Learning to Fly: The Autobiography

by Victoria Beckham

From the time when, as an eight-year-old girl, she saw the movie Fame, Victoria wanted to be a star. There was a line from the title song that stayed with her-'I'm gonna live forever, I'm gonna learn how to fly'. With this extraordinary book she gives us the chance to follow her on her journey from lonely teenager to international star; to fly alongside her."

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Autobiography, Memoir, Biography Memoir, Music, Celebrity

528 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Victoria Caroline Beckham (née Adams) is an English singer, songwriter, dancer, fashion designer, author, businesswoman, actress and model.

During her rise to fame with 1990's pop group the Spice Girls, Beckham was dubbed Posh Spice, a nickname first coined by the British pop music magazine, Top of the Pops, in their July, 1996, issue. Since the Spice Girls followed separate careers, she has dabbled in pop music, scoring four UK Top 10 singles as a solo artist. Her first single to be released, "Out of Your Mind", reached number two in the UK Singles Chart and is her highest chart entry to date. During her solo music career she has been signed to Virgin Records and Telstar Records.

Beckham has found more success as an internationally recognized and photographed style icon. She has had a career in fashion, designing a line of jeans for Rock & Republic and later designing her own denim brand, dVb Style. Beckham has brought out her own range of sunglasses and fragrance, entitled Intimately Beckham, which has been released in the UK and in the United States. In association with the Japanese store Samantha Thavasa, she has produced a range of handbags and jewellery. In addition, she has released two bestselling books; one her autobiography, the other a fashion guide.

In her television ventures, Beckham has had five official documentaries and reality shows made about her, some of which include Being Victoria Beckham and The Real Beckhams. Her last documentary to date was Victoria Beckham: Coming to America which documented her move to the United States with her family in 2007. She since made a cameo appearance in an episode of American TV series Ugly Betty, and been a guest judge on Project Runway, Germany's Next Topmodel, and American Idol (season 9).

Beckham is married to English footballer David Beckham with whom she has three sons, Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz.

Reviews

[Kerri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Technically not a particularly good book. But I loved the Spice Girls so much that I enjoyed it anyway. Beckham defends her singing abilities a fair bit, something she no longer seems to do! This was written when she and Geri were still sniping about each other. It's mean, but also stupidly funny, if you can get past the petty jabs and insults that are probably true, but seem to apply equally to the person saying them.

For all the ridiculousness, and the effort the book puts into promoting the solo career that didn't ever really take off, there is fun to be had for the insights it provides into a group I so enjoyed. But that it reads as an advert for a career that Victoria Beckham has since abandoned, it can be funny in ways that probably weren't intended when it was written. Ditto the acting career, which I think began and ended with Spice World - - which, of course, I loved. Haven't watched it recently though. I remember a lot of leopard print, glitter, a bus, and Stephen Fry maybe? Or am I imagining that? (Just Googled it, I'm not. The cast list for that movie is bizarre. Fry and Laurie. Richard E. Grant. Meat Loaf. Dominic West. I used to have this on video, but unfortunately it's since been lost).

Actually, I think it's nice to see someone move on move on from a youthful career and try something new. Sometimes I wonder if others would be happier if they allowed themselves to let go. Though of course that's not covered in the book, I'm just projecting that view onto it.

[Redfox5 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked this book more than Geri's! Written a few years after the Spice Craze, we get more of Victorias life. In fact the whole Spice girls thing seems a very small part of the book. Victoria was never my favourite Spice Girl, if fact I don't know anyone who liked Posh spice best and she writes that she knew this and that must have been a hard thing to come to terms with. But she seems to deal with it quiet well even repeating mean things the press wrote about her saying she had 'less talent then a coconut'. I've jumped between liking her and thinking she's an attention seeker/brand Beckham. My feelings of her have always been generated by the press, which is dumb because whenever I've seen her on tv, she's been funny. She's funny in this book. And she tells her story really well. The stuff she went through with Brooklyn and the threats is horrible. What sad little people out there. I didn't like her bodyguard from the beginning, something wasn't right there. This book has made me want to buy her solo album. :D Yay Posh Spice.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

How I Came To Read This Book: Gillian owned it.

