An Autobiography
By Rob Lowe
306 pages
In case you were wondering, Rob Lowe and I are besties, that's why I know all of these stories he only tells his friends. Haha, okay, so I wish we were. Truth be told, I have always been kind of indifferent about Rob Lowe, but after reading his book, I have a new found respect for him. His first official movie (non-after-school-special) came out a few months before I was born, so I missed that big teen heartthrob era, but still grew up watching some of his other movies. To this day, Tommy Boy remains one of my favorite comedies. And his new show on Fox, The Grinder, is pretty hilarious.
So, here's what I'd like to tell you about this book. It is a series of stories from Lowe's life. It starts when he's young and continues throughout. He doesn't go into a lot of details on some things that have happened in his life, but does discuss both positive and negative aspects of his experiences.
I really enjoyed hearing childhood stories about his neighborhood adventures with Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen. But even more than that, I enjoyed hearing about his family. I was surprised to hear that his family had no background in showbiz and that Rob's success was based around his personal dedication and drive. His childhood was less than perfect. His mother, was married three times, but the tragedy is in the illnesses she suffered. Even more so, the wasted potential she had. Lowe says his mother was constantly writing. Writing books and stories and plays and journals. He struggles to find memories where she isn't locked in a room writing. I also enjoyed hearing about the intelligence of both Rob and his mother. His mother loving to discuss philosophy and psychology. Rob being the type of student who loved learning and doing well in school.
My greatest respect for Lowe comes from his decision to check into rehab and clean himself up. He had met a woman he loved and realized he wasn't a man deserving of her love in return. He made this choice on his own, cleaned up, and hasn't looked back. I loved how he discussed the things he learned about himself while in rehab. For example he discusses the idea of learning to say "no." He talks about growing up and always being eager to please people (friends, parents, teachers, directors, everyone). Sometimes this eagerness led him down the wrong path. He doesn't make excuses or place blame on anyone for the things he has been through. He does, however, take what tools he has been given and his natural intelligence to make himself a better person. I appreciate the fact that he turned his life around because he wanted to. He set his mind on being better, and he didn't give up until he got there. He became the man he wanted to be and the man Sheryl needed him to be. They got married and remain married to this day. I loved reading about the relationship he has with his two sons and the importance of family in his life now.
Of all of the crazy things that Lowe has experienced, the story that shocked me the most dealt with 9/11/01. Lowe was filming The West Wing and had been back and forth to D.C. On August 31 he had flown with a crew he had flown with many times before. As he got off the plane, he told the crew he'd "see them next time." That "next time" never came. That same crew and flight was hijacked on September 11. Lowe found out that the August 31 flight he was on was the dry run. The terrorists were on the plane with him. They had the flight manifest. The terrorist who was caught, Zacarias Moussaoui ("the twentieth hijacker") wanted to depose Lowe for his case! The deposition never happened, but could you imagine being in a situation like that?! I can't.
This was a nice book to pick up after the self-improvement book. To be honest, I think that Lowe could have written a better self-help book.
4 Stars