Stories I Only Tell My Friends
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4.4 • 54 Ratings
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
A wryly funny and moving account of an extraordinary life lived almost entirely in the public eye.
Teen idol at fifteen, international icon and founder of the Brat Pack at twenty, and one of Hollywood's top stars to this day, Rob Lowe chronicles his experiences as a painfully misunderstood child actor in Ohio uprooted to the wild counterculture of mid-seventies Malibu, where he embarked on his unrelenting pursuit of a career in Hollywood.
The Outsiders placed Lowe at the birth of the modern youth movement in the entertainment industry. During his time on The West Wing, he witnessed the surreal nexus of show business and politics both on the set and in the actual White House. And in between are deft and humorous stories of the wild excesses that marked the eighties, leading to his quest for family and sobriety.
Never mean-spirited or salacious, Lowe delivers unexpected glimpses into his successes, disappointments, relationships, and one-of-a-kind encounters with people who shaped our world over the last twenty-five years. These stories are as entertaining as they are unforgettable.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Lowe, actor and 1980s teen idol, delivers a keen and insightful look at how the movie industry packages a celebrity, the phenomenon of "objectification," and being "The Next Big Thing." His astute look into a Midwest childhood, as well as counterculture Malibu as a young adult, raises lifelong issues of isolation and detachment for him as he adapted the persona of "a people pleaser with very few personal boundaries." Lowe vividly records the making of Coppola's The Outsiders, witnessing the emergence of Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Emilio Estevez, and Patrick Swayze alongside his own career launch. He offers insightful anecdotes about people he knew throughout his career, such as Jodie Foster, Andy Warhol, Roman Polanski, Jane Fonda, Michael Dukakis, and Princess Stephanie of Monaco. In an era that he describes as self-indulgent, he discusses his alcoholism, his video escapade, and his life as defined by the term "Brat Pack." In the end of this honest memoir, Lowe tells of his reformed life, in which he got married, had a family, and landed a career-defining role in The West Wing.
Customer Reviews
Most enjoyable
Well done Rob, great book, interesting life, and well written.
Stories I Only Tell My Friends
Not my usual type of book (not being a "Star" chasing fanatic) but I did enjoy this book most of the time. I guess I will at least give some more of his books a chance by reading the samples, to see if I want to buy the full version. I am not a great fan of epic TV series such as "The West Wing" but now I wish I was able to say that I had seen at least some of them.
Stories I (Should) Only Tell My Friends
Worst. Autobiography. Ever. These stories should stay amongst your friends. Whoops, you dropped another name, let me get that for you. Rob's attempt at humility through this book is laughable. It's like reading a 10 year old's diary only without the creativity. This book is all about how many stars he's met over the years (albeit with a sense of dull melancholy), absolutely no insight into what formed the man, actor, director and (supposedly) political activist. It's basically the bare facts from Wikipedia, printed out of order and narrated erratically in 300 pages. I actually like Rob Lowe as an actor, but after reading this book and knowing what goes on inside his head, I think I'll pass on his next production.
Highly recommended for insomniacs (I honestly fell asleep 4 times reading this - I'm not kidding).
Rubbish