The Plot: This is Victoria Beckham's autobiography - and goodness knows she's had quite a life since this book was published in the early 00's! Still, there is PLENTY to read about here. The book spans the key points in Victoria's life, from her awkward childhood as the ugly, self-conscious duckling at theatre school to her early days as a wannabe Spice Girl to what it felt like to be a world-famous celebrity, married to an equally famous man. Along the way there is also a 'mystery' of sorts involving Victoria's family being hounded by the paparazzi and her being unable to figure out who it is that's constantly leaking her whereabouts...which is solved by the end.

The Good or Bad: Although embarassing to admit it's your book of the week, I would seriously recommend this book to anyone who has even a passing interest in Victoria Beckham or the Spice Girls. It's well-written, insightful, exciting, and may just change your mind about VB, or at least who she was several years ago.

Anything Memorable?: I know at one point I read this book on the beach and COULD NOT put it down.

Bottom Line: An awesome autobiography. Highly recommend.

50 Book Challenge?: Nay

[♥ Marlene♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.
I am not a big fan at all of Victoria Beckham but we, my daughter and I, we loved the Spice Girls when she was little so the part about the band was interesting to read. I had forgotten what had happened, how and why they quit and she does tell a bit about that.
What annoyed me most though was that she appears to never be happy. During The Spice Girls period she missed her family, while with David there were other problems.

it is true though that she was always thought of as the Spice Girl that could not sing but that was mainly because all the other girls did solos (not only on their first hit,Victoria) so I still do not get why she never did the solo's. What I liked about this book were the many photo's. Normally she always pouts on pictures but on these she really looks gorgeous because she is acting natural. I do like her a bit more now that I've read this book. (I also have My Way by David Beckham but I cannot read this yet. aargh) ;)

[Mamfale · Rating 5 out of 5]

- Simple as it is, it’s one of my favourite books and one of my favourite people, and possibly a favourite title too.
- Victoria Beckham is my role model. She was a self-accepting normal girl who wanted something and went for it, not stopping until she got there
- Very modest despite her mega fame, she (and her family) are a true testament to “doing it YOUR way” and not succumbing to what you “should” do
- Admittedly, she has everything I want: fame, money, a sexy loving husband, a respectful beautiful family, her own successful business, and STYLE & ELEGANCE. GOALS.

[Mark Farley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, so here we go. Posh Spice. VB. Victoria Beckham. Iconic media star, wife, style chantuese, seller of newpapers/magazines and (sort of) singer. These days, less of one and considerably more of the others, granted but a huge global star (brand if you will), none the less.

First Line is “Daddy, I’m going to be killed!”

Now when I read this, I expected some wonderful anecdote about her closeness of her relationship with her father, about how one tiny incident of her youth exploded a sense of protection towards him, forging a lifetime of respect and devotion between the two of them. Nah.

Instantly, within a few, meagre lines and paragraphs, I have a lot to talk about. To address. This can only be a good omen, I guess. Within four pages of this, I have to put the book down and take some notes because, in an almost Daniella Westbrook way, I kinda want to throw this at someone too. A crash course on Sympathy pleading 101 opens the book as we are instantly transported, as if by magic, to Eindhoven for England’s opening match in Euro 2000 against Portugal. We join Victoria’s life as she is hustled through the stadium with her father through the dangerous mindfield that is the fans of your husband that hate you.

Through using this initial observation to capture our attention at the beginning of her tome, she could have easily used this opportunity to give us an insight into exactly the dangerous and often frightening aspect of fame. Instead, she opens upon a rant about the people who have not only made but have been the people responsible for the amount of bread on their rather large table back home. Contemplating why they are shouting abuse, including their joint statement that ‘she takes it up the arse’, she growls,

“Fingers are poking through the wire trying to touch me. That fence shouldn’t be there. Haven’t they heard of Hillsborough, these morons?”

Posh there taking on the politics of European ground design and safety procedures as soon as Page Three. Interesting approach.

But to be fair to Victoria, admits she knows nothing of the politics of football crowd mentality, let alone the complexities of the beautiful game.

“David created two goals, which means he kicked the ball to the person who kicked the goal.”

Thankyou Victoria for explaining the definition of creation there. It is a tricky one but I guess, in a way, that also covers religion too.

She tells us that David plays better when she’s at the game. He plays better when he can see her in the crowd. That he worries when he cannot see her in the reserved enclosure with all the other partners and families. She realises this when she is sipping champagne in a VIP lounge in the opposite end of the ground to the one David is scanning for her from the touchline.

