What do you think?
Rate this book
Hear Me Out
"I can't rewrite history; all I can do is be honest and wear my heart on my sleeve. It's really the only way I know. I want to show people the real me. Or perhaps remind them. Because, somewhere - among the nightclubs, the frocks and hairdos, the big chart hits, and the glamor of being a popstar - the other Sarah Harding got utterly lost. She's the one who's been forgotten. And all I want is for you to hear her out." This is Sarah Harding, in her own words.
320 pages, Hardcover
Published March 18, 2021
159 people are currently reading
715 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Harding
3 books5 followersSarah Nicole Harding was a singer, model, and actress who came to prominence though the ITV series Popstars: The Rivals.
On 26 August 2020, Harding stated that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer that had advanced to "other parts" of her body. In March 2021, she said that the disease was terminal and that she did not expect to "see another Christmas".
Harding died on the morning of 5 September 2021, aged 39.
Abridged from Wikipedia
On 26 August 2020, Harding stated that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer that had advanced to "other parts" of her body. In March 2021, she said that the disease was terminal and that she did not expect to "see another Christmas".
Harding died on the morning of 5 September 2021, aged 39.
Abridged from Wikipedia
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 201 reviews
October 15, 2023
I don’t think I’ve ever read a memoir from a dying author. Especially not a young artist I grew to admire when she described her life and journey. Despite the pain she suffered, she managed to tell her story coherently. I think knowing that Harding had died when I hear the audiobook strengthened the impact it had on me, especially when we got some pages from loved ones describing Sarah. Rest in peace Harding.
March 18, 2021
Emotional, beautiful, hopeful
I have just read the entire book in one day-need I say more
Wishing you all the strength and love Sarah x
I have just read the entire book in one day-need I say more
Wishing you all the strength and love Sarah x
March 21, 2021
What a beautifully real, funny and heartbreaking book. I love how honest Sarah was, particularly about her ADHD as it’s so often seen as just a hyperactive little boys’ condition when actually yes, girls can have it too! It just often manifests itself in a very different way... I could hear Sarah’s voice throughout and her stories were hilarious. I’m so glad I got to hear her out.
March 21, 2021
This was the most emotional biography I’ve ever read ! It’s an amazing, sad, emotional but lovely read. Such a lovely girl with a massive hurt going through the fight of her life 😢 she’s an inspiration and such a lovely women.
July 8, 2021
Firstly, I have always loved Sarah Harding. For me she stood out in Girls Aloud. Thought she was especially gorgeous. Loved her vivacious, OTT, wild, personality. Also helped that I loved Girls Aloud music. They kind of epitomise everything I like about pop music. Great image, great music, glossy, high energy, with indie musical elements thrown in. Pure pop basically. To hear that Harding has got terminal cancer is simply heart-breaking. How unfair that someone in their prime is being taken. So, so cruel. You might expect this book to be a complete downer as a result. In fact, it's heartfelt, honest and never mawkish. In a strange way I found it weirdly uplifting actually. I think that may be to do with the fact that she's describing in real time the outpouring of affection for her from her family, friends and fans and what that is giving her. You get the sense that she always had a fragile confidence and perhaps she is only now getting a sense of how loved she is. The story also manages to highlight the impact of lockdown on other non-covid illnesses and the incredible role of the individuals in NHS in her care. Your heart goes out to her, especially as she mentions her regrets. For example, the sudden realisation on the phone to Cheryl when she realises she won't have children. What's also lovely about this book is that Harding gets the chance to set the record straight on so many of the tabloid stories told about her. You can tell she's gotten a lot from the process of writing this book. I guess she's documenting her legacy, her life: taking back control of her narrative. Good for her.
March 19, 2021
Midnight, crying and hoping for the best
Sarah and Girls Aloud marked my life, even me being in Mexico and having to wait some time to get their albums when released, anyway internet has been a good friend.
I read the whole book in a day and finished it at midnight, it was great to remember those times listening to their music and watching them perform.
