Reading: Spare by Prince Harry

I laughed. I cried. And I deleted most of my opinions from this post. But not all.

I’m not going to bury the lead here. If you are at all curious about life as a member of the royal family or what it was like to experience life the way Prince Harry has… If you are interested in a raw and vulnerable account of how one of the most recognizable men on earth publicly grieved and grew up under the spotlight of a million flashbulbs… If you enjoy expertly written, superbly told stories that take you semi-deep inside the mind of a man who was forced to grapple with mental illness, lack of personal touch or affection from his own family, and living inside one of the most notoriously toxic and unfeeling families on earth… If you want stricter laws for the tabloid press and the paparazzi… If you simply like a true story of grief, coming-of-age, and discovery of love from a man who adores his country, lives to help others, and desperately desires to live a life of greater peace with his wife and children… Read Spare.

I wrote my thoughts about this book weeks ago, shortly after the book was released, during a time when people either couldn’t get enough of it, or were sick and tired of hearing about it.

I made a list of opinions that came to me as I was reading—opinions that I have since deleted from this post and moved to a document on my computer, so that I might keep them private.

The world doesn’t need another person hiding behind a computer typing out opinions about the royal family. Instead, I’m just giving you a book review.

I read it. I loved it. It was a beautifully written, raw, funny, heartfelt, and sad story of a man who grew up surrounded my immense privilege but was deprived of love and personal contact when he needed it most. And we all had a front row seat to his pain, suffering, and shame—much of which was inflicted upon him by others—and how he eventually responded, because we witnessed every photo and story the press managed to get (or were fed) by whatever nefarious means available and necessary.

And if you prefer audio books, hearing Prince Harry’s Spare in his own voice through audio is truly the best way to experience Spare.

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