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High Hopes: Making Music, Losing My Way, Learning to Live
'Steve beautifully communicates his vulnerabilities in his music -- he does the same in this powerful story' Niall Breslin
As lead singer and songwriter of hugely successful Irish rock band Kodaline, Steve Garrigan plays to thousands of fans worldwide - his business is being in the spotlight. But, for years, Steve was privately battling his own demons.
High Hopes is a deeply personal memoir about how everyone carries a story. In his down-to-earth and often humorous style, Steve takes us from his childhood growing up in Dublin and the shyness that only dissolved in front of a microphone, to the highs of rock star success touring and playing stadiums, and the lows of anxiety, depression and panic attacks.
Ultimately, his story describes how it is only by learning to share our deepest vulnerability - embracing all aspects of our true selves - that we can work through darkness and ultimately find freedom.
As lead singer and songwriter of hugely successful Irish rock band Kodaline, Steve Garrigan plays to thousands of fans worldwide - his business is being in the spotlight. But, for years, Steve was privately battling his own demons.
High Hopes is a deeply personal memoir about how everyone carries a story. In his down-to-earth and often humorous style, Steve takes us from his childhood growing up in Dublin and the shyness that only dissolved in front of a microphone, to the highs of rock star success touring and playing stadiums, and the lows of anxiety, depression and panic attacks.
Ultimately, his story describes how it is only by learning to share our deepest vulnerability - embracing all aspects of our true selves - that we can work through darkness and ultimately find freedom.
- GenresNonfiction
237 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 7, 2021
13 people are currently reading
101 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
October 30, 2021
Kodaline is my favourite band of all time, and the way Steve Garrigan opens up about his mental health has made me realise that I properly need to go and get my anxiety sorted. Read this book.
November 2, 2021
A raw and honest read that feels like Steve is sitting down to have a chat with you. It can be a hard read but very funny at times. This book is VERY relatable if you have ever struggled with anxiety and or panic attacks and I highly recommend it even if only just to realise that you are not alone if you are feeling this way.
Well done Steve for being so open and for sharing your story. I think it will help others, particularly men, to seek help if they recognise any of the syptoms or struggles Steve has lived with since he was very young. It is great to see so many Irish men in the public eye such as Steve, Bressie and Dermot Whelan being so honest about their mental health and self care. It is so important.
Well done Steve for being so open and for sharing your story. I think it will help others, particularly men, to seek help if they recognise any of the syptoms or struggles Steve has lived with since he was very young. It is great to see so many Irish men in the public eye such as Steve, Bressie and Dermot Whelan being so honest about their mental health and self care. It is so important.
April 7, 2024
I wanted to get it the moment I knew it was being published but it wasn’t until this year that my boyfriend got it for my birthday. It was quite unexpected bc I told him about this book in one of our first dates back in July and when he came with it, I had already forgotten that u had mentioned it to him. And I would have never thought he would have remembered something like that. So thanks Mario 🫶🏼
I love listening to music and for me music has to have a story behind. The first time I looked the story behind a song of Kodaline was “Angel” and I learned that it was written in memorial of a girl that died in one of their concerts. Out of there I listened to an interview where Steve opens up about his issues with mental health and when I knew the book was being released I hoped he talked about it.
The beginning of the book was a bit slow as he talks about his early beginnings in music, singing in a karaoke at home and how when he went on stage everything disappeared, it was just he and the music.
It also goes into how Kodaline was created, how they changed names from 21 demands to Kodaline, how he tried to push trough into going into music despite everything going down once.
It got me thinking about what his relationship with his family is now as he talks tons about his childhood and also how big of a support his girlfriend and band mates have been through the dark times but he never says anything about his parents or siblings, even though his father works in a psychiatrist hospital.
I loved how he explained how some songs came to live and I was so happy to read that certain songs for him mean what I feel when I listen to them.
For him music is therapy, and so is for me and listening to music where you feel heard and seen helps me a lot.
I’ve seen so many similarities with him while reading the book and it has got me thinking into certain topics like trying to change my own self hate.
Moreover, I think it’s really brave coming from him to write a book where he opens up this much, he is a public figure and many people may not feel alone bc he struggles as well.
For me, the epilogue feels like a letter to anyone suffering out there (the same way as sometimes, a song of his that you should check out if you are reading all of this) about not being alone (despite the times you feel like it), about how it’s okay to ask for help and go to therapy and even take meds for it, about how anyone can suffer. Bc end of the day it’s you that matters 💙
So yes, I would read it again, but is a book for fans bc if you are not into his music it would not mean anything. Maybe the anxiety and depression part clicks in but that would be it.
“Because, after all, when it all comes to an end, the world keeps spinning” And I think this is the best ending the book could have had (the end of the lyrics of high hopes, another of his songs).
I love listening to music and for me music has to have a story behind. The first time I looked the story behind a song of Kodaline was “Angel” and I learned that it was written in memorial of a girl that died in one of their concerts. Out of there I listened to an interview where Steve opens up about his issues with mental health and when I knew the book was being released I hoped he talked about it.
The beginning of the book was a bit slow as he talks about his early beginnings in music, singing in a karaoke at home and how when he went on stage everything disappeared, it was just he and the music.
It also goes into how Kodaline was created, how they changed names from 21 demands to Kodaline, how he tried to push trough into going into music despite everything going down once.
It got me thinking about what his relationship with his family is now as he talks tons about his childhood and also how big of a support his girlfriend and band mates have been through the dark times but he never says anything about his parents or siblings, even though his father works in a psychiatrist hospital.