But that’s the feeling everyone essentially gets from Victoria, one of heartless self indulgence. That she excudes it from every pout and pore. As I write this (2007), she’s on the cover of Heat Magazine for the millionth time pleading, ‘Why am I the most hated woman in Britain?’ A tag she clearly hasn’t dropped in five years as she echoes the sentiment in the opening pages of this book.

To be honest, I don’t know why she is? I don’t hate her, exactly. I’m hateful of what she represents and the affluence, success and (more importantly) luck, for what was essentially a girl that looked quite cute (before the unsightly tit job/weight loss) and could perform a few dance moves.

I asked the librarian, a young male dressed rather trendy now more than familiar with my challenge of reading nothing but celebrity autobiographies for a whole year and my odd taste in reading material, exactly why she is so hateful.

“I love her,” he said, pouting. “I think she’s fabulous. She on the other hand...”

He was holding the other book I wanted to loan out, Jade Goody’s book, which I was quite relieved to find a copy of.

“She is a fucking whore...”

I raised my eyebrows and suddenly became aware of the growing queue behind me. I nervously smiled at them behind me, many with small children in hand. I shrugged at the librarian and motioned for the two hardbacks, shuffling towards the door.

On the subject of her prescence in the crowd, I initially get a sense of that we are not entirely getting the truth about these appearences and that she is making a few excuses. I think a lot of them are very contrived and are done so with a lot of thought and awareness of the media in attendance.

I’m sorry but something like this, doesn’t seem heartfelt.

“I felt a complete idiot, just sitting there with hardly anyone else about. Wasn’t there somewhere we could go until kick off, I asked my security. I mean, what were we supposed to do for two hours. Read the programme?”

Considering she was with (on this occasion) her parents, one of her mum’s friends and both parents of the man she loved, one would hope that there would be a way they could fill their time.

Anyway, one of the most interesting pages of just the first ten pages of this book is that of Victoria receiving a visit from a Daily Mirror reporter who, after a phonecall wondering what she thought about an article of David reacting in familiar fashion to abuse from fans (giving a subtle middle finger), delivered a copy of their paper and a rival paper (the one with article) to her home. The offending article in question was written by Roy Hattersley. ‘Who is this prick?’ she ponders to herself.

“Who is Roy Hattersley?” she asks her father.

Ok, wait a minute. Victoria is how old? Right, she’s 18 months older than me. So, like me, grew up in the Eighties. Throughout the Eighties, Roy Hattersley was the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Even if you never watched the news, didn’t you never see Spitting Image? Roy was the epitomy of ridicule and satire and that imagery resonated into the school ground. Maybe she was too involved in “the dance” and being a star. Something she has always desired to be, even back when Roy was, but for all of the wrong reasons.

“But this was a man, I had found out, who wrote novels about what it’s like to be a dog. If I hadn’t despised him so much I might have felt sorry for him.”

To be fair Victoria, despite the choice of narrator, he’s probably sold more books than you.

“One day I’ll be famous. You’ll see.”

Ok, alright already! I find myself shouting out aloud after the fourth time in so many pages Victoria writes this. She’s referring to the feeling of euphoria she got from the many different live performances of theatre and concert she went to as a child. She always knew that ‘she would be up there’ and be a ‘huge star one day’, which is initially cute but soon turns nauseating and eventually arrogant and annoying when the above sentiment begins to turn ugly and resentful,

“One day I’d show them. One day I’d be famous and then they’d be sorry.”

Ahh, I do love the tale of a young, burgeoning ego forming. You know the general public Victoria (those you constantly look down upon throughout this book), really don’t care, let alone want to swap with your uber-famous life. Get over it.

What frustration Victoria is writing about is the familiar celebrity “misfit at school” story. She says it was Hell. ‘Why am I the most hated person in school?’ etc etc. I’m wondering if she has developed some sort of awareness of others complex. She really just had no idea why she didn’t get on with the folk. Was it the simple fact that she was different? I mean, her parents only made sure that she was dropped off in her immaculately ironed uniform in their gold Rolls Royce while she spent the majority of the time telling tales to the headmaster about her fellow student body, getting them into trouble in the process.

Why can’t they all just get along!, she wonders.

