I thought I would spend the month of April delving into the literature that has made me the person I am today.
1] In this list you will find some of my favorite books, but you will also find books that I appreciate and books that I would recommend although they may not be my favorite. These are books that changed my way of thinking or my way of looking the world. These are books that helped solidify the core of who I am.
2] These books are in order of the theme that I came away with not alphabetical by title or author.
About this book from Goodreads:
A teen idol at fifteen, an international icon and founder of the Brat Pack at twenty, and one of Hollywood's top stars to this day, Rob Lowe chronicles his experiences as a painfully misunderstood child actor in Ohio uprooted to the wild counterculture of mid-seventies Malibu, where he embarked on his unrelenting pursuit of a career in Hollywood.
The Outsiders placed Lowe at the birth of the modern youth movement in the entertainment industry. During his time on The West Wing, he witnessed the surreal nexus of show business and politics both on the set and in the actual White House. And in between are deft and humorous stories of the wild excesses that marked the eighties, leading to his quest for family and sobriety.
Never mean-spirited or salacious, Lowe delivers unexpected glimpses into his successes, disappointments, relationships, and one-of-a-kind encounters with people who shaped our world over the last twenty-five years. These stories are as entertaining as they are unforgettable.
Publication Date: 2011
A teen idol at fifteen, an international icon and founder of the Brat Pack at twenty, and one of Hollywood's top stars to this day, Rob Lowe chronicles his experiences as a painfully misunderstood child actor in Ohio uprooted to the wild counterculture of mid-seventies Malibu, where he embarked on his unrelenting pursuit of a career in Hollywood.
The Outsiders placed Lowe at the birth of the modern youth movement in the entertainment industry. During his time on The West Wing, he witnessed the surreal nexus of show business and politics both on the set and in the actual White House. And in between are deft and humorous stories of the wild excesses that marked the eighties, leading to his quest for family and sobriety.
Never mean-spirited or salacious, Lowe delivers unexpected glimpses into his successes, disappointments, relationships, and one-of-a-kind encounters with people who shaped our world over the last twenty-five years. These stories are as entertaining as they are unforgettable.
Publication Date: 2011
Why this book:
This is the first celebrity memoir that I've read that isn't some sort of juicy tell all about all the people the celebrity has slept with and all the drunken parties and drug binges the author took part in with other celebrities.
I will not lie. I first picked up this book because I love Rob Lowe. No, really, I love him...sure, I don't know him, but there is some deep love. I realize, now after finishing this book, that the reason I love him is the fact that even though he's 12 years older than me and from a different section of the United States, we have the same cultural background. The '80s were a heady time and the power of this decade could be felt by a 9 year old in the state of Missouri. I was reading this book and reminiscing about the first time I watched "Star Wars", the first time I watched "The Outsiders" and realized they left out some of my favorite parts, the first time I realized the term 'Brat Pack' was not a nice term, and reading about all the people in my 'Tiger Beat' magazines just made me h-a-p-p-y.
I also have a deep love for this book. Rob lets us into the story of his life by telling us about the time he met JFK jr. as he tells the story we are reminded of the loss, but also of the passion behind the life of this man who left this world tragically. We are reminded that, if given the chance and the time, we all grow into someone great. It's nice to see that celebrities also have those people that they admire and want to emulate. He even talks about that sex-tape scandal in the late '80s. What's so beautiful about that is that he reminds us of the fact that it was embarrassing and horrible and wrong, he talks about how the American culture now finds this sort of thing acceptable which makes me feel embarrassed and horrible and wrong, and then he talks about how this was the wake-up call that he needed to get his life on track. He talks about how meeting someone who loves you warts and all can change your life. This someone, who is there for you when you fall but doesn't accept that you are acting and being less than your perfect self, changes your life. This book is above all a love letter to the family that has made Rob Lowe the person he is today.
This book made me realize how easy it is to write my own story. Start somewhere in the present, flashback to the beginning, tell your story by being honest without being mean to those in the story (there isn't a need to dish or gossip or be hurtful or to rehash how you've hurt others, everybody already knows those stories). Show how you've changed. Talk like you are talking to a friend.
I will not lie. I first picked up this book because I love Rob Lowe. No, really, I love him...sure, I don't know him, but there is some deep love. I realize, now after finishing this book, that the reason I love him is the fact that even though he's 12 years older than me and from a different section of the United States, we have the same cultural background. The '80s were a heady time and the power of this decade could be felt by a 9 year old in the state of Missouri. I was reading this book and reminiscing about the first time I watched "Star Wars", the first time I watched "The Outsiders" and realized they left out some of my favorite parts, the first time I realized the term 'Brat Pack' was not a nice term, and reading about all the people in my 'Tiger Beat' magazines just made me h-a-p-p-y.
I also have a deep love for this book. Rob lets us into the story of his life by telling us about the time he met JFK jr. as he tells the story we are reminded of the loss, but also of the passion behind the life of this man who left this world tragically. We are reminded that, if given the chance and the time, we all grow into someone great. It's nice to see that celebrities also have those people that they admire and want to emulate. He even talks about that sex-tape scandal in the late '80s. What's so beautiful about that is that he reminds us of the fact that it was embarrassing and horrible and wrong, he talks about how the American culture now finds this sort of thing acceptable which makes me feel embarrassed and horrible and wrong, and then he talks about how this was the wake-up call that he needed to get his life on track. He talks about how meeting someone who loves you warts and all can change your life. This someone, who is there for you when you fall but doesn't accept that you are acting and being less than your perfect self, changes your life. This book is above all a love letter to the family that has made Rob Lowe the person he is today.
This book made me realize how easy it is to write my own story. Start somewhere in the present, flashback to the beginning, tell your story by being honest without being mean to those in the story (there isn't a need to dish or gossip or be hurtful or to rehash how you've hurt others, everybody already knows those stories). Show how you've changed. Talk like you are talking to a friend.
What a great idea. I've written a story of my life, but didn't give any personal feelings--just the facts. I wanted to get it all down before I forget. Well, that could be stage number one. ;-)
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I'll be honest, I never would have thought to pick this up. Thanks for sharing. I'll check it out
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