All I can do is hope for the best as everyone who knows Sarah's life and work, and thank her for those great memories in the life of us.
Sarah and Girls Aloud marked my life, even me being in Mexico and having to wait some time to get their albums when released, anyway internet has been a good friend.
I read the whole book in a day and finished it at midnight, it was great to remember those times listening to their music and watching them perform.
All I can do is hope for the best as everyone who knows Sarah's life and work, and thank her for those great memories in the life of us.
March 7, 2025
I devoured this - this is a popstar i miss every day. Equally funny and heartbreaking, this felt like an intimate conversation by the narrator who did a brilliant job.
May 7, 2021
The best GA book
I read this book as a fan and I was pleasantly surprised by how well written it was (I've read my fair share of poorly done non-fiction). There are so many things to quote, bits of trivia and pieces of wisdom all throughout, the chapters and quotes are well dispersed and it's overall a relatively easy read (not counting the emotional side)... I hope Sarah gets an award for writing this.
It's lovely how honest and transparent she is. I've enjoyed Kimberley's and Cheryl's books, too, but they certainly tried to portray the girls in a certain light, whereas Sarah's book is doing the opposite. We're all aware of how pop group members tend to play exaggerated caricatures of themselves in order to stand out, but this Sarah in all her complexity hit so close to home. Perhaps we're all Sarah.
Most of all, I love her tone of writing and that she packed jokes and fun moments within the book. I wish Sarah all the best.
I read this book as a fan and I was pleasantly surprised by how well written it was (I've read my fair share of poorly done non-fiction). There are so many things to quote, bits of trivia and pieces of wisdom all throughout, the chapters and quotes are well dispersed and it's overall a relatively easy read (not counting the emotional side)... I hope Sarah gets an award for writing this.
It's lovely how honest and transparent she is. I've enjoyed Kimberley's and Cheryl's books, too, but they certainly tried to portray the girls in a certain light, whereas Sarah's book is doing the opposite. We're all aware of how pop group members tend to play exaggerated caricatures of themselves in order to stand out, but this Sarah in all her complexity hit so close to home. Perhaps we're all Sarah.
Most of all, I love her tone of writing and that she packed jokes and fun moments within the book. I wish Sarah all the best.
April 9, 2021
A really honest and humbling account by Sarah Harding. I listened to this as an audiobook and found myself in tears several times. Celebrities certainly don’t have it all and the press images we see are often far from the truth. I hope Sarah’s health improves and she continues to find strength and courage.
November 6, 2021
Reflections and lessons learned:
“…maybe if I could bring myself to talk about it, it might help some other people going through something similar…”
I watched Popstars the Rivals, and was pleasantly surprised when the girl group, although dressed like trash even for the time, came out with a kickass song, dance routine and quite empowering attitude (amazing to look back at Phixx and see what would air on TOTP at the time! No wonder the phrase phwoar was still in regular use in reviews then!). The songs weren’t always for me, but of course I knew the words to the hits, and would dance madly if the upbeat tunes came on at the wrong time with the right friends. I really was the wrong age group though, and whilst I knew a few bits about Girls Aloud, I wouldn’t have classed myself as a large scale fan. So why did the news about the death of Harding seem like a punch in the guts in mid 2021? How cruel for her to not to have made 40. I hadn’t followed her career and knows very little about her as a person, but this seemed such a sad shame - essentially a fast loss of a young woman in these circumstances will always be awful, and was a timely reminder in the chaos of the pandemic that no one is immune to the variety of health horrors that make us human.