Posh Spice truly is the Rodney King of Rural Hertfordshire and spends an odd amount of time being naturally hateful without realising so.

What she is, is the sort of pupil that I spent five years avoiding. Smart, priviledged, goody no good, back biting swots. My school was full of them. Always putting forward their own agendas. Selfish, uncaring bitches destined to stay in their god awful small town and bring up multiple children on welfare and blowing up to the size of the archetypal Superking smoking, bitter Lambrini drinkers, sat at home contemplating their huge phone bill after voting on one too many rigged reality shows. All of those women (be honest, you all know at least one) have a very thin Victoria Beckham just waiting to get out.

It’s so sweet reading how the clearly deluded younger Victoria really could not see the extent of how much she rubbed people up the wrong way. She was so despised she wrote, she needed to have protective escort from the scool grounds to avoid recriminations from the other pupils. What did she say about these people behind their backs to warrant such victimisation, I wonder? People are not hated to that extent for no reason. Even Hitler was liked at school. He gave out sweets and trinkets. Perhaps she should have tried a similar tactic.

This book isn’t just sweet though, it’s also very funny. Chapter Three opens thus,

“Like me, Dad is a complete workaholic.”

He he, see the girl’s comedy timing is priceless. I truly believe she has lost her calling. As comical as she is though, I do wonder why she needs to think about why she is the most hated woman in Britain.
I feel that I am slowly discovering why she might be just that.
“I’d always said I’d showed them and I had.”

Posh writes in almost a style of magical realism sense when she describes of her excitement and reaction of her initial fame, upon the release of the Spice Girls’ first hit, “Wannabe.” She brims with glee and a smugness at her new found popularity and not to heed or take notice of those who describe themselves as friends of hers from school, in order to sell their stories about her to newspapers. For she had no friends and shows us again why as she cattily calls them all liars and with no reservations at doing so.

She explains to us the phenomenon of the group. That, at the time, what set them apart from everybody else was that they were unique. A fresh idea. They jumped on the desks of executives during auditions and were five individuals with their own personalities. They were the first of their kind.

“Like Elvis, like The Beatles, like The Sex Pistols.”

Ok, stop.

Did Victoria Beckham just compare The Spice Girls to The Sex Pistols?

(head in hands)

Away from the ludicrous sentiment and the ridiculous image that statement conjures, I do understand what she means. It’s just that she’s wrong.

The Sex Pistols (and The Beatles) weren’t the first at all to do anything within their time and genre that followed, they were just the protagonists, the right snotty little bastards at the right time. The catalysts, if you will. Many would argue that what The Beatles did was not unique in any terms. The Beatles image came from other established Merseybeat acts who already existed in the area. Ringo and the boys actually started out with a biker image and had a completely different sound but like The Pistols were the focus of the success around them and the culture that they duly influenced through their success. Again, the catalysts.

Another example would be Nirvana. Ok, wait a minute, as much as it is also true, I’m not comparing the fucking Spice Girls to Nirvana.

She continues to describe this global acheivement. That of... Girl Power.

“By Christmas, ‘Wannabe’ had sold three million and was Number One in twenty seven countries. I don’t think I could even name twenty seven countries without looking at an atlas.”

I agree. Surely, you would just need to read out all of the stamps on your passport anyway?

How can you not remember where you have visited? Even when it is limo, stage, hotel, plane, limo, stage, hotel, plane as she describes.

“No other pop band since The Beatles had done what we had done. One of the reasons was that there was no competition. There was no American equivalent to what we were doing. Not since New Kids on the Block had there been anything in America that was what you might call pop. It was only after our success that pop music began to take off in America, with people like Britney Spears and ‘Nsync. We opened doors for acts like this.”

Humble, is she? Well, yet again when she is writing about her chosen profession, the music industry, she is not entirely true.

Michael Jackson, back when it was okay for kids to like him did pretty alright sales wise. Ok, he’s not a band but Sweden’s Ace of Base are and in 1994 they sold sold 8 million copies of their debut, 20 million worldwide. Perhaps not competition during the reign of “Girl Power” being that it was in 1994, but definately since The Beatles.

The likes of ‘Nsync and more importantly, The Backstreet Boys existed and had chart success abroad but not back home. Doors may have been opened but they were certainly already ajar. The Spice Girls didn’t make music labels rush together similar groups or anything and they were not a great an influence like Victoria clearly believes. The US in the late nineties was essentially focused on RNB, Hip Hop and Country music, not as she writes, just Pearl Jam and Nirvana ‘whose songs are all about death and drugs and all that.’

