Spare

Ok, yes...I totally caved to peer pressure and read Spare by Prince Harry, even though I've never in my life cared about a single thing that has to do with the royal family. I haven't even watched The Crown.

Goodreads Stats

Why I Read This Book/How I Heard About It

See aforementioned peer pressure (from the social medias).

To clarify my previous statement, I have had a very small amount of exposure to the royals, as I was in college when Princess Diana was killed by an overzealous paparazzi. This was monumental news on the campus of Purdue University, especially because we had just learned the day before that Mother Teresa had passed away. So, I guess this little knowledge is fitting, considering Harry wrote this book to tell his own side of the story, fully rooted and intertwined with the traumatic and unexpected loss of his mother.

Basic Summary

Back of Book Summary:

"It was one of the most searing images of the twentieth century: two young boys, two princes, walking behind their mother’s coffin as the world watched in sorrow—and horror. As Princess Diana was laid to rest, billions wondered what Prince William and Prince Harry must be thinking and feeling—and how their lives would play out from that point on.

For Harry, this is that story at last.

Before losing his mother, twelve-year-old Prince Harry was known as the carefree one, the happy-go-lucky Spare to the more serious Heir. Grief changed everything. He struggled at school, struggled with anger, with loneliness—and, because he blamed the press for his mother’s death, he struggled to accept life in the spotlight.

At twenty-one, he joined the British Army. The discipline gave him structure, and two combat tours made him a hero at home. But he soon felt more lost than ever, suffering from post-traumatic stress and prone to crippling panic attacks. Above all, he couldn’t find true love.

Then he met Meghan. The world was swept away by the couple’s cinematic romance and rejoiced in their fairy-tale wedding. But from the beginning, Harry and Meghan were preyed upon by the press, subjected to waves of abuse, racism, and lies. Watching his wife suffer, their safety and mental health at risk, Harry saw no other way to prevent the tragedy of history repeating itself but to flee his mother country. Over the centuries, leaving the Royal Family was an act few had dared. The last to try, in fact, had been his mother. . . .

For the first time, Prince Harry tells his own story, chronicling his journey with raw, unflinching honesty. A landmark publication, Spare is full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief."

First Impressions

I love when celebrities narrate their memoirs and I think any celeb memoir should be read on audiobook always. If you're interested in the story, why wouldn't you want to actually hear it from the person themselves? Harry has a nice voice to listen to and is an eloquent narrator. I mean, I'm good with listening to his British accent for five hours. You?

Final Thoughts

Prince Harry is thoughtful, vulnerable, and self-reflective throughout this book. He doesn't mince words and he gives seemingly accurate portrayals of difficult situations he and his family have faced, which has ultimately led to a fracture in the royal family. I'm not one to get embroiled in conspiracies or this side/that side drama and speculations about the royal family, so I don't really care whether it's a "media set-up" or whatever...I just hear a genuine person, sharing his difficult and heartbreaking story, begging the world to believe his lived experiences and have mercy.

Rating on Goodreads

I rated this book 5 out of 5 stars.

My rating method:

• I rarely rate books 5 stars. I save this for the absolute best books I've read. You know the ones...the ones that you can't get out of your head, even after you've finished them. The ones you think about for weeks afterwards.

• If a book is really, really good, I'll give it 4 stars. If you see a 4-star rating from me, I'd definitely recommend it to you to read.

• If it's just OK, it gets 3 stars. Basically, it means I could take it or leave it. I'd probably read it again because it wasn't terrible. But not like a favorite or anything.

• If I rate it 1 or 2 stars, I would not recommend anyone read it. It either didn't hold my interest or I couldn't relate to the characters/plot.