This book was much more of a balanced approach to the two sides of the publically addressed tale than expected - an autobiography of the pop career and sleb, retold around the development of her health conditions. I wasn’t sure whether I was being a bit ghoulish reading this within a few months of her passing, but it was the measured retelling that I’d hoped for it to be
“…maybe if I could bring myself to talk about it, it might help some other people going through something similar…”
I watched Popstars the Rivals, and was pleasantly surprised when the girl group, although dressed like trash even for the time, came out with a kickass song, dance routine and quite empowering attitude (amazing to look back at Phixx and see what would air on TOTP at the time! No wonder the phrase phwoar was still in regular use in reviews then!). The songs weren’t always for me, but of course I knew the words to the hits, and would dance madly if the upbeat tunes came on at the wrong time with the right friends. I really was the wrong age group though, and whilst I knew a few bits about Girls Aloud, I wouldn’t have classed myself as a large scale fan. So why did the news about the death of Harding seem like a punch in the guts in mid 2021? How cruel for her to not to have made 40. I hadn’t followed her career and knows very little about her as a person, but this seemed such a sad shame - essentially a fast loss of a young woman in these circumstances will always be awful, and was a timely reminder in the chaos of the pandemic that no one is immune to the variety of health horrors that make us human.
This book was much more of a balanced approach to the two sides of the publically addressed tale than expected - an autobiography of the pop career and sleb, retold around the development of her health conditions. I wasn’t sure whether I was being a bit ghoulish reading this within a few months of her passing, but it was the measured retelling that I’d hoped for it to be
April 11, 2021
Reading this book had been both great & sad. She's certainly had an interesting life. She writes with great honesty about what she's going through now.
April 2, 2021
I wish Sarah the absolute best in her battle and the way she opens up around her diagnosis and cancer treatment is inspiring. She is a ball of energy and her voice is absolutely evident in this bio, something that I find a lot of other celeb autobiographies struggle with.
I felt a bit letdown with how little music is discussed, we get a fair bit of info about Girls Aloud's debut album and key singles that followed but Sarah's solo song/EP Threads is never mentioned by name and her solo venture was glossed over a bit.
Elsewhere, it got a tad repetitive (namely in the "I'm not just a party animal" narrative that is referenced pretty much relentlessly) but I found it an easy read. As a massive Girls Aloud fan, I feel I now know Sarah even better and, let's be honest, that's exactly why we pick up an autobiography isn't it?
I felt a bit letdown with how little music is discussed, we get a fair bit of info about Girls Aloud's debut album and key singles that followed but Sarah's solo song/EP Threads is never mentioned by name and her solo venture was glossed over a bit.
Elsewhere, it got a tad repetitive (namely in the "I'm not just a party animal" narrative that is referenced pretty much relentlessly) but I found it an easy read. As a massive Girls Aloud fan, I feel I now know Sarah even better and, let's be honest, that's exactly why we pick up an autobiography isn't it?
March 20, 2021
Makes you really like and feel for Sarah Harding, but a bit of a boring read
I'm so sad about Sarah Harding having breast cancer and think she's fantastic. However, I did skim read this book because most of it was just not very interesting, maybe not very well written? But she's a singer not an author so what can you expect?
I'm so sad about Sarah Harding having breast cancer and think she's fantastic. However, I did skim read this book because most of it was just not very interesting, maybe not very well written? But she's a singer not an author so what can you expect?
March 21, 2021
Gripping and moving. So full of admiration for Sarah. She's led (& is still leading) a very full, absorbing life. I wish her all the best going forward - sure this book will be a source of comfort and inspiration to many.
July 12, 2022
Made me cry rip :(
June 13, 2024
Funny at times. You get to understand the woman she was. Not the way she was portrayed by the Tabloids. Very sad as well.
March 20, 2021
I read the book in one sitting, I couldn’t put it down. It was emotional and I appreciated the updates she gave us about her health throughout the book as that can’t be easy to talk about. Sarah and girls aloud have giving me some of the best memories.
I hope you stay strong and keep fighting Sarah, Thank you for sharing your story.
I hope you stay strong and keep fighting Sarah, Thank you for sharing your story.
April 1, 2022
I was never a Girls Aloud fan - I think I was just that bit too old for their demographic in 2002 - but I did hear some of the songs out & about. I remember hearing that Sarah had breast cancer & that she sadly died in Sept 2021, so when I saw that my local library had Sarah's autobiography available for download, I decided to give it go. It's a strange read, with the feeling you have when Sarah is talking about being positive & hopefully beating her illness, & yet you know it ultimately claimed her life.