To those not familiar with those two highly influential bands, they’re not and they are certainly more credible and were more highly regarded than The Spice Girls. To put Victoria straight, Nirvana were long disbanded by 97 and the US rock industry had moved on in the four years of the said bands popularity and highest grossing albums and this was highlighted solely by the success of No Doubt’s album Tragic Kingdom (which spent more weeks on the Billboard album chart than Spice in 1997), an epic display of singalong melodies fused by ska, uptempo punk and essentially (whether she likes it or not), POP.

This very fact was confirmed by singer Gwen Stefani’s prescence on the American Idol judging team this year, a credible position and honour Posh Spice would trample over any member of her family in her Jimmy Choos for.

Speaking of losing a member, Victoria insists there was no in-fighting or falling out like the press intensely speculated.

“Nobody was to blame for Geri leaving except Geri.”

But she didn’t let that hinder from musing about why she did too. In fact, she’s quite clear that it was her dancing that wasn’t upto scratch.

“She did get criticized for it, and its horrible. When people say you’re the one with no talent, which they did. And I should know.”

...actually being the one with no talent. I know. I know. Low blow. But come on, what exactly were you talented at? Dancing? Pouting? Being a style guru? It’s certainly documented that it wasn’t signing. Even when you did live concerts, you sang over a backing track and mimed the choruses. No amount of saying that you are concentrating on dance routines can excuse that.

At the time of this book’s release, the press twitched and bemoaned about Posh making David move from his beloved Manchester to a London club, near where they were both from as she talks about the temporary nature of their initial purchase together up north.

“When it came to our real home, the one where we’d bring up our family, then it would have to be in London.”

Ok, so how do you explain the move to Madrid? Oh, wait a minute, aren’t you moving to LA? Oh, the logic and how times change.

Victoria forever tries to convince us through this book that this is how their life operates. That they are just another mum and dad in the playground, cleaning up sick from the front of their child and changing nappies like everyone else. She tries to hard to convince us and I end up not buying it towards the end. I’m quite happy to admit that the press (collectively) have behaved appalingly towards her, despite sometimes showing some random and often heartfelt restraint.

I realise life can be hard for her despite her vast wealth, a thing she annoyingly plays down. The snatched moments she gets with her husband and the time they get to spend with one another is sometimes heartbreaking and I couldn’t imagine going through the same rigmorole that they have to apart to make their vast wealth, yet that much more vaster. The amount of holidays that they go on is nauseating and there is no mention of the good I’m sure that they probably also do for people less fortunate than themselves, within all this. Or maybe that’s it. Maybe they just don’t.

In regards to her weight we get (through the course of the book) about ten different diseases/reasons for why she is thin when really, the pressures of soceity and the world that she is are the ones to blame. That and her raging self consciousness and belief in herself for what she really could acheive if she really stopped worrying about being in the shadow of such exceptional talent. A talent that is adored by millions. Victoria is wonderfully arrogant but also incredibly naive and uninformed about the music industry, which is a shame. She talks about music like kids do in the playground, with no sense of experience or knowledge and seems to have had no fact checker working on this book.

Primarily, this is a masterclass in puppy dog eyes deception. That is what is in essence Victoria. Media manipulation. It takes a lot, a hell of a lot of manipulation and in many ways, desperation to stay in the media focus so much when in essence, your brand (as a single person and a couple) is faltering in the country that made you such a success. Victoria’s solo career fell at the first, unwise, spacey vocal, dance music, hurdle. The Spice Girls never recovered after losing a member, two albums into their world domination and as a brand, the gradual extraction of David from our world essentially (first losing him from domestic football to a Spanish team and then his step down from international duties) affected their profile. Almost certainly. Their obvious progression to Hollywood and the making of the Land of the Free, their home.

The thing with Victoria is that the public have never warmed to her. She seems incredibly insincere and Brits do not like that. The fake and staged photocalls of her looking up at him adoringly like you are posing for a fashion shoot don’t cut it in the real world. Our world. Her quest for fame has been a choppy one and the gradual realisation from the general public of her limited talent at a number of ventures matched with her extreme wealth is hard to sit with. That’s got nothing to do with women’s envy over her union with quite possible the most eligable spotstman of his generation, she’s just not very likeable.

This book is quite good. It’s entertaining. It flows and is written quite well, it’s coherent, established and covers a great deal of emotions. A fascinating expose of an interesting mind. I just don’t think she had a great deal of input. This was highlighted when she went onto Woman’s Hour upon release and admitted that not only did she not write a word of this tome, she hadn’t even read it yet.

[Tish · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is, such a poorly written book 😂! It's full of grammatical errors, spelling mistakes and it needed a huge edit done to it, but that also only shows that Victoria herself wrote it. She is not an author, just a young woman trying to tell her story.

The book felt like having a conversation with a friend, how something they're saying reminds them of something else and they go off on a tangent but you never actually get to find out the original trail of thought aha!

I really enjoyed it though, I found her so funny and completely different to how she is still portrayed in the media. I loved reading it, it felt like a time capsual to the 90s, it shocked me in places, I'd forgotten how terrible the 90s were on women's bodies and you can really see the inherited thoughts she has due to it. She shows the hardship to fame and what fighting the onslaught of press was like. I feel she's owed an apology tbh.

[Danni Khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE VICTORIA BECKHAM!! she was my fav spice girl and i followed her then and i follow her now, she is so multi-talented.. she is a true gem and an amazing fashionista and great artist musically and in the fashion industry!! KUDOS Becks

xo

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't follow the lives of celebrities like they're the only thing in the world that matters but I do enjoy autobiographies (usually of comedians or athletes I admire the work of) so when I saw this for 50p in my local charity shop I figured it was worth a pick up.

As well as a look into the life of one of the most famous woman (and later couple) on the planet it's also an insight into how the music industry works and how celebrities feel about the way they're portrayed by the media.

This book is, in part, a big F U to all the people who treat Victoria Beckham (formerly Adams) like crap and told her she'd never amount to anything. Right or wrong (not sure how I'd react) she pulls no punches with naysayers.

But there's more than that. There's the formation of the most successful girl group in history, her romance and eventual marriage to David Beckham which led them to be one of the most talked about couples, death and kidnap threats, betrayal from within which read like a crime novel to which I'm thinking "It's so obvious" but when it's someone's lives and not fiction obviously it'd not so obvious.

I really enjoyed this book. Beckham doesn't seem to be half as pretentious as she's made out to be. She uses the word "bloody" too often for my liking but that's hardly a crime.

[Knobby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like most people who read this book, I grew up with the Spice Girls and was on a kick of reading musician/band memoirs and such -- Victoria's book had higher reviews than most so I picked it up. I really enjoyed it, to my surprise. She talks about her childhood of being kinda chubby (because of polycystic ovaries), her hard work ethic, and the trials of being a celebrity. She is a little bit defensive about a few things, and not just in a "let me set the record straight" manner, but also in a more raw, hurt way: she bitches about Geri a lot. But all in all, it was interesting to see the person behind Posh Spice.

This was written over a decade ago, and only after her first son was born. I'd love to read a new memoir detailing the past ten years, three children, and the growth of her fashion empire.

[Pixie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Worst autobiography ever. I thought, in order to write a book about your life, you have to have something happen to write about. The only thing that happened to Victoria Beckham was being in the spice girls. So not worth the read.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

What can I say? Its a guilty pleasure I have with reading celeb bios.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

She puts an interesting perspective on her story so all in all interesting. She should have waited however, there’s so much more to the Beckhams than is in here.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining book. Sometimes I was frustrated with how little Victoria Beckham thinks of herself and also with the little digs she made about her sister Louise, but the book really is her journey into her own confidence and self-acceptance. Her depiction of her family life is sweet and worth the read.

In her journey, I could see some struggles that many women face, and I am glad she speaks up about how difficult it is to leave your child with others to work when all you want to do is mummy him/her. I am also glad she spoke to self-confidence issues, being assertive, having a sense of humor and dealing with constant criticism.

I am glad she did not try to force a "message," but just let her life story speak for itself. I think people can take many things away from this book. I understood that experimenting with life fully, rather than staying stuck in that one image you have of yourself, can be a wonderful way to grow as a woman.

