ash_bees's review against another edition
3.0
Other reviewers commented that this reads as if written by multiple authors, I'd suggest at least three. The writing could have benefitted from a really heavy editor, and would have been more effective if it was cut down to half or a third. But that seems to be par for the course for books I've read from people with celebrity status.
The takeaways from this are two-fold: (1) the importance of speaking up to right wrongs, especially when you're an ally and not the target; and (2) knowing that speaking up may not change the offender's future actions but can gain you more allies or let other similarly situated people know they're not alone.
Lots of trigger warnings for this book. I wouldn't necessarily say it's spilling the tea, but it does cover lots of death, feelings of abandonment and betrayal, and stalking.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Abandonment, Alcohol, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Car accident, Classism, Racial slurs, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Miscarriage
bookbird's review against another edition
3.25
Fame is, often, just abuse in a glittery package. Hereditary fame even more so. Harry has survived an incredible amount.
He's also surprisingly naive, though. He talks about a trip to the North Pole like it was a lads weekend, and not something millions of people dream about doing. One line towards the end really rubbed me up the wrong way - he talks about security at his wedding being a necessity (valid), but cites one of the reasons for this as the press "stirring up racism and class resentment". I certainly don't mean to defend the abhorrent tabloid press here, because they absolutely contributed to (or even created) the racist vitriol aimed at Meghan, but class resentment? Really? In a country where 1 in 5 children live in poverty (even more are food insecure), but we still spend millions on a monarchy that are increasingly out of touch? I don't think that's resentment - I think that's justified anger.
Ultimately, it feels weird to rate this book, but I'm basing my rating purely on how much I actually enjoyed it. Much of it is incredibly interesting, much of it is baffling, but I'm ultimately glad I read it.
Lastly - and I'm saying this as someone who was born here and has only ever lived here - the UK is truly bonkers. What a weird, fucked up country.
Graphic: Pregnancy, Abandonment, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and War
tiakoko's review against another edition
4.25
Moderate: War, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Stalking, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death
gen_wolfhailstorm's review
3.5
Listened via Audible
The Details:
Narrated by Prince Harry
Unabridged
This was surprisingly interesting!
I was initially roped in by the strange snippet about his nether regions but I found quite a lot of interesting stories in here.
One of the bigger controversies I was intrigued to hear about was his thoughts behind dressing up as a Nazi and the other brainless things he did as a youth, to get him dubbed as "Prince Harry, the Thicko", but I was most invested when he was talking about how he met Megan and the relationships and difficulties that grew there.
Hearing about his struggles with how he handled emotion after the death of his mum was quite heartbreaking to hear. Being in a similar situation I couldn't help but empathise.
There were a lot of instances were he sounded so far removed from reality and woe is me, but for the most part this was absorbing.
Overall, a fascinating insight into the Prince's tell-all.
Pick it up, give it a go and enjoy! >(^_^)<
Gén
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Hate crime, Addiction, Alcohol, Car accident, Drug abuse, Grief, Child death, Death of parent, Bullying, Racial slurs, Racism, War, Drug use, and Violence
frostrr's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Grief and War
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Animal death, Violence, and Animal cruelty
haleybre's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, War, Child death, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Car accident, Animal death, and Drug use
ghostmoth's review
2.25
Graphic: War
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Child death
magicalghoul's review
3.75
In that regard, I'd recommend this book.
The prose is just beautiful at points but I wasn't expecting less from a ghostwriter that won a Pulitzer, from what I read. The literary references sprinkled through are wonderful, and the turn of phrases work so well with the most whimsical and stream of thought-ish passages of the book.
Personally the military section was something of a slow read and I dragged my feet through it (I'm antimilitary) but I recognize how much the experiences and the people met there contributed to his understanding of trauma. I did appreciate the passages describing his work with veterans, though.
In conclusion, you won't find much here if all you're looking for is an outright denouncement of the British monarchy or an acknowledgement of his privilege, but it's a good read on the topic of grief, trauma and breaking toxic cycles.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Racism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Colonisation, Death of parent, and War