There's obviously quite a bit about her life in Girls Aloud, but the other members of the band are fairly shadowy figures. I don't feel as if I got to know any of them more, even the author. I didn't realise what a struggle Sarah had had from the start, & just how bad things had become with her illness. Yet another person taken from us tragically too young. RIP.
There's obviously quite a bit about her life in Girls Aloud, but the other members of the band are fairly shadowy figures. I don't feel as if I got to know any of them more, even the author. I didn't realise what a struggle Sarah had had from the start, & just how bad things had become with her illness. Yet another person taken from us tragically too young. RIP.
September 13, 2021
I felt compelled to read this after hearing the terrible news of Sarah's death after her battle with breast cancer at just 39. This really hit home because she's of a similar age and I lost a good friend to cancer just a year earlier. I was startled to learn of Sarah's strong musical background and ambitions long before Girl's Aloud came around, I had no idea about this. On screen she came across as strikingly confident so it was refreshing to read from her point of view the behind the scenes details and how nervous she was before each performance. Her huge talent as a singer/songwriter is something I wasn't so aware of and it's just a shame that the world didn't get to hear more of her own written music. RIP Sarah.
May 15, 2022
I really liked Sarah Harding. In this book, written in the last months of her life, she comes across as warm, funny, kind and her own worst enemy at times. Beautiful and fiesty with a fabulous voice, it is sad that her life was so short and her last two years were so difficult.
September 12, 2021
I wanted to pay tribute to this beautiful girl and thought the best way to do it would be to read her book and dedicate a post to her on here.
Sarah was a member of the girl group Girls Aloud, I loved watching them get selected on Popstars the rivals in 2002. At the time I was in charge of running the rep shows on a large campsite in France and every year I'd get myself and a group of girls to perform Girls Aloud songs, I'd always be Sarah as I was a blonde like her. I felt an affiliation with her as we were a similar age and very bubbily, I loved performing as her.
Her biography was released earlier this year. I listened to the audiobook and I finished it in a day. It was fascinating hearing about her life and she has definitely reignited my love of biographies and I intend listening to more in the future, especially of girls from pop bands, I read Victoria Beckham's and Geri Halliwells 20 years ago and loved them.
Sarah announced in August 2020 that she had been diagnosed with advanced breast cancer and sadly passed away 3 days ago on the 5th September aged 39. I cried at the prologue of this novel... when she refers to her cancer in this book she's so positive and full of hope, I admired her words so much. Knowing the end of her story while reading this book was heartbreaking but I'm SO glad she decided to write this book when she did because it's a beautiful insight into her life. She was courageous, crazy, bright and beautiful.
I hope Sarahs situation helps encourage as many ladies as possible to get themselves checked out especially when they find lumps or bumps. I make yearly appointments with a gyno here in France, she keeps me in check and sets me up with smears and mamograms, it's so important.
I dedicate this to the memory of the brave and beautiful Sarah #forever young
Sarah was a member of the girl group Girls Aloud, I loved watching them get selected on Popstars the rivals in 2002. At the time I was in charge of running the rep shows on a large campsite in France and every year I'd get myself and a group of girls to perform Girls Aloud songs, I'd always be Sarah as I was a blonde like her. I felt an affiliation with her as we were a similar age and very bubbily, I loved performing as her.
Her biography was released earlier this year. I listened to the audiobook and I finished it in a day. It was fascinating hearing about her life and she has definitely reignited my love of biographies and I intend listening to more in the future, especially of girls from pop bands, I read Victoria Beckham's and Geri Halliwells 20 years ago and loved them.
Sarah announced in August 2020 that she had been diagnosed with advanced breast cancer and sadly passed away 3 days ago on the 5th September aged 39. I cried at the prologue of this novel... when she refers to her cancer in this book she's so positive and full of hope, I admired her words so much. Knowing the end of her story while reading this book was heartbreaking but I'm SO glad she decided to write this book when she did because it's a beautiful insight into her life. She was courageous, crazy, bright and beautiful.
