Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I wasn't sure what to expect when I bought both the hard copy and the Audible version; the book because I want to have it in my library and the Audible version because hearing is somewhat of an issue for me. So many different people (mostly royal watchers) swore the book was going to be about how Harry trashed the Institution, his family, and the people of the UK. It wasn't like that. Sure, he revealed details about what he said to his family because of the frustration with them not helping and even feeding stories to the toxic media and threw them under the bus, but it wasn't in anger or hate. Desperation at needing to protect his family, yes, but it wasn't malicious. Not all family is close nit so I'm glad he was able to speak his truth without limits or hesitation in his own words and in his own voice as the way he saw it. The book was the journey of a young man who had been traumatized by the sudden death of his mother at age 12, then not having any true understanding of the truth of her death, so it sent him on a journey of depression, doubt, anger, and fear at the loss of a mother whom he loved so dearly, only to be further traumatized by a hateful media and subjects with no one to bother helping him. They didn't even provide security for them. Depression is very complex in that it envelops you without you even knowing that it's happening or understanding it. The worst thing about depression is others don't recognize it or go into denial about it. I can only imagine with a royal family that they don't want the public to think of their family member as mentally ill, so he didn't get the help that he needed until he realized he needed it. Only then was he able to face his demons and move forward. This helped him find love and I'm all here for that. I'm so glad I got the Audible version because the cadence in his voice was soothing, even when he was revealing the most painful parts of his life up until now. Parts of the book made me laugh out loud, others made me angry at him; (i.e., me hearing about the poker game - "STRIP POKER? ARE YOU NUTS??") Being the "spare" allowed him to find so much more with the world than what he had been relegated to. I believe this is the issue with the brothers; one who is the future King, thus limited in the freedom and expressions of an ordinary person vs a second child who no one was really checking for, and for him to take the extraordinary journey that lead him to finding the true happiness of his life is nothing short of remarkable. He pulled no punches about himself; the drugs, the drinking, the unintentional racism, his lack of education. Coming to terms with his mother's death was a catharsis and allowed him to move forward and find the love of his life. I'm conflicted by King Charles. The first and second parts of the book, he seemed like an attentive and caring father to him, but then he put country above the safety of his younger son and family. That's hard to read. It seems like the royals are more driven by what their subjects think and allowed a frenzied toxic press to hound them so bad that they fled his birth country. All he had to do was say "that's enough," or show more support than he did other than his address to the nature when the queen died and he mentioned them. He and the Queen truly seemed to like Meghan but again, country first to the detriment of the family. I seriously hope this won't happen to Princes George and Louis. This could have been a huge step in pushing the UK forward on race relations. Instead, it set them back decades. It's a shame. Being a constitutional monarchy may have something to do with it, but still - that's your son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren. I had hoped the Queen would have said or done more since he was her favorite. Leaving him behind so he missed his Gran before she died was cruel. I wish the Duke and Duchess of Sussex all of the love, peace and happiness they deserve. I would 1M recommend this book. Outstanding! Congratulations, Prince Harry!