Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

Spare by Prince Harry

168 reviews

abwilcox's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring reflective tense slow-paced

3.5


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chronicallyplotting's review against another edition

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dark informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

The saying “An heir and a spare” is one that haunts Prince Harry. It is one that his father referred to him when he was born and one that has haunted him his entire life. Feeling as though he his existence is to always be a backup in the eyes of his family, a formality.
 
I did not expect to like this book as much as I did. I do not follow the royal family close, I am a person who is very thankful to not live under a monarchy and after reading this I am even more thankful not to live under one. 
It is sad how much Harry and William went through growing up with the death of their mother, and the lack of mental health help provided to them was shameful. Prince Harry spent his life tortured and haunted by the media. 
The only thing about the book that Prince Harry contradicted himself on was he hated people who wrote “tell alls “exposing things. And this book was a “tell all”. 
I hope Harry and Megan find peace away from the monarchy and press like the hope. 

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syza17's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring slow-paced

4.75


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enchantingreads_rosyreviews's review

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adventurous funny hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

I want to preface this by stressing I am not a “royal watcher,” meaning I have never been one to keep up with the British royals. Although, I do my best to keep up with the Kardashians, I had no desire to watch their speeches, track their appearances, or follow their lives. But when Harry and Meghan’s relationship went public, I took interest. A real-life American princess love story, just like The Prince & Me!

Not only was a British Prince dating an American, but she was mixed race. Though I myself am as white as they come, I can understand and appreciate Harry and Meghan’s ground-breaking relationship. There was a real opportunity to unite the Commonwealth, most of them being predominately black countries, and bring the ancient royal institution into the modern era. So I started paying attention. Many of the interviews they gave, the life milestone announcements, etc., I tried to keep tabs on them. It didn’t hurt that they were relaxed with one another, cracked jokes, and were a generally likeable couple.

Eventually, I saw their sparkle start to dim, especially Meg’s. It wasn’t until after reading Harry’s book and watching their Netflix docuseries, I realized the power and viciousness of the British tabloid press. They called Meg’s race, morality, intellect, and physical appearance into question. They essentially stripped Harry and Meghan’s relationship of everything that made it unique and good to replace it with false narratives vilifying Meghan, in particular.

Overall, Harry’s detailed account of his life is an important read for anyone interested in the life of a British royal, the burden of being a person in the public eye, what a life in dedication to service (both in the military and to the betterment of the world), and how it feels to fall in love with your person. Harry’s candor about the brutal and relentless obsession of the British tabloid press as well as the racial and xenophobic undertones of his and Meg’s relationship, is appreciated and fascinating to read. Regardless of how you feel about the royals, his story is one to root for and this new chapter of his life might prove to unveil the best version of Harry the world has ever seen. 

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jamie_rich's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

3.75


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danimcthomas's review against another edition

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reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

Beautifully told and enlightening. I knew nothing about the royal family going in. I found the book very sad overall, but it feels hopeful, too. I’m sure it’s biased in some ways, but Harry seems to be very Frank and honest about his own failings as well as his family’s.

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alicer718's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

I felt I had to read this being a monarchist and having seen most of the Harry and Meghan stuff first hand and being absolutely horrified by it. The book was really interesting and informative it has made me see the entire situation in a different light and has really killed what little trust I had in the press and the ‘truths’ they tell 

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aharper's review against another edition

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siankrb's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny informative reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

An honest, funny and moving account of Prince Harry’s life and the challenges that come with being the spare. I thought the book particularly picked up in the third section, talking about Meghan and recent events. Took me a while to get through but I ended up being very moved. Appreciated having an insight into a life completely different from my own. 

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mcarabooboo's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

3.5


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