This was definitely a refreshing take on celebrity life and on the journey of a women through her own phases of personal growth to realize her place in the world. I would consider this book empowering for women, because Victoria is no repressed housewife with unfulfilled dreams. She owns her motherhood and her personal womanhood and ambitions all at the same time.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three and half stars and well deserved. This is not brilliant literature, but as someone who usually reads classics and high-brow stuff, I actually quite enjoyed this. I don't know how much of her autobiography was re-written or marketing-oriented, but I got a really good sense of VB's personality and life from reading it. It was refreshing to read about such a famous person and come out with a pure sense of their humanity, their vulnerability. VB is very honest and straight-forward about her life and what she had to do to get to where she is. She doesn't try to be objective and portray herself as a saint or as an all-accepting person. She really gives HER point of view. I developed a new kind of respect for this woman who I would not have looked up to otherwise because she is obviously not an intellectual. She is clearly very sensitive about what is written about her in the media, yet you can tell she depends on that relationship to develop her brand and keep herself in the spotlight. As a performer, she says that's where she's happiest. I recommend this book for anyone looking for female figures to look up to, who is curious about VB or who wants to know what it was like to be a Spice Girl.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

+ I loved reading about Victoria & David and how the met. So so cute. Their relationship must be incredibly strong to survive all of the affair allegations(that still go on today..), their security guard who leaked a lot of their personal information, and various death and kidnapping threats. So crazy. They've been put through the ringer for sure, but I guess that's part of what you go through when being famous.
+ Of course I loved reading about the Spice Girls!!! Unlike Geri's autobiography that was often boring, Victoria'd book had me quickly turning pages! I even enjoyed reading about her life before the Spice Girls.
+ It was interesting to read Victoria's side of the story about Geri leaving the band. Geri always said that the Spice Girls knew she was leaving....they really had no idea. Victoria was very hurt because she was the closest to Geri. They had met way before the Spice Girls!
- Sometimes Victoria would mention different events all at once, and it became confusing. She did keep the book interesting and fast paced though!
- I would have liked to hear more about the Goodbye album, and Spice World movie promotions.

[Jody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Victoria (a.k.a Posh Spice) was always my favourite Spice Girl. I added this book to my "To Read" shelf a while back and I continued to browse past it and wonder. Finally I decided to purchase it (as a used copy, because I couldn't find a new one online anywhere :() and I wasn't disappointed. I learned so much about Victoria and how the Spice Girls was just a single snapshot of her life as a whole. I remember a lot of the stories told in this book, but when I think about it, I was only 10 years old when "Spice" was released.

I especially like how she is so real in this book. Lines like "I know Posh wasn't anyone's favourite Spice Girl" shows that she was still an insecure person even at the height of her fame. That being said, there was some truth. I didn't know a single person (other than myself) who said Posh was their favourite. We also learn the story behind why Posh becomes the "Spice Girl who doesn't sing".

If you like the Spice Girls, I would suggest reading this book. It'll give you insight into a very famous, down to earth, person who has the same every day struggles as the rest of us!

[chucklesthescot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Never believe all you read in the papers!I was surprised to like this book,not being a great fan of the Posh and Becks brand or the Spice Girls but it is a good read.
Victoria talks about the nonstop pressure of the Spice Girl existance, not being able to spend time with her family or David, and how everything was controlled by the manager that they fired. She talks about her terror when the life of her son Brooklyn was threatened,receiving bullets with her and David's name on them and being betrayed by people she thought were friends.It was interesting to read her opinions on all the celebrities she met-nice ones like Demi Moore,Madonna and Elton John,bitches like Naomi Campbell.
It certainly was interesting to read things from her point of view including the accusations of David's infidelity when she was pregnant.

2.5 out of 5

[Kenney Broadway · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this for a course on autobiographical writing I took when I was in England. While in England, I bought about thirty books (the availability of bookshops was just too tempting). I brought nearly all of those books home with me. This one I left in the "bin" -- that's Brit-speak for trash can. To say that the writing and content was vapid would be giving it way too much credit. A lot of people ask me if I think Victoria Beckham actually wrote this or if she employed a ghostwriter. I can't say for sure, but if this is ghostwritten, then Posh definitely deserves her money back. Just be glad there isn't a half star option.

[Tess · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have no expectations about this book. Surprisingly though it was entertaining for the most part. Its kinda dragging in the beginning (maybe because I am not a Spice Girl fan, no offense) but it sort of developed into a more serious, melodramatic, "is this for real" type of story. The part about Mark the bodyguard/traitor was scary...no other word for it.

