Spare

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Synopsis

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 Diana, Princess of Wales, was laid to rest, billions wondered what the princes must be thinking and feeling – and how their lives would play out from that point on.

For Harry, this is that story at last.

With its raw, unflinching honesty, Spare is a landmark publication full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief.

Prince Harry wishes to support British charities with donations from his proceeds from Spare. The Duke of Sussex has donated $1,500,000 to Sentebale, an organisation he founded with Prince Seeiso in their mothers’ legacies, which supports vulnerable children and young people in Lesotho and Botswana affected by HIV/AIDS. Prince Harry will also donate to the non-profit organisation WellChild in the amount of £300,000. WellChild, which he has been Royal patron of for fifteen years, makes it possible for children and young people with complex health needs to be cared for at home instead of hospital, wherever possible.

Synopsis source: Goodreads

What pattern is that?
Pictured with the book in this post is a WIP shot of the Isla Tank Top pattern, of which there is a free version here on my blog!

Review

Genre(s): Nonfiction, Memoir, Autobiography
HB&W Rating: 5
View on Goodreads
Buy on Amazon, Barnes & Noble

A moving memoir of grief, trauma and the fraught relationships one has with family, in this case, further strained by the Royal relationship with the press.

The right thing is rarely the easy thing, but be brave and do it anyway. It’s a lesson we try to teach our kids but so often fall short of the mark of ourselves. Sometimes it feels impossible to risk rocking the boat and making things that much harder, but sometimes a boat needs a good shove.

I remember when Diana died. I was a teenager and definitely not in tune with world events, but even I understood the media’s obsession with her prior to her death. I remember being floored at the audacity of the media at the time and hoped for real change following her death. Obviously, they learned nothing, or maybe we as consumers learned nothing.

I watched the Oprah interview and the Netflix special, so much of this story was familiar, but Spare delves deeper into the nuances of Harry’s experience and later his and Meg’s. It evokes fury at the media and the lengths they’ll go to in order to get the story, disgust with people who continue to consume those articles and photos that in turn give that same media its power, and sadness at the lack of support Harry and Meghan had from the people who should have had their backs. It’s bullying and enabling and fear mongering.

Harry tells his story with kindness, compassion, empathy and particularly with love, despite being so hurt at how his own family responded to the way the media treated him through the years. Just because that’s the way something is or isn’t done doesn’t mean it has to remain that way.

In this book, Harry reminds us that we all have a choice. We can stand by and allow others to tell us we can’t change things because that’s not how it works, it won’t make any difference anyway, and it will only make things worse. We can let fear be our excuse for our inaction, or we can be brave and risk rebelling against the status quo to make a change anyway, because what are you if you don’t even try?

Until next time,

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