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chareadsss's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I'm a Will fan, but I admit that I got a bit sick of the Will and Jada train at one point, so by the time they released their books, I didn't want to read anything more about either of them 😂 What a shame it would've been to miss out on this book though!
It's funny because as fans, or people watching from the outside, we can often feel like we really know *insert celebrity name here* when, in actuality, we don't have the slightest idea about that person's true experience or who they really are as a person.
Will really isn't who/what I thought he was and is definitely more than the wholesome, clean-cut joker that I saw him as. I loved how open this was and not only do you learn a lot about him, but it was interesting to get an insight into people like Jada, their children (I'd almost forgotten about Willow's "Whip My Hair" days!), Jazzy Jeff and even Will's first wife, Sheree.
There were so many life lessons in this book and it was insightful and informative without losing Will's charm and humour. It threw up a lot of questions, with one topic that I often circled back to being fatherhood, and what a good (or not so good) father looks like to me. Now you may (or may not) have seen/heard things about him, but "Daddio" was a very contentious person for me personally and I loved discussing this with my babe of a buddy reader, @ttsreads.
Some of the subject shifts between paragraph breaks did take a bit of getting used to, and there were a lot of people to remember, but I actually think this helped humanise Will more. I'm also a very visual person so loved the inclusion of pictures. Not only did it add more of a personal touch but it was helpful to get a sense of the physical environments and put faces to names (also, some of the captions were hilarious 😆).
I laughed, almost cried, gasped, winced, literally any expression or emotion you can think of, I probably experienced whilst reading this book. It really felt like I was on a journey with Will, and I actually want to listen to the audiobook because I often felt like I could hear him relaying this to me and this made it even more fun to read!
It's funny because as fans, or people watching from the outside, we can often feel like we really know *insert celebrity name here* when, in actuality, we don't have the slightest idea about that person's true experience or who they really are as a person.
Will really isn't who/what I thought he was and is definitely more than the wholesome, clean-cut joker that I saw him as. I loved how open this was and not only do you learn a lot about him, but it was interesting to get an insight into people like Jada, their children (I'd almost forgotten about Willow's "Whip My Hair" days!), Jazzy Jeff and even Will's first wife, Sheree.
There were so many life lessons in this book and it was insightful and informative without losing Will's charm and humour. It threw up a lot of questions, with one topic that I often circled back to being fatherhood, and what a good (or not so good) father looks like to me. Now you may (or may not) have seen/heard things about him, but "Daddio" was a very contentious person for me personally and I loved discussing this with my babe of a buddy reader, @ttsreads.
Some of the subject shifts between paragraph breaks did take a bit of getting used to, and there were a lot of people to remember, but I actually think this helped humanise Will more. I'm also a very visual person so loved the inclusion of pictures. Not only did it add more of a personal touch but it was helpful to get a sense of the physical environments and put faces to names (also, some of the captions were hilarious 😆).
I laughed, almost cried, gasped, winced, literally any expression or emotion you can think of, I probably experienced whilst reading this book. It really felt like I was on a journey with Will, and I actually want to listen to the audiobook because I often felt like I could hear him relaying this to me and this made it even more fun to read!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, and Grief
amandas_bookshelf's review
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
melsage1823's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
4.0
Disclaimer: I chose to borrow this off a friend before I was aware of Will Smiths harmful views on what is happening in Palestine. I do not endorse these believes at all.
A Dazzling Memoir That Slams You Head First Into The World Of Will Smith And Makes You Understand Him.
Wow this memoir was a long but very interesting read. Its not even a memoir more an autobiography of Wills life layed right in front of the reader. Do not read the book without grabbing the audiobook to listen alongside, it made the experience so much more lively. This book will feel like a slag if you don't have it. I loved every second despite its flaws and it got me very reflective about love and happiness.
I'll start with the negatives before I go into the positives.
One of this books main weaknesses is that it doesn't know what it wants to be. Although I appreciated some of the lessons given I couldn't tell if it was meant to be a self help about the meaning of happiness or a recap of Will Smiths life and him dealing with his rising fame. A good memoir should have an overall tone or theme which this novel does not have at all it's just balancing from life story to story with random lessons thrown in. It made things very messy and made me wonder the purpose of some of the stories told.
Secondly the lack of acknowledgement about how abusive Will's childhood. Its very interesting learning about Will's childhood and the struggles he faced but it gets a little tiresome and dangerous when Will openly promotes child abuse being okay because his Daddios lessons shaped him as a performer and how to survive. I feel like it's people's choice if they want to forgive their abuser but justifying it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Other than these two things though I generally enjoyed this novel and felt like I learned a lot especially about how the industry works and what appears to the higher ups.
As I mentioned the audiobook adds a lot of colour but isn't it's only strength. Alot of memoirs feel lifeless and bland but here its colourful thanks to Will putting his personality into the novel. Every page screams Will and doesn't feel artificial. I found myself feeling the weight of every story Will recounted from the sad to the happy ones. It also helps that he encoperates raps into the novel and in the audiobook has music. It's not everyday that you find someone rapping an outro to a novel about their life. The charm and personality is what keeps the long memoir intriguing and engaging. Only Will Smith can make a long autobiography fun.
