Reviews with content warning for Drug use - Spare

Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

bree_lapolla's review

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emotional medium-paced

4.0

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dmswack3's review

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emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

I usually avoid memoirs and biographies due to their voyeuristic feel, but something about 2023 has made me want to listen to a few, and Spare was undoubtedly one of them.

I highly enjoyed the narration Prince Harry gave, and the story itself was fun to listen to. His ghost writers was phenomenal in my opinion. I'm very glad I listened to it instead of reading it, however, because I think I would have found myself bored by some of the longer chapters had it not been read to me.

Something else for readers to be weary of besides long chapters and perhaps boring text, should you choose to read this rather than listen- this story bares all... Like ALL. You will hear a LOT about the Prince's... Todger, as he calls it. Like a LOT. Where it's been, who's seen it, how it's been injured so uh. Fair warning there.

Beyond the todger, this book really doesn't pull punches. I saw shocked at points, angered at others, cried at some. But I also felt myself thinking: is it all true? God I hope not. It's that bad.

Give it a listen.

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star's review

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emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.25

this one kind of dragged for me. ive been on-and-off into reading about the royal family for years (mostly as a curiosity - being from america) but this has really made me rethink my media reading habits. however, parts of this book were downright boring. i did cry several times (mostly around the stuff to do about death). i read the hardcover version of this book (i picked it up for free at a little free library) and it was over 400 pages long - which i thought to be much too long while reading, but honestly it does give a ton of detail and sorely needed context to some of his larger missteps.

i was planning while reading to give this book about 2 - 2.5 stars, but i think that the last 1/3 of the book (aka: the parts with meghan and the break with the family) seriously bumped this to a 3.25.

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bookworm_ran's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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ms4321's review against another edition

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informative reflective sad medium-paced

3.0

While this didn't completely warm me to Harry himself, you can't but have sympathy for him and Meghan by the end of it. His difficulty to come to terms with his mother's death and the racism Meghan experienced from the British tabloids was horrible.

The memoir itself was fairly well written. Although, it did get a little wishy-washy for my taste at times. (Yes, Harry very much seems to be his father's son in that respect). The philosophical talking fox, moon and dust bin was a bit much for me.

Personally, I didn't find the military escapades or drug induced self-destruction very interesting. I'm not pro-war or pro-military and I'm not interested in Harry's recreational drug use. This was something that made up a good chunk of the centre of the book and kind of slowed everything down for me.

His descriptions of Africa were a bit strange and problematic (very heart of darkness), especially considering they were coming from the perspective of someone whose direct ancestors colonialised half the planet.

I thought the whole situation with Harry, William and Charles seemed a bit petty (but unsurprisingly so) on all sides. It just kind of made me wonder if these three grown men have anything better to be doing than dragging each other in the media.

On the whole, this was a quick enough read if you listen to it as an audiobook and it gives an insight into Harry, his experiences and the lives of the current royal family. Although there was a few off the wall stories I'd rather wipe from my mind forever, 'Spare' does, more or less, exactly what it says on the tin.

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jedore's review

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informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

4.0

“When is someone in this family going to break free and live?”

My interest in the royals doesn’t run deep. I read a lot of historical fiction about Britain so I have a decent grasp of royal history, I thought Diana was an amazing human and was horrifically mistreated by the family (and the paparazzi, of course), and I’ve watched every season of The Crown. That’s pretty much it. But, it’s enough for me to know that if I was forced to pick a team, I’d definitely be on Team Harry (which, by the way, would be Team Diana-Harry were she still alive).

Harry took a lot of flack in my online book groups when the book was released…and, now that I’ve finished it, my suspicions are confirmed. Harry isn’t a stellar writer, so he doesn’t always convey his totally justifiable feelings in the most ideal possible way. I believe those who viciously criticized him lack empathy, a basic grasp of psychology, and are very likely the ones who keep the paparazzi in business by reading and believing their trash.

Speaking from firsthand experience, I can confirm 100% that money and privilege do not excuse ANY human being from the emotional repercussions of a lack of love and abuse. Love is in very short supply in the royal family…that’s clear in every single thing I’ve ever read or watched about them, not just from Harry’s story. Appearances, power, pettiness, and manipulation totally trump love and that creates pain for those who value love more. The paparazzi is beyond abusive and unbelievably racist. What they do is not a price anyone should EVER have to pay. I feel deeply for Harry and Meghan and am SO glad that they were brave enough to break free and live.

Despite there being a lot more pages of the book dedicated to Harry’s military experiences than I expected, I totally enjoyed spending the last few days with him. If we’re in a relationship, whether we’re male or female, may we all be so lucky to have a partner that is willing to do whatever it takes to protect us. Harry is a good man. I hope that he is able to build a better and safer life for his family…and I hope karma works it’s magic on a few particular members of his family.

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