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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
I just finished "Spare" by Price Harry and it may just be the best and most heartbreaking memoir I have ever read. He tells his story as the 'spare to the heir', starting at 12 when his beloved mother Princess Diana passed away, up until 2022. I started with the hardback book but then after a few chapters, I switched to the audiobook version from the library. I always recommend audiobooks of memoirs and autobiographies if they are read by the author. I think it makes it so much more personal and moving to hear their story in their voice. Harry is a great storyteller with a lot of emotion and blunt honesty. I teared up and gasped out loud during many of his stories. He truly is misunderstood and this book opened my eyes to what a thoughtful and genuine person he really is. I highly recommend reading "Spare".
⭐️ Did you know "Spare" broke the Guinness Record for the fastest-selling nonfiction book? It sold 1.4 million on its release day and has currently sold 3.4 million!
⭐️ Did you know "Spare" broke the Guinness Record for the fastest-selling nonfiction book? It sold 1.4 million on its release day and has currently sold 3.4 million!
I hadn’t intended to read this book. The overexposure of this story in the media really put me off the whole thing. Then I read an opinion piece in the Sydney Morning Herald by Julia Baird. She talked about how obvious it was to her that this was coming from deep trauma, that Harry was still that traumatised 12 year old boy who was being continually retraumatised throughout his life and for whom the media had become the enemy. This piqued my interest so I read it and I’m so glad I did. It really is shocking the way the media manipulates narratives to sell papers and I can understand why Harry’s mission in life would be to bring down that whole system that has affected him so deeply at every level - taking away his mother, career, privacy, dignity, security. I get it. I also thought it was smart to use the media to now divulge every detail for his own profit - there is nothing he hasn’t covered so there is nothing they can hold over his head, and the money goes to him not them. Smart. I also felt that reading this book and hearing his perspective when he had been silenced the majority of his life was the respect I wanted to pay to the son of Diana, who my grandmother loved and I did as a consequence. He will always be that little boy to me who walked behind her coffin. I am sad for what he has gone through with his dysfunctional family - I empathise - but also so happy for him that he has found a love that feels like home. My only criticism is that there were some details about his brother I thought were unnecessary to disclose. Also I was surprised how relatively well Charles came out in the wash.
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I have to admit that I liked having Prince Harry whisper into my ears for 15 hours. I'd had this free audiobook in my app for ages and finally got around to it on my trip to Wales, because, hey, UK?
I'm not a huge royal fan and don't follow their news closely so a lot of this book was news to me. However, I admit that Harry is whiny and falls claim to second son syndrome, which is made even worse when you're the spare heir. The whole British royalty thing is toxic, and I don't understand why they aren't ALL in therapy. The therapists are needed a lot more than press agents (who are vilified in this book). I also kept thinking--really? you included that story in your memoir? The penis story? The drugs? Meghan really laughed at him when he used up her laughing gas at their child's first birth--how immature is that? I hope he stays in therapy the rest of his life, and I really do wish them the best.
I'm not a huge royal fan and don't follow their news closely so a lot of this book was news to me. However, I admit that Harry is whiny and falls claim to second son syndrome, which is made even worse when you're the spare heir. The whole British royalty thing is toxic, and I don't understand why they aren't ALL in therapy. The therapists are needed a lot more than press agents (who are vilified in this book). I also kept thinking--really? you included that story in your memoir? The penis story? The drugs? Meghan really laughed at him when he used up her laughing gas at their child's first birth--how immature is that? I hope he stays in therapy the rest of his life, and I really do wish them the best.
Maybe I’m tired of memoirs or reading about other people’s experiences, but I got about a third through Spare when I realized I just don’t care enough about Harry or his family to keep reading. I realize a memoir is supposed to be all about the author, but this book comes across as written by a narcissist. It was all just too much for me. Maybe I’ll pick it back up when I’m at a different place in my life. For now, it’s a DNF.
I grew up seeing the tabloid headlines about Prince Harry in the grocery stores with my grandparents. (I also had a little crush on him because he was British and a redhead.) Listening to this, I can’t believe how much I forgot! The Nazi costume?!? Crazy that he was talked into that being a good idea. Crazy that it was his brother and Kate that talked him into it!
It’s so sad to hear him talk about how his father and brother treated and abandoned him. I’m glad that he chose to be loyal to Meghan and left the royal family for the good of her and his children. It’s unbelievable (not literally) how detached the rest of the royal family is from…like…loving each other? I’ve never been more glad that I wasn’t born a princess, and never accidentally fell in love with a prince.
It’s really hard to evaluate this book apart from its existence in the first place. Should it have been written? Does it portray Harry’s family in a fair way? Is he sympathetic or someone with a chip on his shoulder getting revenge? These are all fair questions, and since they involve personal opinion or knowledge I do not have, I sure can’t answer them. I can say, though, that this is a great memoir, rich with detail and compelling events. I’m glad I read it.
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced