SPARE: My latest book review

Plus the end of Mercury Retrograde

Psst…Mark your calendar: Mercury Retrograde ends on January 18th. Check out the PS for more information.

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My latest book review: SPARE by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex

📚📚 out of 5.

He should have waited.

That's the throughline I felt as I read SPARE by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex.

At 471 pages, SPARE is an undertaking but not one that takes a long time to read.

And yes, while I appreciate the writing efforts of Prince Harry and JR Moeringer, the ghostwriter of Andre Agassi's and Phil Knight's memoirs, I couldn't help but notice a need for more time between what is currently happening in Harry’s life and the writing of the book.

An author friend once said, "Sometimes a story needs lived space before you can begin to write it.”

Unfortunately, space is a luxury Harry does not have with his own experiences except for a few.

How could he?

The marketing machine needs his story to align with the release of the Netflix miniseries Harry and Meghan and the crowning of Charles as King.

So to sell, they push SPARE onto the shelves.

At the start of the book, Harry offers up the story to "Pa? Will? World? Here you go."

From there, SPARE rolls through Harry's experiences with Pa and Willy (the King of England and Prince of Wales), the toxic press, and the girlfriends, which I'll add, is something we didn't get while watching the Netflix series.

He also delves into his schooling, military experience, and time in Africa. Peppered with a few whoppers of exposure (sadism, frozen privates, Kate’s silly side, and a few others), the intrigue keeps you going.

The book also uncovers, more notably, the vast hole in Harry's heart left by Diana.

This emotional reveal, of course, is a welcome and understandable aspect from which most of my sympathy as a reader stemmed.

Other than that, it’s a history of experiences that feel more plea to be seen rather than a reflective interrogation of a non-traditional life and family.

And so, admittedly, yes, I enjoyed the book and can recommend it as a read for curiosity's sake.

That said, my copy came from a publicist friend, a welcome gift as I didn't want to buy the book outright.

Have no fear, Harry has a multiple book deal, and I'm sure, like a fine wine, the stories he tells will get better with age, and I'll still be curious enough to read them.

PS. As Mercury Retrograde comes to an end on January 18th, there are three things you’ll need to keep in mind:

1. There will be a shadow period. As if the actual Mercury Retrograde dates weren’t enough, there’s a hangover that occurs for about seven days after the end of retrograde. You may find some shenanigans popping up, and your creative work may lag for a few more days.

Try to brainstorm what worked for you in retrograde and how you can double down on that creative work as the shadow period ends. If it worked during Retrograde, it surely would work after!

2. Embrace the energy of the Aquarius new moon on January 21st. This new moon brings us to new creative heights and ushers us into a more lucrative creative period.

3. Your creative work is here for you. Notice what trends or intuitive information keeps showing up. This will help you on your creative path, especially as Retrograde completes. Trust me, the momentum you’ll feel as we go direct is well worth the wait.