I like it. It is not the best book ever but its inspiring. Its a glimpse to one overly insecure yet very ambitious and driven woman. Its a life of a famous wife with an even more famous husband. But more importantly, its one woman trying to be a MOTHER in the middle of all that. Not bad..Posh, not bad indeed. :)

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, I'm surprised. Victoria was always my least favourate spice and now I feel a bit bad as it appears that she knew she was the least liked and had more image issues than the others. (I always thought she was arrogant and loved her image). I have found she has quite a bubbly personality and found out things that I didn't know about her life. Out of all the spices bios I enjoyed this one the most. Especially after I was dreading this one the most. It was personal and warm and felt like a diary. I have found I like the Victoria from this time. She looks a little weird now with surgery. Would have finished this sooner but went on holiday and left it at home.

[Aileen Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book makes for a very interesting comparison with the other Spice Girl autobiography I've read, If Only by Geri Halliwell. Where Halliwell seems determined to give people in her life the benefit of the doubt even when they've hurt her, heaven help anyone who has wronged Victoria Beckham! She is cold, cutting, and remorseless when recounting betrayals. But that sure makes for some very entertaining reading! And I admire Victoria for being so sure of herself and her judgements. I wish I could be like that sometimes! Plus, in addition to her entertaining writing style, prepare to find a suspense story to rival any fiction about halfway through!

[Hayley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this autobiography, I'm not a big fan of autobiographies but this caught my attention as she is one of the most written about women in the world. To hear how she grow up and how she was like most people, unhappy with the way she looked and teased at school (all things that happened to myself) it made me realise you can do anything you set your mind to with a large amount of determiation and a lot of courage. I would recommend this book because it is an interesting read and there are some great photo's of her as her not so glamorous younger self.

[Jayme · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was definitely a fan of the Spice Girls back in the day and Posh was always my favorite. I truly enjoyed reading about her growing up and the creation and evolution of the Spice Girls. The color photos - many of which were candid and not taken by paparazzi - added a nice touch. I was surprised to learn about the multiple death threats, and the kidnapping threat on her son when he was just a baby. I think she just wanted people to know she was human. This book was written in 2001, so there's definitely an opportunity for her to write another.

[Sugarrr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't a big Victoria Beckham fan until I read the book. She is just so likeable, funny, honest .
I do wonder if this was written by a ghostwriter or smethng because the writing style us really good and I can't imagine her writing like that lol
You get a good look behind the scenes how spice girls came to be and how she met and fell in live with her husband among other things.
It was a very entertaining read , for someone who grew up in the spice girls era and loved their music this is a must read!!!

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a new respect for Victoria after reading this book. Although the Beckhams were married when she wrote this book, it was before they became the massive media storm that they are now. The book shows that far from just being 'the posh one' from the spice girls, she has worked hard to get where she is and has more brains than most people give her credit for. She is very honest about her childhood, being bullied etc. An insightful read...

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would've given this book more stars if it wasnt so long. And outdated. It was pretty dry until she meets David, then it gets more interesting. I think they are a super cute couple and it sounds like they really love each other. The part where she was talking about the kidnapping and death threats was creepy to read. Cant imagine what it was like to actually live through it. She needs to put out a more recent book since a lot of stuff has happened since this was published back in 2001.

[Lori LaBelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rarely read autobiographies but I picked this up for 20 cents at a thrift store. I am really enjoying this!

Ok, I am almost done and I have to say I loved this book. I feel so bad for how the media attacks these celebrities. Yes, they are in the public eye but that doesn't make them public property.

[Emma Topp · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a massive Spice Girls fan as a kid I read this as a teenager as soon as it came out. I found it interesting to learn about the real person behind the celebrity and when you are a teenager its helps to realise the celebs are human too! My favourite parts were ones about the early days of the Spice Girls. As the first autobiography I read, it didn't disappoint.

[Sylvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I seriously enjoyed this book! It gave a very honest and open view of Victoria and her life. She is a stronger person than many give her credit for. As well, as being very motivated to do all the things she sets her mind out, to do! She adores her family which is very clear! And she is a very deep person which so many seem to want to label her shallow, when that is so very opposite of the truth!