sammilittlejohns's review against another edition
3.0
Some parts of this were incredibly interesting and well written which is why I've given this book an overall 3 star rating. However, I found this book had little to do with her life with Stephen, in fact i feel this book only complains about how she had to look after someone who was EXTREMELY DISABLED. There's barely anything about his character or who he was as a person. The way she describes him is only when she found him 'unbareable' or when he was being 'difficult'. Basically this book was written so she could get some sympathy because her like was a big, sad mess where she barely had any time to herself and was constantly overlooked. Poor her, no one would pay her any attention :( /s.
millieelizabethb's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
1.0
kricketa's review against another edition
3.0
so, this book. a couple of weeks ago i saw "the theory of everything" and became intrigued by the true story behind the movie. this memoir gave me good insight on what it is like to be married to and parenting three children with a genius facing a terrible disease, who refuses to talk about the disease, get help for the disease, or do anything except sulk around being a genius. it's a pretty unfortunate situation all around, but i'm always interested in the lives of the women who support famous men.
this book is pretty long and goes into excruciating detail about some of the strangest things, while skimming over others. for example, hawking hardly talks about the feelings or experience of first falling in love with stephen, but spends something like 3 pages talking about repainting the walls of the first home they lived in. sometimes a chapter will spin off into detailed research concerning her thesis, which she should definitely be proud of, but breaks up the narrative a bit. so kind of a cumbersome read, but still worth a skim if you're curious about the hawking family.
this book is pretty long and goes into excruciating detail about some of the strangest things, while skimming over others. for example, hawking hardly talks about the feelings or experience of first falling in love with stephen, but spends something like 3 pages talking about repainting the walls of the first home they lived in. sometimes a chapter will spin off into detailed research concerning her thesis, which she should definitely be proud of, but breaks up the narrative a bit. so kind of a cumbersome read, but still worth a skim if you're curious about the hawking family.
alexandriarosee_'s review against another edition
3.0
I have a love/hate relationship with this book. I hate the tiny size of the type. I would have preferred a 1000 page book with larger text, but I managed to suck it up and get through this. I also hate that I hate how dry some parts were. I wanted to love the entire book, but it wasn't until the second half that I fell in love with it. I love that Jane stepped up and made her side of things known. I imagine that it took insane courage for her to be able to talk about all the hardships she faced while married to Stephen. I admire her strength, and the tremendous amount of selflessness she must have, to have endured all of that and never doubted her love for her family. I was humbled to learn that she did everything she possibly could to make sure that everyone she loved had everything they needed, even if she had to bend over backwards for it. It's unfortunate that things eventually unraveled, however, I feel that she's even stronger now that she can be the center of her own life.
It takes immense courage to stand in the background while the one you love achieves everything they want in life, and everything you do to help them achieve it is nothing more than something you're obligated to do as their spouse. I admire Jane for standing beside him for so long, and caring for him to the extent that she did, when it would have been easier to leave him in the care of someone else. I admire her courage for enduring as much as she did, while somehow maintaining her sanity, and a sense of order in her household, as well as her own life.
It takes immense courage to stand in the background while the one you love achieves everything they want in life, and everything you do to help them achieve it is nothing more than something you're obligated to do as their spouse. I admire Jane for standing beside him for so long, and caring for him to the extent that she did, when it would have been easier to leave him in the care of someone else. I admire her courage for enduring as much as she did, while somehow maintaining her sanity, and a sense of order in her household, as well as her own life.
bookerworm's review against another edition
1.0
I quit at 50% after weeks of plodding through it. The book is so boring. The writing is awful. It's like Jane Hawking is narrating each little detail of her life. Most of them irrelevant. So, you know her daughter likes ballet and son sleeps in a certain manner but you know nothing about her feelings. There is very little about Stephen and who he is as a person.
I am glad I put down the book. It's something I rarely do but this has been an absolute waste of time
I am glad I put down the book. It's something I rarely do but this has been an absolute waste of time
princesszinza's review against another edition
3.0
I saw the biographical movie about Stephen Hawking. I was curious about his wife. Jane Hawking chose to date and marry a man with a serious disease who was expected to live only 2 years. As a long time caregiver of a handicapped person, I was interested in reading about someone who chose this lifestyle.
I don't really know what to think of Jane. She's clearly intelligent, capable and kind. She obviously came from a privileged background. Jane has a great deal of resilience as she ended up taking on tasks that she clearly did not expect.
Jane bravely admits that she was not given the resources she needed to take care of Stephen's overwhelming needs. She is fortunate that she had a supportive family to help. She has resentment of Stephen's family but honestly they seemed quite loving to me. She is fair enough in this book to allow that side of them to come through, albeit begrudgingly.
After Stephen's reputation grew, she was afforded great wealth and opportunities. Her long term relationship with her now husband Jonathan is strange, but perhaps understandable. She was jealous of Stephen's success and acclaim when she herself is an educated person. Well Jane, welcome to the real world. You are a generic linguist, your husband is one of the greatest geniuses alive. Why would you expect anything different? I do believe Jane when she makes the case that Stephen would not have achieved his fame without her. He was much too frail to do his work without a dedicated helpmate.
Still, her resentment of Stephen Hawking seems unreasonable. Tenzing Norgay, college interns, wives, mothers and ghostwriters worldwide might agree. Jane should know better than most that life is not fair.
I don't really know what to think of Jane. She's clearly intelligent, capable and kind. She obviously came from a privileged background. Jane has a great deal of resilience as she ended up taking on tasks that she clearly did not expect.
Jane bravely admits that she was not given the resources she needed to take care of Stephen's overwhelming needs. She is fortunate that she had a supportive family to help. She has resentment of Stephen's family but honestly they seemed quite loving to me. She is fair enough in this book to allow that side of them to come through, albeit begrudgingly.
After Stephen's reputation grew, she was afforded great wealth and opportunities. Her long term relationship with her now husband Jonathan is strange, but perhaps understandable. She was jealous of Stephen's success and acclaim when she herself is an educated person. Well Jane, welcome to the real world. You are a generic linguist, your husband is one of the greatest geniuses alive. Why would you expect anything different? I do believe Jane when she makes the case that Stephen would not have achieved his fame without her. He was much too frail to do his work without a dedicated helpmate.
Still, her resentment of Stephen Hawking seems unreasonable. Tenzing Norgay, college interns, wives, mothers and ghostwriters worldwide might agree. Jane should know better than most that life is not fair.
bimini78's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed some aspects of this book, but parts of it were really hard to get through because of the science jargon and historical info. about astrophysicists. I enjoyed reading about Stephen and Jane's relationship and their struggles with society and disability. Their story was interesting and complicated. This is a very one sided look at their situation and Jane's biased viewpoint left me wondering what the other half of the story might be.
erinkayata's review against another edition
4.0
Beautifully written, if a bit muddled at times. Would have liked to seen more positive light shed on Stephen. I felt I only saw the downside of their relationship. The story would've benefited from others' insight and more self reflection. But her true feelings show through the way she writes of him. A moving tribute and fascinating insight on the complexities of being married to a genius and someone with such health problems.
kath61's review against another edition
5.0
This was intense and long but I warmed to the author very quickly. I have no idea how she managed to cope with all she did and unlike other readers I do not detect complaint or self pity, just a longing to be heard and to tell her own story. She does not seek to destroy her husband's reputation in any way. Extremely intelligent, she can write about science, literature or languages with equal clarity and her character is reflected in her children who have all made good lives for themselves and who remain close. I admire her tenacity and am pleased she has found some happiness and fulfilment.