Rob Lowe—more than just a pretty face

Despite a crush that dates back to my teen years, I’m the last person who would have bought Rob Lowe’s memoir, Stories I Only Tell my Friends. It’s just not the sort of thing I read. However, thanks to Amazon’s awesome “special offers” on my Kindle, I was able to get the audiobook for free through Audible.com. And I can’t resist that. I just can’t.

I’m not much of a memoir reader, but I have to admit that I enjoy it when celebrities read their own audiobooks. It just makes it a more personal experience. And once I started listening to SIOTMF, I was quickly hooked. I’m not sure what I expected, but this book was wonderfully entertaining. Mr. Lowe’s stories are awesome!

After an opening story about John F. Kennedy, Jr. that frames the collection, the rest of the stories proceed in a fairly linear fashion, beginning when Rob is around 11 years old. The stories focus largely on the very earliest days of his career through his time on The West Wing.

Particular time is given to his experiences getting cast in and filming The Outsiders with Francis Ford Coppola. The cast of that film really was amazing, because it introduced an entire generation of young actors, including Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, and many others. Other eighties films that were formative in my youth were covered as well.

I have to admit my favorite stories were the ones that dealt with Hollywood royalty, people you never would have expected Rob Lowe to have had contact with—particularly the experiences that he had. No two ways about it, the man has some flat out FANTASTIC stories!

Lowe strikes a candid yet respectful tone as he discusses family, colleagues, royalty. In fact, the only person to get any sort of harsh treatment is Lowe himself, as he admits career mistakes, foibles, and personal failings. He acknowledges his addiction issues and discusses his experiences before and after getting help, but this is not an addiction memoir. Mostly, it’s just good entertainment. For me, it was a guilty pleasure.

There are many more recent years that weren’t covered in this book. Should Mr. Lowe continue his stories someday, they won’t have to lure me in with a free audiobook. I’ll be waiting for the next volume. I like this guy!