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A review by kathywadolowski
Me by Elton John
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I'd been waiting on reading (well, listening to) Elton John's "Me" for a while, as I expected it was going to be emotional and absorbing and I wanted to be in the mood for it. Thankfully I was right on both counts, as Elton John gives us everything you want in a memoir—stunning honesty, interesting fun facts, captivating storylines, and insight about his life that you really can't get anywhere else.
Yesss there were definitely tidbits about your favorite songs; like, did you know that Philadelphia Freedom was born from tennis? Or that Elton hated recording "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (a personal fav) and vowed it would never see the light of day? But insights like these, while super interesting for a fan, are still just scratching the surface of what he explores in this book.
He details his fraught relationship with his parents, his excessive shopping habit, the devastating depths of his drug addiction and the difficulty he had conquering it, the tragic deaths of many of his friends, and many other trying times. And don't worry, because there's plenty of love, light, and inspiration to be found here as well.
Elton reallyyyy put in the work to become the star that he is, and acknowledged several times the stroke of luck and happenstance that sparked his whole career. You never got the sense he took any of it for granted, and it's clear his talent and work ethic made him more than deserving of his success. And while that success may have caused a lot of hard times and heartache, it was also the source of so much joy. Of course the songs are legend, as well as so many of his famous friendships, but the chapters about his husband and his journey to fatherhood add even more layers to Elton John ~the celebrity~. And through the good and bad moments, he never sugarcoats or shies away from the reality of his own actions.
So whether you love his music or music in general (me), watched "Rocketman" and wanted to know more (also me), or simply enjoy learning about captivating people (also also me), you should give this memoir a go! It might also prompt you to relive your experience at his 2022 farewell tour and go on a days-long listening tear. <3 Well, maybe that's *just* me...
Bonus: if you listen to the audio version you can spend 12 hours with Taron Edgerton which is time well spent let me tell you.
Yesss there were definitely tidbits about your favorite songs; like, did you know that Philadelphia Freedom was born from tennis? Or that Elton hated recording "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (a personal fav) and vowed it would never see the light of day? But insights like these, while super interesting for a fan, are still just scratching the surface of what he explores in this book.
He details his fraught relationship with his parents, his excessive shopping habit, the devastating depths of his drug addiction and the difficulty he had conquering it, the tragic deaths of many of his friends, and many other trying times. And don't worry, because there's plenty of love, light, and inspiration to be found here as well.
Elton reallyyyy put in the work to become the star that he is, and acknowledged several times the stroke of luck and happenstance that sparked his whole career. You never got the sense he took any of it for granted, and it's clear his talent and work ethic made him more than deserving of his success. And while that success may have caused a lot of hard times and heartache, it was also the source of so much joy. Of course the songs are legend, as well as so many of his famous friendships, but the chapters about his husband and his journey to fatherhood add even more layers to Elton John ~the celebrity~. And through the good and bad moments, he never sugarcoats or shies away from the reality of his own actions.
So whether you love his music or music in general (me), watched "Rocketman" and wanted to know more (also me), or simply enjoy learning about captivating people (also also me), you should give this memoir a go! It might also prompt you to relive your experience at his 2022 farewell tour and go on a days-long listening tear. <3 Well, maybe that's *just* me...
Bonus: if you listen to the audio version you can spend 12 hours with Taron Edgerton which is time well spent let me tell you.