Spare - Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex

Spare

By Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex

  • Release Date: 2023-01-10
  • Genre: Biographies & Memoirs
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 5,488 Ratings

Description

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Discover the global phenomenon that tells an unforgettable story of love, loss, and healing.

“Compellingly artful . . . [a] blockbuster memoir.”—The New Yorker

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.

Reviews

  • An expats view

    5
    By vmarijke
    To Prince Harry and Meg thank you for sharing your story. It was so brave and so inspiring. The incredible heartache you have experienced but the joy of finding each other and the ultimate joy of becoming a real family.
  • Couldn’t put it down

    5
    By KS9391
    I have a hard time sitting still to read but I couldn’t put this book down. Being born in England not long after Prince William and having been told about people asking my mother if she was in the contest to have her baby the same day as Lady Diana, I’ve always had a small connection to the princes having grown up in the same era but experienced life in a completely different way. Princess Diana’s death was announced on my 15th birthday. I was shocked to hear many details, sad, but hopeful that Prince Harry and Meghan will have a much more peaceful story now.
  • He’s no Spare to me

    5
    By TaylorIDH
    The courage it took to write this, the beauty in which he did it, his transparency on sharing the contents of his life and so much more made me give this 5 stars. I loved every page of this book.
  • Harry, not the spare but a man with integrity

    5
    By Tina from Hollywood fl
    Loved your book. Loved your mother Glad you learned from your mother and kept your family safe. You got out of that toxic environment. Cheers to you and Meg. Love her also.
  • Wow

    5
    By KOTM817
    I know there are three sides to every story, but wow.
  • Spare - I think not

    5
    By Cardshark3418
    This is a must read. You get to know Harry so much deeper than what any rag mag has to say about him. He is the most honest and the only truth bearer in the most dysfunctional family on the planet.
  • And exceptionally good read

    5
    By Pearl Guy
    From beginning to end, it was an interesting experience to be able to see the difference between living a life of royalty and the common man. To see what a privileged life entails was eye-opening. To see the brutality of the British press was astounding. This story makes me appreciate my simple life.
  • Great read

    5
    By Courts1209!?
    Long but worth the read!
  • Raw Honesty

    5
    By KiPatts
    I will admit that I originally bought this book for purely selfish reasons. The controversies and “hot takes” peaked my interest, but now that I have read it all the way to completion, I now feel like I understand Prince Harry better. However much you may disagree with him, I truly believe that this is the most honest portrayal of a person blessed with privilege, but also someone who suffered for it. I can’t imagine living my whole life in a gilded cage where everything I say or do from the moment I’m born, every stomp, every cry, every yell, could be open to interpretation from a group of people salivating at seeing you fall. I can never look at a piece of British media about the Royals without wondering what were the intentions behind their articles and hit pieces. It’s disgusting. I am an American, and I am very much an anti-monarchist, but don’t we also do the same to our American celebrities?? All of it needs to stop.
  • About Love

    5
    By JemimaKimori
    This memoir is about a real life prince’s life, but at its heart, it’s a love story. It’s about the yearning for love, the hidden struggle to come to terms with brokenness, working through the fear and cutting blade of unworthiness, and then finding that one person who, incredibly, is the healing salve the heart and body needs. And this is what elevates this memoir—Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are fully humanized. I truly pray for them to make it together to the end.