Spare
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4.3 • 6K Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Discover the global phenomenon that tells an unforgettable story of love, loss, courage, and healing.
“Compellingly artful . . . [a] blockbuster memoir.”—The New Yorker (Best Books of the Year)
It was one of the most searing images of the twentieth century: two young boys, two princes, walking behind their mother’s coffin as the world watched in sorrow—and horror. As Princess Diana was laid to rest, billions wondered what Prince William and Prince Harry must be thinking and feeling—and how their lives would play out from that point on.
For Harry, this is that story at last.
Before losing his mother, twelve-year-old Prince Harry was known as the carefree one, the happy-go-lucky Spare to the more serious Heir. Grief changed everything. He struggled at school, struggled with anger, with loneliness—and, because he blamed the press for his mother’s death, he struggled to accept life in the spotlight.
At twenty-one, he joined the British Army. The discipline gave him structure, and two combat tours made him a hero at home. But he soon felt more lost than ever, suffering from post-traumatic stress and prone to crippling panic attacks. Above all, he couldn’t find true love.
Then he met Meghan. The world was swept away by the couple’s cinematic romance and rejoiced in their fairy-tale wedding. But from the beginning, Harry and Meghan were preyed upon by the press, subjected to waves of abuse, racism, and lies. Watching his wife suffer, their safety and mental health at risk, Harry saw no other way to prevent the tragedy of history repeating itself but to flee his mother country. Over the centuries, leaving the Royal Family was an act few had dared. The last to try, in fact, had been his mother. . . .
For the first time, Prince Harry tells his own story, chronicling his journey with raw, unflinching honesty. A landmark publication, Spare is full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
First off, yes, the tea is scalding. Prince Harry’s explosively personal memoir reveals, among other things, that he has been emotionally and physically bullied by his older brother, William (“the Heir” to Harry’s “Spare”), his entire life. Harry’s emotionally distant Pa—better known as King Charles III—was no help, carrying the baggage of his own rough childhood with him. And then there’s stepmom Camilla, whom Harry flat out accuses of planting stories in the sleazy British tabloids to make herself look good…and he’s got receipts. Happily, though, Spare isn’t just about settling scores. Prince Harry reveals himself to be emotionally open, self-deprecating, and madly in love with his wife, Meghan Markle. This is an unblinkingly brave book to have written—easily the deepest look we’ve ever gotten into the British royal family, as well as a dead-honest report of severe personal trauma.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Sibling rivalry, fatherly neglect, and the crushing weight of public opinion haunt this anguished, searching, and occasionally vindictive memoir from Prince Harry. Framing the narrative as an attempt to explain why he and his wife, Meghan Markle, fled the U.K. "in fear for our sanity and physical safety" in 2020, Harry begins with Princess Diana's death in 1997, recounting how he and his brother William were made to walk behind their mother's coffin "to garner sympathy." For years afterward, Harry harbored a belief that Diana had disappeared to escape the paparazzi—an illusion that enabled him "to postpone the bulk of my grief." Made to feel like a "nullity" by his family, he found solace and companionship on safari trips to Africa and boozy nights with friends, but the tabloids turned "basic teenage stuff" into allegations of drug addiction and his father chose "to play ball" rather than fight back. Time and time again, the twin pressures of the royal family and the British media scuttled Harry's search for meaning and purpose, leaving him beset by panic attacks and self-doubt, until he met Meghan—and then those same specters turned on her. The mix of dirty laundry and earnest soul-baring sometimes jars, but Harry's frustrations are deeply felt and authentically conveyed, as is the joy he takes in nature and in his friendships. This royal family tell-all delivers.
Customer Reviews
Loved it
I wonder if all the bad reviews are from the “Papps” trying get revenge😂
Great book!
Worst book of Fiction I’ve read in 10 years
A collection of whining stories and lies. Harry doesn’t seem to realise everything he’s lying about is verifiable in the media. The few stories that are true are so whiney . Like his 14 year old brother doesn’t want to hand with him (12) as school and how much that hurt him. DUH Every older brother did that to Everyone on the planet. Get over it whiner.
This might well be a tragedy of Harry’s own making.
I enjoyed watching William and Harry grow up—and I still am a huge fan of his mother.
While Harry is not wrong about the invasive press and I sympathize, I don’t see how invading his family’s privacy by publishing their own intimate details is any better.
I get that he wants to tell “his side of the story” but in doing so, he puts all the blame for his problems on everyone else and will accept none for his own choices. Whatever was right, was him. Whatever was wrong, was everyone else who forced him.
Harry consistently portrays himself as an innocent victim, and his wife as a saint. He chose to portray himself and his wife without any complexity or depth.
Why?
Rather than paint himself in a sympathetic light, this book reveals a lack of maturity about personal responsibility. In short, it’s just plain whiney.
It’s also hypocritical. Harry purposely shoots dozens of passive-aggressive arrows at his family, while at the same time insisting “the last thing I’d ever want to do is hurt them.” Harry sees himself as The Grand Exception.
If Harry’s true purpose was to unload his personal demons, then the contents of this book could have done so without dishing so much *specific dirt* on his brother and his father. E.g. It was the height Harry’s arrogance to think he could influence his father’s marriage, yet at the same time, exercise his right to marry who he wanted and demand their respect. And that’s only one example I found that proves Harry doesn’t feel the need to hold himself to the same standard that he requires of those around him.
At the moment, Harry feels vindicated. But what about later? Right now, we’re seeing an angry 12 year-old who misses his mum. But what about when Harry grows past his arrested development?
Ten years from now, will Harry look back on this book and the Netflix series and feel good about it?
I wonder.
What Harry doesn’t seem to see is how his circle of sycophants who stand to make a fortune from this latest “marketplace confession” won’t be around when the money stops rolling in. When the cracks this idyllic paradise of a marriage begins to reveal themselves.
When Harry will see for himself how lonely it can be when you’ve painted yourself in a corner, with no bridges to make his way out. Because he has destroyed them.