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juanat77's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
dblue236's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
5.0
John Stamos has always been someone I generally liked, but genuinely knew next to nothing about. After reading this book, I have a whole new level of respect for him, both as an entertainer and as a human being. This was easily one of the most engaging, interesting memoirs I've ever picked up and the balance between funny moments and heartfelt, emotional reflections on his family and friends was perfect. I cannot speak highly enough of this book and would absolutely recommend it for anyone who's ever been even a casual fan of any of his work.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexual content, Antisemitism, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
rowanelise's review
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Child abuse and Sexual assault
stevienotnicks's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Who was your first celebrity crush? My mom swears mine was Michael J. Fox in Teen Wolf, but the first guy I can recall being IN LOVE with was Uncle Jesse from Full House played by John Stamos. I saw promos for his upcoming memoir and immediately put that “notify me” tag on the audiobook in Libby because I knew I HAD to hear it in his voice.
Charismatic as ever, Stamos delivers a very candid account of his life — the good and the bad. I loved hearing about his lesser known work (or lesser known to me, anyway) in theater, but my favorite part was hearing him talk about Full House. He spoke with his on screen fam with such love and adoration, it’s unsurprising the show has such staying power even today.
I wasn’t prepared for the heartbreak. As someone who has struggled with addiction, hearing him speak on similar struggles elicited more emotion than I was prepared to feel. And while I assumed there would be a chapter on Bob’s death, Stamos didn’t shy from his feelings and delivered a picture of grief so relatable, I was sobbing uncontrollably.
Whether you love him for his music, his time as Uncle Jesse, or Dr Tony Gates, this is a must read full of humor, behind-the-scenes goodies, and relatable life heartbreak and joy.
Charismatic as ever, Stamos delivers a very candid account of his life — the good and the bad. I loved hearing about his lesser known work (or lesser known to me, anyway) in theater, but my favorite part was hearing him talk about Full House. He spoke with his on screen fam with such love and adoration, it’s unsurprising the show has such staying power even today.
I wasn’t prepared for the heartbreak. As someone who has struggled with addiction, hearing him speak on similar struggles elicited more emotion than I was prepared to feel. And while I assumed there would be a chapter on Bob’s death, Stamos didn’t shy from his feelings and delivered a picture of grief so relatable, I was sobbing uncontrollably.
Whether you love him for his music, his time as Uncle Jesse, or Dr Tony Gates, this is a must read full of humor, behind-the-scenes goodies, and relatable life heartbreak and joy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Sexual assault
Minor: Death and Suicide
kelly_e's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
2.75
Title: If You Would Have Told Me
Author: John Stamos
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 2.75
Pub Date: October 24, 2023
T H R E E • W O R D S
Candid • Messy • Artificial
📖 S Y N O P S I S
John burst onto the scene in General Hospital, propelling him into the teen idol stratosphere, a place that’s often a point of no return. But Stamos beat the odds and over the past four decades has proved himself to be one of his generation’s most successful and beloved actors. Whether showing off his comedic chops on Full House or his dramatic skills on ER, pushing the boundaries on Broadway or living out his youthful dreams as an honorary Beach Boy, John has surprised everyone, most of all himself.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I'll admit I was eagerly awaiting the release of If You Would Have Told Me. Like many, I grew up watching Full House, and even though I never stayed up-to-date on his career afterwards, I knew he'd maintained a strong friendship with Bob Saget and was hoping it would be included.
Unfortunately, John's memoir could have used some serious ending. There's no real flow to the narrative, jumping all over in time and place. It was so full of contradictions that I didn't really know what to believe and it felt like PR pushing an agenda 80% of the time. Additionally, there is so much name dropping, the narrative became more about others than John.
I do appreciate his openness is discussing his addiction and alcoholism (along with drunk driving), yet I think there could have easily been added depth to this sections. I wanted more of his childhood and his family, as it along with when he talked about Bob, were the aspects that felt truly genuine. In fact, his final note on taking the time with those we love (in reference to Bob) was my favourite part of the book. And a gentle reminder to order the cake, everything else will be there waiting.
This may sound harsh, but If You Would Have Told Me felt a little like another celebrity jumping on the memoir train without really thinking. I didn't really come away having learned much, and honestly felt kind of icky when I finished. In my opinion, this memoir did an incredible disservice to John himself.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• John Stamos devotees
• fans of celebrity memoirs
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"If you get a chance to sit for a spell with someone you love don’t get up to quickly, stay a while, linger, indulge, savor. Order the cake."
