Review: Cher, the Memoir, Part One by Cher

a celebrity memoir focused on the business of showbiz and turmoil

Cher, the Memoir, Part One by Cher, narrated by Cher and Stephanie J. Block, has an odd set up with Cher beginning chapters and Stephanie reading the remainder. This kind of narration was a bit jarring at first, but once you get into the cadence, you can see why Stephanie was chosen. She definitely has a similar vibe to her voice.

Part one of this memoir is from her early days in childhood through her divorce with Sony Bono. Cher’s early years were tumultuous and readers will understand how she lived with and married Sony early on, despite his behavior. Without a consistent father figure, it was clear that Sony provided her some of that guidance, but his love came with caveats and rules. Rules that never applied to him and his behavior.

Why I read this was not for the the celebrity gossip and the intrigue and juicy bits of her love life or connections in the music, television, and movie business. I’ve been on a kick of reading memoirs that are written by people with dyslexia. It’s part of my own journey in helping my child navigate a world where many consider my child unintelligent because of reading and writing struggles.

For that reason, Cher’s memoir didn’t capture much of my attention. Her discussion of dyslexia is very minimal, though she does talk about its impact on her abilities in school, etc. I wanted to hear more about how she learned to embrace it and navigate the world with it. But that was not her focus at all.

She does talk about women’s rights at the time of her marriage to Sony and a number of other issues that were in the headlines at the time. These were interesting segways into her real-life experiences, and definitely explained a lot about her choices and that of her mother. But she and Sony clearly paved their own way in the biz. They were innovative and had a great partnership in business. But outside of work was nothing short of chaos.

Cher, the Memoir, Part One by Cher is a celebrity memoir for those looking for that insider look into music and showbiz. It does touch on her family life and the drama early on, which was engaging and clearly a source of pain and joy for her. It wasn’t what I was hoping for, and those expectations are on me. This is a solid celebrity memoir, with a lot of history in it. Definitely worth the read if you’d like to know more about the time period and showbiz at that time.

Rating: Tercet