Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe
Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe
Published by Henry Holt and Co., an imprint of Macmillan
Rob Lowe has spent basically his entire life in the Hollywood spotlight. At fifteen, he was a teen idol and by twenty, he was entrenched in the group of famous teens nicknamed the Brat Pack. As an adult, he enjoyed continued success with roles such as Sam Seaborne on The West Wing, thriving in both his career and personal life despite his struggles with addiction and other issues. In this memoir, Lowe goes beyond the obvious facts of his life to share with the reader details he literally would previously only tell his friends.
I am a huge fan of Rob Lowe, always have been, so when I saw him discussing his new memoir on the Oprah show, I knew I had to read it. And when I realized he narrates the audiobook himself, I was certain that the audio was the way to go with this one.
I enjoyed this memoir immensely. I loved getting a peek into Lowe’s past – the dynamics of his family, his experiences growing up in Hollywood, and how he first got into acting as a child. I have to say that there is quite a bit of name-dropping in the book, as Lowe was friends at a young age with some of America’s most famous celebrities, but it’s never off-putting. The way Lowe weaves these famous names into his stories is done perfectly, and really helped me see what a well-liked guy Rob Lowe is. I loved the opportunity to learn about Lowe’s journey toward sobriety, as he struggled quite a bit with his addiction before entering rehab. It was quite inspiring to hear his story since he is one of the very few celebrities who has remained sober over the years. I can only imagine the kinds of temptation those in recovery face while living and working in Hollywood, and Lowe gave the reader a pretty detailed look into this side of the business.
I have to say that if you plan to read Stories I Only Tell My Friends, do yourself a favor and get the audiobook. As Lowe narrates it himself, it’s a great listening experience – it feels like he is telling you this story personally, as though you are two friends just chatting about his past. Plus, since he wrote the book himself, his enunciation and delivery are completely spot-on. He knew exactly how he wanted this story told, so who better to tell it than Rob Lowe himself? It was absolutely perfect.
Stories I Only Tell My Friends is a must-read for any fans of Rob Lowe. Even if you only have a mild interest in this actor’s life, I would still recommend the book as it is highly entertaining and surprisingly insightful. I enjoyed it all around.
I also love Lowe, and haven’t followed his career over the past few years, but he is one of my many boyfriends
and so I need to listen to this book. I love books that ae narrated by the author for many of the same reasons that you do, and so when my nexy audible credit becomes available, this is the one I will be getting. Thanks for the stellar review, Heather! I enjoyed it a lot!
LOL, you do have a lot of boyfriends!
I’m so glad to hear you’ll be listening soon. I’m looking forward to hearing what you think!
I need to get this one! I’ve been a fan of Lowe’s since way back. I’m glad to know he does a good job narrating the book.
Yes it’s awesome! I hope you get to it soon.
I am recently halfway on board the Rob Lowe train, because of Parks and Recreation, but I’m concerned that my fondness for him is too half-assed to support an entire book’s worth. :p
I think even a little fondness is enough to support reading the book. It’s actually very well-written (surprisingly) and I think you would come away from it liking him even more. He’s AWESOME on Parks, isn’t he?
I wasn’t really interested in this originally UNTIL I saw him on Oprah. I’ll definitely keep this in mind for an audio book!
I was the same way, well at least I didn’t expect the book to be very good until I saw him on Oprah. I do hope you read it!
I really like the title of this book. It sounds like a Billy Crystal or Mitch Albom title. Touching and reels you in.
Love Rob Lowe and love when authors narrate their own books. Adding this to my audio book list. I’ll probaby enjoy the name dropping