Author: John Stamos
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 2.75
Pub Date: October 24, 2023
T H R E E • W O R D S
Candid • Messy • Artificial
📖 S Y N O P S I S
John burst onto the scene in General Hospital, propelling him into the teen idol stratosphere, a place that’s often a point of no return. But Stamos beat the odds and over the past four decades has proved himself to be one of his generation’s most successful and beloved actors. Whether showing off his comedic chops on Full House or his dramatic skills on ER, pushing the boundaries on Broadway or living out his youthful dreams as an honorary Beach Boy, John has surprised everyone, most of all himself.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I'll admit I was eagerly awaiting the release of If You Would Have Told Me. Like many, I grew up watching Full House, and even though I never stayed up-to-date on his career afterwards, I knew he'd maintained a strong friendship with Bob Saget and was hoping it would be included.
Unfortunately, John's memoir could have used some serious ending. There's no real flow to the narrative, jumping all over in time and place. It was so full of contradictions that I didn't really know what to believe and it felt like PR pushing an agenda 80% of the time. Additionally, there is so much name dropping, the narrative became more about others than John.
I do appreciate his openness is discussing his addiction and alcoholism (along with drunk driving), yet I think there could have easily been added depth to this sections. I wanted more of his childhood and his family, as it along with when he talked about Bob, were the aspects that felt truly genuine. In fact, his final note on taking the time with those we love (in reference to Bob) was my favourite part of the book. And a gentle reminder to order the cake, everything else will be there waiting.
This may sound harsh, but If You Would Have Told Me felt a little like another celebrity jumping on the memoir train without really thinking. I didn't really come away having learned much, and honestly felt kind of icky when I finished. In my opinion, this memoir did an incredible disservice to John himself.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• John Stamos devotees
• fans of celebrity memoirs
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"If you get a chance to sit for a spell with someone you love don’t get up to quickly, stay a while, linger, indulge, savor. Order the cake."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, and Alcohol
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Infertility, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Suicide
jennabeck13's review
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
If You Would Have Told Me by John Stamos
⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3/5)
Genre: Memoir
About 320 pages
I would venture to say almost everyone knows John Stamos. Most people know him as Uncle Jesse from Full House, but he also had longstanding roles on ER, General Hospital, and Broadway. If you would have told young John Stamos that he would become the household name he is today from massive TV roles and played the drums multiple times for his favorite band, The Beach Boys, he wouldn’t have believed it. The man has undeniable staying power, and his memoir takes us through his journey as a young California boy working in his dad’s diner to the star he is today.
I have mixed feelings about rating memoirs because it is hard to rate someone’s story. Therefore, when I rate them, it’s less about how good the story is but more so the quality of the book if that makes sense? John Stamos certainly doesn’t lack stories, and this book was full of ones I didn’t know despite growing up watching Full House. However, he never took us deep into the stories. It felt like we hit a lot of them but on a very surface level. I also had a very hard time following the timelines in this memoir as it wasn’t told chronologically, instead, the chapters focused on certain times in his life, shows he was on, people, etc. so it was hard to put together where in his career we were.
Favorite Quote: “Not everything that hurts is an emergency. Sometimes we need to test our pain threshold to see how well we heal.”
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Medical content, Death of parent, and Alcohol
savvyrosereads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Rating: 5/5 stars
If You Would Have Told Me is a vulnerable and nostalgic look back at Stamos’s life and career, including his time on the sitcom Full House.
John Stamos (specifically Uncle Jesse) was my first celeb crush, and I was really excited to read this one. Overall, I enjoyed it so much—there were a few moments I would count as over-sharing, and of course he had a few takes I don’t necessarily agree with, but this was well written and entertaining. I also cried WAY too much (a mix of nostalgia tear and sadness at some of the more heartbreaking moments, like his discussion of Bob Saget’s death).
If you’re a fan, absolutely read this one! You won’t regret it. And, if you’re an audiobook fan, I thought he did an excellent job narrating!
CW: Alcoholism/drug use; grief; discussions of fertility issues; mentions of sexual abuse
If You Would Have Told Me is a vulnerable and nostalgic look back at Stamos’s life and career, including his time on the sitcom Full House.
John Stamos (specifically Uncle Jesse) was my first celeb crush, and I was really excited to read this one. Overall, I enjoyed it so much—there were a few moments I would count as over-sharing, and of course he had a few takes I don’t necessarily agree with, but this was well written and entertaining. I also cried WAY too much (a mix of nostalgia tear and sadness at some of the more heartbreaking moments, like his discussion of Bob Saget’s death).
If you’re a fan, absolutely read this one! You won’t regret it. And, if you’re an audiobook fan, I thought he did an excellent job narrating!
CW: Alcoholism/drug use; grief; discussions of fertility issues; mentions of sexual abuse
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Infertility and Sexual assault
More...