Thank you, Random House, for the gifted copy of this book. {partner}

Genre: Non-Fiction
Format: 🎧
Pub Date: 1.10.2023
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

Summary:

“It was one of the most searing images of the twentieth century: two young boys, two princes, walking behind their mother’s coffin as the world watched in sorrow—and horror. As Princess Diana was laid to rest, billions wondered what Prince William and Prince Harry must be thinking and feeling—and how their lives would play out from that point on.

For Harry, this is that story at last.

Before losing his mother, twelve-year-old Prince Harry was known as the carefree one, the happy-go-lucky Spare to the more serious Heir. Grief changed everything. He struggled at school, struggled with anger, with loneliness—and, because he blamed the press for his mother’s death, he struggled to accept life in the spotlight.

At twenty-one, he joined the British Army. The discipline gave him structure, and two combat tours made him a hero at home. But he soon felt more lost than ever, suffering from post-traumatic stress and prone to crippling panic attacks. Above all, he couldn’t find true love.

Then he met Meghan. The world was swept away by the couple’s cinematic romance and rejoiced in their fairy-tale wedding. But from the beginning, Harry and Meghan were preyed upon by the press, subjected to waves of abuse, racism, and lies. Watching his wife suffer, their safety and mental health at risk, Harry saw no other way to prevent the tragedy of history repeating itself but to flee his mother country. Over the centuries, leaving the Royal Family was an act few had dared. The last to try, in fact, had been his mother. . . .

For the first time, Prince Harry tells his own story, chronicling his journey with raw, unflinching honesty. A landmark publication, Spare is full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief.”

Review:

“No one had an answer for a boy seeking external pain to match his internal.”

👆🏼this quote sums up so many things about Spare.

As soon as I saw that Prince Harry was publishing a book about his life AND would be narrating the audio, I knew I had to listen. I’m so glad I could hear him tell his story in his voice.

It was a beautifully written and deeply personal look into the life of one of the former senior members of the royal family. While Harry does discuss what led to his inevitable split from his family, it’s not the sole focus. It’s more about his life in and out of the public eye.

Harry is a human being. He has made mistakes, as we all have, and boy, am I glad my 20-year-old self didn’t have her mistakes featured on the front page of magazines, newspapers, and talk shows. Harry made mistakes and was left to face them alone without any real support. The chapters of him discussing his mother’s death brought me to tears because I could hear, in his voice, that he still carries so much of that with him to this day.

Spare also made me realize how deeply toxic the royal family’s relationship is with the press. I actually can’t quite wrap my mind around all the ways that they are intertwined.

I have always liked Harry, but reading his book made me deeply appreciate him and his courage to stand up for himself, his wife, and his children. He wants his children to have a better life than he did.

🤷🏽‍♀️ Don’t have to be a Royal obsessed to read
😔 Felt deeply personal
🥺 Made me laugh and cry on several occasions
🎧 Audiobook is a MUST
👑 Epilogue about saying goodbye to Queen Elizabeth

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BOOK INFO
Format: 410 pages, hardback
Published: January 2023
ISBN 9780593593806 (ISBN10: 0593593804)