Another strength is the raw honesty that is woven throughout the entire novel. Will through the help of Mark Manson has managed to tip his most vulnerable side into the entire novel. From violent intrusive thoughts to honest feelings about certain relationships, Will doesn't hold back at all. Others have said it feels like a big ego trip but to me it feels like pride that Will as a black boy in philly was able to overcome so much trauma in order to become successful. Without all the honesty about how he felt during certain memories it would have felt souless. I think Will mentions being the biggest movie star multiple times because he can't quite believe it himself.
Finally as much as the balance of identity is frustrating the moral lessons Will passes on through recounting stories of his life it's highly entertaining. Each story is filled with genuine love and care with the lessons they have. The parts about his rise in the music and acting industry are especially informative and hopeful for those who want to be future actors and writers. Through the structure it shows that Will wants to help inspire readers. The Epilogue and Prologue chapters have especially resonating lessons about not giving up and overcoming our fears. From the lessons to learning about Will, I promise you that you will get something out of this.
Overall a honest, fun, raw and ambitious memoir that is very informative and educational. It really does help unmask Will and humanise him. The slap makes alot of sense once you read it. It's a memoir I definitely might revisit in the future.
Highly recommended.
A Dazzling Memoir That Slams You Head First Into The World Of Will Smith And Makes You Understand Him.
Wow this memoir was a long but very interesting read. Its not even a memoir more an autobiography of Wills life layed right in front of the reader. Do not read the book without grabbing the audiobook to listen alongside, it made the experience so much more lively. This book will feel like a slag if you don't have it. I loved every second despite its flaws and it got me very reflective about love and happiness.
I'll start with the negatives before I go into the positives.
One of this books main weaknesses is that it doesn't know what it wants to be. Although I appreciated some of the lessons given I couldn't tell if it was meant to be a self help about the meaning of happiness or a recap of Will Smiths life and him dealing with his rising fame. A good memoir should have an overall tone or theme which this novel does not have at all it's just balancing from life story to story with random lessons thrown in. It made things very messy and made me wonder the purpose of some of the stories told.
Secondly the lack of acknowledgement about how abusive Will's childhood. Its very interesting learning about Will's childhood and the struggles he faced but it gets a little tiresome and dangerous when Will openly promotes child abuse being okay because his Daddios lessons shaped him as a performer and how to survive. I feel like it's people's choice if they want to forgive their abuser but justifying it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Other than these two things though I generally enjoyed this novel and felt like I learned a lot especially about how the industry works and what appears to the higher ups.
As I mentioned the audiobook adds a lot of colour but isn't it's only strength. Alot of memoirs feel lifeless and bland but here its colourful thanks to Will putting his personality into the novel. Every page screams Will and doesn't feel artificial. I found myself feeling the weight of every story Will recounted from the sad to the happy ones. It also helps that he encoperates raps into the novel and in the audiobook has music. It's not everyday that you find someone rapping an outro to a novel about their life. The charm and personality is what keeps the long memoir intriguing and engaging. Only Will Smith can make a long autobiography fun.
Another strength is the raw honesty that is woven throughout the entire novel. Will through the help of Mark Manson has managed to tip his most vulnerable side into the entire novel. From violent intrusive thoughts to honest feelings about certain relationships, Will doesn't hold back at all. Others have said it feels like a big ego trip but to me it feels like pride that Will as a black boy in philly was able to overcome so much trauma in order to become successful. Without all the honesty about how he felt during certain memories it would have felt souless. I think Will mentions being the biggest movie star multiple times because he can't quite believe it himself.
Finally as much as the balance of identity is frustrating the moral lessons Will passes on through recounting stories of his life it's highly entertaining. Each story is filled with genuine love and care with the lessons they have. The parts about his rise in the music and acting industry are especially informative and hopeful for those who want to be future actors and writers. Through the structure it shows that Will wants to help inspire readers. The Epilogue and Prologue chapters have especially resonating lessons about not giving up and overcoming our fears. From the lessons to learning about Will, I promise you that you will get something out of this.
Overall a honest, fun, raw and ambitious memoir that is very informative and educational. It really does help unmask Will and humanise him. The slap makes alot of sense once you read it. It's a memoir I definitely might revisit in the future.
Highly recommended.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Grief
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
brookey8888's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I really enjoyed this one! I’ve always loved Will Smith and it was interesting to read about his life because apparently I didn’t know anything about it really. It was interesting to learn about his rap career because that I had no clue about. This did make me laugh and cry which is always a good sign of a book. I do have to say sometimes it was a little cringey. The audiobook was really good and I recommend it! It includes music and then that one scene in Fresh Prince(which I say a Reddit post or something like that one and it wasn’t factual information, so I’m glad I know the truth).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Abortion, and Death of parent
greenlivingaudioworm's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Racism, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
emmykyhil's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Will it wasn't funny
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Alcohol
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Vomit
kerrygetsliterary's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual content
bookworm247's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Grief, and Death of parent
amandalorianxo's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Wow. Anytime I read a memoir, I always listen to the audio as well. 99 percent of the time, the face behind the words narrates as well. I'm so glad I made the decision to do so. Will Smith is raw, vulnerable, humorous, and brings to life the words he penned about his life and career. His personality shines as he narrates, making us understand even more how he managed to achieve his stardom. All I can say is you will not regret listening to this. It's a little wordy but Will makes sure to put in a few twists and doesn't just straight read word for word. In a similar fashion to the improv tv style, he jabs a few other thoughts that veer away from what is written. This showcases his humanity in a way that I didn't think possible. Book of The Month made this an add on but I really wish this was the main pick.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Grief
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, and Pregnancy
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