Reviews with content warning for Drug use - Will

As soon as I saw this book I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. As most 80's babies do, I love Will Smith. I highly suggest the audiobook, as he narrates it. You get a few raps from him which added a nice touch and personalization.

There were a few things I wasn't a fan of in this book. There was a lot of self-reflection in this book, although he did go into some specifics on his family it seemed to put a positive spin on everything. My grandma used to refer to it as "looking at the world through rose colored glasses". He did give a lot of information and take blame for things he did wrong it still came across as disingenuous. I know that I am in the minority on that opinion.

It was nice to get an insider's look into his life. It may be the fact that he and Jada are so open with their lives that a lot of the information seemed like I already knew it.

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nahlaaly56's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

Loved it, it gets so personal and deep at some points where you have to stop and re-evaluate your own life and choices. I have always loved Will Smith as an actor, but I've never thought I'd relate so much on a human level to him when we have nothing in common.

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kayceeraereads's review

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emotional funny informative inspiring fast-paced

4.0

I grew up at the height of Will Smith's career. Fresh Prince was on Nick at Night and he had a different movie coming out every few months. He's probably my favorite actor. If he's in it, I'm probably going to watch it. Or in this case listen to it.

I have never been able to make it through an audiobook, but when I saw that Will was going to be reading his own memoir, it was an instant purchase. It's like listening to your favorite podcast or talking to a friend. He is excellent at telling his story, which is rather heavy, with such levity and humor.

This was written about one of the most famous men in the world, but was very much a story about the human experience. Sure, when he had his midlife crisis, he got to bungee jump out of a helicopter and visit Trinidad on a private jet, but the feelings he felt where very relatable. It was vulnerable and very raw. He told stories about a lot of times in his life that he was not particularly proud of and that did not paint him in a good light (you will need to check trigger warnings for this).

With all that being said, it was not a perfect book. Sometimes it got a little repetitive. I know he was trying to connect something later in the book to something earlier in the book, but in all honesty it just got a little tedious. I don't know how long it would have taken me to actually read this book for that reason, so I highly suggest listening to this one.

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