Me: Elton John Official Autobiography

Reviews

1. 

   Finnieblue – July 28, 2024

   An Honest Look at His Own Life
   I have read a few reviews here which, as always, indicate these folks have not actually READ this book, but instead read a clickbait headline, then an article, which takes things from the book out of context and splashes them on a 45-seconds-to-read article.It actually reminds me of some of the sections in this book that mention tabloids and how harmful they can be. Kind of interesting.I am writing this review a few moments after I have finished the book. And it was great!There is so much to admire about this book, not least of which is John’s ability to be honest about his life, about his past and about how much he hurt other people.It’s startling to read his realizations about how many times he was so horrible to people, and how candid he is about the life of a sequestered star, how he himself lost complete touch with reality by surrounding himself with sycophants. YES…He does talk about Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley, and others. But it isn’t anything that would surprise you had you any inkling of the kind of life they’d lived for years before they died. He also relates to them. If anything, he completely DE-glamourizes fame, and shines a very harsh light on it. People who claim that he is too hard on this or that person and isn’t very “nice” about someone because he “dishes” on them is also absurd. What he says about anyone else whom he has encountered in his decades of public life is no more harsh (in fact, less so) than the things he says about himself and his many many transgressions, which he is all-too-willing to name in the interest of complete transparency.It is when he realized finally that he didn’t want to die, and he sought help for his addictions and eating disorder that things began to crystallize. And he wanted to help other people. Ryan White’s death had a profound impact on the way in which he lived, what a waste it was and what he was throwing away when he had the ability to give so much, and be so much more as a human being instead of Rock Icon Sir Elton John. And that by giving to others of himself in a way he hadn’t before, he was healing, too.If you go into this book looking for inconsistencies in the dates or history or any of it, you will probably find it because you want to do so. An autobiography, however, belongs to that person. I am 47, and I cannot imagine remembering with complete accuracy what date and what year I met certain people in my life. And I don’t know many people or go that many places. This is Elton John’s story about himself. I found, in reading it, that he didn’t have anything to hide, and wasn’t pulling any punches. He is who he is.If you read the book in its entirety without any preconceived notions, like I did, you will likely not be disappointed, but feel like you’ve read the story of an incredibly gifted and talented person who has, like many people, had to struggle with and recover from a very difficult childhood, and attempt to live as a “normal” person who doesn’t need drugs and drink to cope with life. He, as Judy Garland once said, “want{s} the same thing that other people want…. Just seem{s} to have a harder time getting it.”I found this book to be about forgiveness, too, in a world where no one is likely to forgive anyone, least of all themselves. In each of our lives, I’m pretty sure we could use some forgiveness, both giving it and getting it.

2. 

   Maximiliano Sánchez – July 28, 2024

   Excelente libro. Llegó antes de lo esperado y en perfecto estado.

3. 

   Jose Benito Barragan Garrido – July 28, 2024

   Sir Elton John ha debido de rodearse de un excelente grupo de asesores literarios (also known as”ghostwriters”) porque le ha salido un libro de memorias, ME, excelente. Muy ameno y tirando a divertido, las memorias están escritas en un English de lectura fácil y exento de complejidad. Amazon me ha enviado la versión USA/Tapa dura con impresión nítida y tamaño de letra idóneo. Encantado con la compra y el rápido envío.

4. 

   Traveler71 – July 28, 2024

   Great book! Very well written, like having a conversation with Elton John, as part of his inner circle.What a life! I could not put the book down as I wanted to know more and more. It made me laugh loud many times. Highly recommended.