Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I'm a 35 year old American and all I knew of the Royal family before Meghan married Harry was that my parents were sad when Diana died and that the grocery store checkout magazines always had headlines about them. I was kind of drawn in and charmed by the idea of them accepting Meghan and how pretty and warm she always looked (I remember sending a picture of her in a pale pink dress with a matching jacket when she was pregnant with her son to my group chat with a note about how oh my God she is the most gorgeous human ever) and it made me sad and angry when like...all of the media over there seemed to hate her all of a sudden. But even though I felt bad for her I never had strong feelings about Harry, he was just kinda there. Now? I freaking love Harry. Harry and Meghan fan for life. LIFE. I am shell-shocked at how freaking real and good this book is. I saw so many headlines leading up to the release that made the book sound like a (super fun tbh) mean and petty silly little airing of grievances. And instead it's this incredibly thoughtful, fair, raw depiction of both his family and his life. It kind of blows my mind the royals were so short sighted they willingly gave up what appears to be the only one among them with an ounce of emotional intelligence. He and Meghan are both so sincerely self-deprecating and open and honest and they contrast so dramatically against his family. The rest of them seem so stilted and fake and political and sneaky in comparison. How honest he is about his insecurities and ambitions and hopes and dreams and embarrassments is kind of stunning. Openly acknowledging what is complicated about England's history. Confessing freely to his own limitations in so many ways like Eminem in the battle scene in 8 Mile is ridiculous but kind of effective?! Like....he isn't pretending not to be upset about being thought stupid, about being a spare, about being single, about so many things. He's human and it hurt and I respect him for not doing the pretending to be unbothered thing. Also, he is insanely fair to his family. Far more than they seem to deserve!. He is so freaking kind to them. Going out of his way to defend Kate and Will from tabloid gossip and repeatedly explain why things that were said about them or done to them were unfair and untrue. He acknowledges being emotionally unavailable, even to his brother who would want to discuss their mother at times. He even defends his dad's reasoning on so many things and makes him seem bumbling and ineffectual rather than like the indifferently cruel and disinterested father he seemed like he must be before. Reading this book is the closest I have ever come to having any sympathy at all for the rest of the Royal family. They just seemed like cold selfish remote awful little rich people before but Harry's book makes them seem more human and likable and normal. Like people who if they hadn't been born to this might have actually stood a chance of being halfway decent but they were born into this and now they've just leaned into being unbearable cartoon villains for forever. The description of the bee, the fly, and the wasp? How he used to grocery shop? Such good writing. And him being painfully honest about him having mom issues and looking for mother figures and wanting to make people laugh and looking for signs in things. I know they're being mean about it in some headlines and I don't believe in signs or astrology or psychics or whatever myself but I know a lot of people who do. I think it's kind of normal and human after a big and unexpected loss. My friend lost her 12 year old son to an asthma attack that stopped his heart and she is constantly on the hunt for "signs". Connections, coincidences, messages. He's even fair about his mom. You can tell he knows he kind of puts her on a pedestal but he acknowledges she was imperfect, especially when he talks about her insecurity over them loving their nanny. I think the main takeaway from the book for me is how sad I feel for him. Because he seems to love everyone in his family for who they are. He sees them clearly, their flaws and weaknesses and strengths, and loves them. And you can just tell it wasn't ever reciprocated. Because none of them seem capable of loving him back. "How lost we are, I thought. How far we’ve strayed. How much damage has been done to our love, our bond, and why? All because a dreadful mob of dweebs and crones and cut-rate criminals and clinically diagnosable sadists along Fleet Street feel the need to get their jollies and plump their profits—and work out their personal issues—by tormenting one very large, very ancient, very dysfunctional family." Anyway, it is a really good book. I really enjoyed it, read it super fast, and highly recommend.