me. This is more a collection of essays than a cohesive memoir, and perhaps it should have been packaged that way. I think some stories could have been consolidated and that the book could have benefited from additional editing.
That said, every book has its audience. I'm sure there are readers out there who will enjoy the things I struggled with. Perhaps other readers who process things like Adam will be able to see themselves in this book and will find comfort. This is just my attempt to articulate why it didn't work for my personal preferences.
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
DNF at 34%, I wanted so badly to enjoy this but I'm not a Star Trek/Leonard Nimoy fan so those portions totally lose me.
(Sorry NetGalley and publisher :( Still appreciate the E-ARC bunches!)
(Sorry NetGalley and publisher :( Still appreciate the E-ARC bunches!)
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
💬: "Of my friend, I can only say this...of all the souls I have encountered in my travels his was the most human."
Kirk's eulogy for Spock and "The Most Human: Reconciling with my Father's" opening quote.
📖Genres: non-fiction, memoir
📚Page Count: 272
🎧Audiobook Length: 09:18
👩🏾🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4/5
The Most Human: Reconciling with My Father, Leonard Nimoy by Adam Nimoy is a moving and emotional account of Adam Nimoy's experience of growing up with his famous father, Leonard Nimoy. In this memoir Adam Nimoy recounts the ups and downs that he had with his father growing as well as substance abuse issues and alcoholism that he and his father dealt with respectively. He uses the journey of writing this memoir to finally reconcile with his father and the struggle that Adam Nimoy had with a distant family member (his father) was very relatable. The audiobook was read by Adam Nimoy and his reading of his memoir was good.
I don't normally give ratings to memoirs, but I'll give this 4 stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4/5
Thank you [NetGalley.com], Adam Nimoy (the author), and Dreamscape Media (the publisher) for the arc audiobook (advanced reader's copy.)
Kirk's eulogy for Spock and "The Most Human: Reconciling with my Father's" opening quote.
📖Genres: non-fiction, memoir
📚Page Count: 272
🎧Audiobook Length: 09:18
👩🏾🏫My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4/5
The Most Human: Reconciling with My Father, Leonard Nimoy by Adam Nimoy is a moving and emotional account of Adam Nimoy's experience of growing up with his famous father, Leonard Nimoy. In this memoir Adam Nimoy recounts the ups and downs that he had with his father growing as well as substance abuse issues and alcoholism that he and his father dealt with respectively. He uses the journey of writing this memoir to finally reconcile with his father and the struggle that Adam Nimoy had with a distant family member (his father) was very relatable. The audiobook was read by Adam Nimoy and his reading of his memoir was good.
I don't normally give ratings to memoirs, but I'll give this 4 stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4/5
Thank you [NetGalley.com], Adam Nimoy (the author), and Dreamscape Media (the publisher) for the arc audiobook (advanced reader's copy.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Alcohol