I hope Sarahs situation helps encourage as many ladies as possible to get themselves checked out especially when they find lumps or bumps. I make yearly appointments with a gyno here in France, she keeps me in check and sets me up with smears and mamograms, it's so important.
I dedicate this to the memory of the brave and beautiful Sarah #forever young
April 14, 2021
Really heartbreaking book, but I have to say it was well written and I was left feeling a lot of affection for Sarah, who comes across as so authentic and unfailingly honest.
Admittedly I didnt know very much about Sarah other than her great voice, I didnt know she struggled with ADHD, and like Im sure most people felt, I was very sad to hear her statement last year about her health issues and prognosis.
There is a lot of humour in this book and Sarah is honest about her treatment and prognosis, but she is also positive and unfailingly kind, her love of her friends, family and fans shines through and I felt she is very genuine and good hearted.
I wish her the very best and my thoughts are with this lovely lady as she continues her treatment.
A very good read indeed x
Admittedly I didnt know very much about Sarah other than her great voice, I didnt know she struggled with ADHD, and like Im sure most people felt, I was very sad to hear her statement last year about her health issues and prognosis.
There is a lot of humour in this book and Sarah is honest about her treatment and prognosis, but she is also positive and unfailingly kind, her love of her friends, family and fans shines through and I felt she is very genuine and good hearted.
I wish her the very best and my thoughts are with this lovely lady as she continues her treatment.
A very good read indeed x
September 12, 2021
You have this perception of these women, never from themselves but from the early 2000 tabloid magazine culture and it makes you wonder about the intense physical toll the pressure of that life must have taken on a body. Sarah was clearly talented, complicated, kind, unlucky in love. It was lovely to hear about her life from her point of view. RIP.
June 16, 2021
Can’t say I’ve always been a fan of hers but wanted to read her story to see if I would like her after reading her own truths. She admits she’s not always been on the right side of things and she’s had many relationships but on the whole I do feel for her in what she’s going through now. No-one deserves to be going through this.
July 4, 2021
This book takes me back to the early 2000! Interesting hearing about the party scene back then and what Sarah was getting up to with the band behind the scenes.
Sad news about Sarahs illness. I wish her all the best and hope everything works out for her.
Sad news about Sarahs illness. I wish her all the best and hope everything works out for her.
April 23, 2023
I love autobiographies, and books on people's lives, and this one did not disappoint.
Hear Me Out gave a first-hand glimpse at Sarah's life from starting off her career in Girls Alouds, and all the pressures and anxieties that came with the lifechanging experience to her cancer diagnosis, right up to when she broke the news via social media, and the thought process behind breaking the news of her diagnosis to the world.
Could not recommend this enough .
Hear Me Out gave a first-hand glimpse at Sarah's life from starting off her career in Girls Alouds, and all the pressures and anxieties that came with the lifechanging experience to her cancer diagnosis, right up to when she broke the news via social media, and the thought process behind breaking the news of her diagnosis to the world.
Could not recommend this enough .
March 21, 2023
It was a very tough read about Sarah's battle with cancer. But amazing to learn much more about the loud character we saw in her Girls Aloud days. Tissues at the ready!
Read
September 11, 2024No star rating as it’s a memoir.
Very interesting insight into Sarah’s life in GA and after. Such a sad ending for a young girl. Well written and insightful.
Very interesting insight into Sarah’s life in GA and after. Such a sad ending for a young girl. Well written and insightful.
March 23, 2021
Paused my other audible and book to read/listen to @sarahnicoleharding. It was so good i could not stop so 6+ hrs later im done with this one. Made me smile and cry. Very brave and open. Really hoping Sarah wins this frigth.
October 27, 2021
Enjoyed reading this although it was ultimately quite sad.
Sarah seemed so full of life and very misunderstood so it was lovely to read her side of the story.
Sarah seemed so full of life and very misunderstood so it was lovely to read her side of the story.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 201 reviews