I felt the same way about Patrick Stewart's memoir! I liked everything except his attitude and lack of true self-reflection about his infidelity. And you're right, he seemed able to be reflective about every other area of his life. It was a bummer.
As a part memoir writer on Substack, I enjoyed this very much Chelsea! I like your comment about how if you’re going to write a great memoir, you need to be 1. Above 40 and 2. Have done therapy. It takes some serious self-reflection to be able to write about your life and point the mirror at yourself, to be relatable and to write well. Have you ever read They Called Us Exceptional by Prachi Gupta? That’s a perfect example of someone who did the hard work and wrote a great book.
And thanks for your analyses. Memoirs by celebrities are often written by ghost writers and I find them to be less worth my time as there are so many great authors out there.
Thank you for reading! I’ve never heard of that one but I’m very interested. I am working on a list of 25 memoirs I loved and not surprisingly very few of them are by celebrities.
Great read, thank you! Memoir is my go-to genre. So much so that I've stepped away to read more fiction since memoir can be so intense. I rarely read celebrity memoirs because I (maybe inaccurately) think they are written with the intent to promote or draw more fans in. I agree with you in that strong memoirs delve into reflection as opposed to reporting what happened. I also prefer memoirs written by women since I simply relate on a deeper level. Strong memoirs are like webs. They draw us in even though we know there is something scary and potentially dangerous lurking, but we eventually see redemption through the beauty in the web. Pieces of the story cling to us long after we've finished the book. I look forward to reading your favorites. I've got a draft of my own list that I'll be sharing soon.
Thanks for reading! I am working on my favorites list and just was considering today how few of them are celebrity memoirs. Most of them are just ordinary people who have experienced something unique or who just found a unique way to talk about their lives. I would love to see your list when you finish!
I haven’t read many memoirs, but the one I’ve loved the most is "Born a Crime" by Trevor Noah. What I loved most about it was how honest he felt, along with his sense of humour. Another memoir that comes close for me is "A Year in Provence" by Peter Mayle. Both books have that same quality of humour that makes the stories so enjoyable.
I also appreciate that the mistakes and embarrassing moments aren’t hidden or over-polished. They are presented quite bluntly, which makes the authors feel more human and the stories more genuine.
I quite enjoyed listening to Cher's memoir especially about her relationship with Sonny but I do get where you're coming from. I'm completely with you on Greenlights, one of the most annoying memoirs I've ever listened to and has put me off ever watching another Matthew McConaughey movie! I haven't read the others you mentioned.
I felt the same way about Patrick Stewart's memoir! I liked everything except his attitude and lack of true self-reflection about his infidelity. And you're right, he seemed able to be reflective about every other area of his life. It was a bummer.
Sometimes the cost of acknowledging reality is just too painful, I guess!
As a part memoir writer on Substack, I enjoyed this very much Chelsea! I like your comment about how if you’re going to write a great memoir, you need to be 1. Above 40 and 2. Have done therapy. It takes some serious self-reflection to be able to write about your life and point the mirror at yourself, to be relatable and to write well. Have you ever read They Called Us Exceptional by Prachi Gupta? That’s a perfect example of someone who did the hard work and wrote a great book.
And thanks for your analyses. Memoirs by celebrities are often written by ghost writers and I find them to be less worth my time as there are so many great authors out there.
Thank you for reading! I’ve never heard of that one but I’m very interested. I am working on a list of 25 memoirs I loved and not surprisingly very few of them are by celebrities.
Great read, thank you! Memoir is my go-to genre. So much so that I've stepped away to read more fiction since memoir can be so intense. I rarely read celebrity memoirs because I (maybe inaccurately) think they are written with the intent to promote or draw more fans in. I agree with you in that strong memoirs delve into reflection as opposed to reporting what happened. I also prefer memoirs written by women since I simply relate on a deeper level. Strong memoirs are like webs. They draw us in even though we know there is something scary and potentially dangerous lurking, but we eventually see redemption through the beauty in the web. Pieces of the story cling to us long after we've finished the book. I look forward to reading your favorites. I've got a draft of my own list that I'll be sharing soon.
Thanks for reading! I am working on my favorites list and just was considering today how few of them are celebrity memoirs. Most of them are just ordinary people who have experienced something unique or who just found a unique way to talk about their lives. I would love to see your list when you finish!
Absolutely! You've motivated me to get back to it! 😄
I haven’t read many memoirs, but the one I’ve loved the most is "Born a Crime" by Trevor Noah. What I loved most about it was how honest he felt, along with his sense of humour. Another memoir that comes close for me is "A Year in Provence" by Peter Mayle. Both books have that same quality of humour that makes the stories so enjoyable.
I also appreciate that the mistakes and embarrassing moments aren’t hidden or over-polished. They are presented quite bluntly, which makes the authors feel more human and the stories more genuine.
I haven’t read either of those, but it sounds like I need to!
I quite enjoyed listening to Cher's memoir especially about her relationship with Sonny but I do get where you're coming from. I'm completely with you on Greenlights, one of the most annoying memoirs I've ever listened to and has put me off ever watching another Matthew McConaughey movie! I haven't read the others you mentioned.
Cher’s definitely was interesting! And I’m glad I’m not alone in my hatred of MC’s. 😅
I wish i liked memoirs more, but i have not been tempted by any of these for sure, and I enjoyed your commentaries on them.
Oh, there are so many amazing memoirs! I hope to make a post of some of my favorites soon, and maybe you can try one of those :)
Harpo Speaks! Is my favourite.