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A review by baybay11098
Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road by Neil Peart
3.0
As a huge fan of Rush, I knew had to read this at some point in my life. And now, with some stuff that I've gone through this year, this seemed like a good time to read it. Peart has a very wide vocabulary and a vast knowledge of literature, philosophy, and history. All of these things are shown in his writing here.
Peart was always a shy and therefore private person but this book lets us see him much closer. He doesn't hold back from portraying his own weaknesses. Especially in times of grief, we may think things that are hateful even if we don't necessarily believe them, and Peart lets us see that here. It is especially interesting to see how he handles his grief because he's very unlike most people who write about this stuff. He's atheist (but kind of spiritual), he's shy, he's in one of the best and most important rock bands of all time and also one of the greatest drummers ever (but extremely modest), and he explicitly says he doesn't believe in any of that "it happened for a reason" or anything like that. He literally just has to work through his emotions from the very bottom and work his way up.
Most of the actual words on the pages, though, are about the traveling itself. This is where any traveling or history lover will really enjoy this, as Peart travels throughout Canada, USA, and Mexico, and talks about the history, culture, and wildlife of pretty much every area.
To be honest, I thought the book was way too long because of some of the traveling stuff. I don't need to know the exact number of kilometers or miles for every tiny thing, for example. This is 458 pages but should really be like 360-370.
It is still a good read, though, and I am happy I got know The Professor a bit more. This is a great introspection into his life, opinions (more than what we say in his lyrics), and just himself in general. I'm sure it probably reads a bit different now since he passed away earlier this year. But overall I think it was interesting to read about someone who suffered much more tragedy than I definitely have, and how he was able to move beyond it. His words, like his lyrics, are already sticking with me and that is always a good sign.
Peart was always a shy and therefore private person but this book lets us see him much closer. He doesn't hold back from portraying his own weaknesses. Especially in times of grief, we may think things that are hateful even if we don't necessarily believe them, and Peart lets us see that here. It is especially interesting to see how he handles his grief because he's very unlike most people who write about this stuff. He's atheist (but kind of spiritual), he's shy, he's in one of the best and most important rock bands of all time and also one of the greatest drummers ever (but extremely modest), and he explicitly says he doesn't believe in any of that "it happened for a reason" or anything like that. He literally just has to work through his emotions from the very bottom and work his way up.
Most of the actual words on the pages, though, are about the traveling itself. This is where any traveling or history lover will really enjoy this, as Peart travels throughout Canada, USA, and Mexico, and talks about the history, culture, and wildlife of pretty much every area.
To be honest, I thought the book was way too long because of some of the traveling stuff. I don't need to know the exact number of kilometers or miles for every tiny thing, for example. This is 458 pages but should really be like 360-370.
It is still a good read, though, and I am happy I got know The Professor a bit more. This is a great introspection into his life, opinions (more than what we say in his lyrics), and just himself in general. I'm sure it probably reads a bit different now since he passed away earlier this year. But overall I think it was interesting to read about someone who suffered much more tragedy than I definitely have, and how he was able to move beyond it. His words, like his lyrics, are already sticking with me and that is always a good sign.