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retrolove's review against another edition
4.0
How could a night so frozen
Be so scalding hot?
How can a morning this mild
Be so raw?
I expected a few stories from his time at RENT, but I was completely blown away by how much emotions I felt. This is the definition of an emotional rollercoaster. I know loss was in the title, but this was on another level. I had to stop reading multiple times because I didn't want to deal with crying - not sure if that's a good or bad thing, though. As a Renthead, as they would call it, this was a very nice read. Anthony Rapp put a lot of thought and time into this and it shows.
megankhein's review against another edition
4.0
i basically love reading anything about rent, and even though anthony rapp isn't a phenomenal writer, i learned a lot about him, about rent, about jonathan larson, etc. the story of the illness and death of his mother definitely made me cry a little in public.
sarara's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Infidelity
thegirlinchucks's review against another edition
5.0
Another rating out of sheer personal emotion, but RENT, Jonathan Larson, Anthony Rapp...love, loss. It all just hits me in the most potent and serious of ways. And I am indebted.
lg_02's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.75
divadiane's review against another edition
5.0
I am grateful to Anthony for having written this book. His writing is eloquent and revealing. He is brutally honest about the less savory aspects of his personality and events in his life and he comes out the other side, if not elegantly, with a sort of grace that comes with growth.
As a (albeit much less successful) performer myself, and being almost exactly the same generation as Anthony and also from a midwestern Catholic family, there were many many things I felt I could directly relate to.
Despite being a straight female I find it wonderful how Anthony has bravely become a champion and role model of gay rights. I think of my best friend in High School who suffered greatly as the only open gay boy at our school and wished that he had had a role model like Anthony to look up to and contact and speak to.
I love how humbly Anthony speaks of his work as a performer and how engagingly he shows that he is just a regular guy who also struggles with life and death and success and failure. Thank you, Anthony.
What I (happily?) have no connection to is losing a parent. Mine are both alive. I know that everyone deals with grief in their own way, so even though I can’t really relate to Anthony’s grief, he makes it so tangible that it works for the reader as a catharsis as well.
Edit (May 2021): This came up on my feed and rereading my review I realize that a few short months after I read this (March 2020) my own mother died. The circumstances were much different to Anthony’s though. My mother died after a few days in the hospital and I was on another continent. I will listen to Anthony’s recounting because I’m sure there’s something new I can relate to now.
As a (albeit much less successful) performer myself, and being almost exactly the same generation as Anthony and also from a midwestern Catholic family, there were many many things I felt I could directly relate to.
Despite being a straight female I find it wonderful how Anthony has bravely become a champion and role model of gay rights. I think of my best friend in High School who suffered greatly as the only open gay boy at our school and wished that he had had a role model like Anthony to look up to and contact and speak to.
I love how humbly Anthony speaks of his work as a performer and how engagingly he shows that he is just a regular guy who also struggles with life and death and success and failure. Thank you, Anthony.
What I (happily?) have no connection to is losing a parent. Mine are both alive. I know that everyone deals with grief in their own way, so even though I can’t really relate to Anthony’s grief, he makes it so tangible that it works for the reader as a catharsis as well.
Edit (May 2021): This came up on my feed and rereading my review I realize that a few short months after I read this (March 2020) my own mother died. The circumstances were much different to Anthony’s though. My mother died after a few days in the hospital and I was on another continent. I will listen to Anthony’s recounting because I’m sure there’s something new I can relate to now.
asthepageturns87's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
keepsmiliing15's review against another edition
4.0
An interesting memoir about loss and struggles with it. I think I benefited from listening to the audiobook of this as it felt like a friend telling his story. If you are going to read it to get juicy gossip about Rent this is not the book but a intense tale of Anthony Rapp's journey.