I loved how he explained how some songs came to live and I was so happy to read that certain songs for him mean what I feel when I listen to them.
For him music is therapy, and so is for me and listening to music where you feel heard and seen helps me a lot.
I’ve seen so many similarities with him while reading the book and it has got me thinking into certain topics like trying to change my own self hate.
Moreover, I think it’s really brave coming from him to write a book where he opens up this much, he is a public figure and many people may not feel alone bc he struggles as well.
For me, the epilogue feels like a letter to anyone suffering out there (the same way as sometimes, a song of his that you should check out if you are reading all of this) about not being alone (despite the times you feel like it), about how it’s okay to ask for help and go to therapy and even take meds for it, about how anyone can suffer. Bc end of the day it’s you that matters 💙
So yes, I would read it again, but is a book for fans bc if you are not into his music it would not mean anything. Maybe the anxiety and depression part clicks in but that would be it.
“Because, after all, when it all comes to an end, the world keeps spinning” And I think this is the best ending the book could have had (the end of the lyrics of high hopes, another of his songs).
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May 19, 2023Ups hab vergessen es upzudaten, hab es eigentlich schon vor dem Umzug beendet 😅war auf jeden Fall megaa!!!! Meine High Hopes wurden getroffen ✨Bewertung und Review kommt noch:)
January 23, 2023
I've always been a fan of Kodaline, and of Steve Garrigan in particular; his stage presence and talent are admirable.
What I didn't know until recently though is that he also struggles with anxiety and depression. In this book, he candidly writes about his experiences with mental health in a wonderfully light-hearted and accessible way.
Garrigan's book is so conversational in tone, it felt like he was actually in the room talking to me. I loved and admired his honesty about anxiety and it made me appreciate the beautiful songs he's written all the more as well now I have a better understanding of the meanings and inspiration behind a lot of them.
I also loved learning more about the roots of one of my favorite bands; how they formed, their writing process, and much more about Steve's formative years in Swords.
Despite the subject matter, this book is a light read with some hilarious anecdotes about life on the road, some of the things Steve got up to in his teens, and some of the band's earlier gigs.
Most importantly though, this is a helpful book for anyone to read if they're struggling and haven't quite worked up to seeking help. Steve's writing is friendly in tone and not at all preachy; he writes about his experiences and what worked for him, but also acknowledges that these things are different for everyone.
The added touch of helpful links and the reiteration that those of us who do struggle are not alone really makes the reader feel like they've taken advice from a caring friend.
What I didn't know until recently though is that he also struggles with anxiety and depression. In this book, he candidly writes about his experiences with mental health in a wonderfully light-hearted and accessible way.
Garrigan's book is so conversational in tone, it felt like he was actually in the room talking to me. I loved and admired his honesty about anxiety and it made me appreciate the beautiful songs he's written all the more as well now I have a better understanding of the meanings and inspiration behind a lot of them.
I also loved learning more about the roots of one of my favorite bands; how they formed, their writing process, and much more about Steve's formative years in Swords.
Despite the subject matter, this book is a light read with some hilarious anecdotes about life on the road, some of the things Steve got up to in his teens, and some of the band's earlier gigs.
Most importantly though, this is a helpful book for anyone to read if they're struggling and haven't quite worked up to seeking help. Steve's writing is friendly in tone and not at all preachy; he writes about his experiences and what worked for him, but also acknowledges that these things are different for everyone.
The added touch of helpful links and the reiteration that those of us who do struggle are not alone really makes the reader feel like they've taken advice from a caring friend.
September 16, 2023
Ik kan de schrijfstijl niet handelen.
January 8, 2022
Brilliant read for anyone struggling with their mental health (and kodaline fans)
August 19, 2022
I first saw Steve Garrigan on tv when his band, 21 Dimensions were competing in 'You're a Star'. They were our family's favourite act and I remember Brendan O Carroll commenting one night on the fact that the band, excluding Steve, were very serious ..or something on that line. I looked forward to reading his take on that and other comments from the judges and expected some great annecdotes of their time on the show including what went on backstage, how well were they treated ........but there were absolutely none.
I bought this book for my now adult kids but none of them enjoyed reading it and gave up early on. On reading it myself, I realised why.
The problem is the fault of the publisher, Hachette Books Ireland. The book is very poorly edited, many parts are extremely repeditive eg 'Johnny be good' is mentioned numerous times, punctuation is absolutely dreadful plus the storyline sequence confusingly jumps around within chapters.
I am very critical of the publisher because they have done a disservice to Steve who has written a very open account of his mental health struggles. His honest account would be tremendously helpful to so many struggling people but from my work as a nurse I know that these very people have concentration issues. The poor editing is extremely aggravating and as a result the book is not a page turner but is in fact, a bit of a struggle to get through.
Onto the storyline now. I thought the episodes of Steve's panic attacks were descriptive and must surely be a comforting read for anyone going through this. He is to be commended for his continuous battle and realisation that while he will always have a bad day, he has learned how to deal with, rather than ignoring this.
On the subject of ignoring, I found it incredible that Steve's parents were so focused on encouaging him to study law in college, yet they didn't know what points he got in the leaving cert. His mother is a teacher and his father works in a psychiatric hospital but it's incredibly frightening that neither seemed concerned that he spent months secluded in his bedroom. His sister drove him to A& E and again, no mention of concern within the family unit or follow up conversation on what was wrong. If this is all true and not just an issue of editing one cannot be surprised that Steve struggled for so long without specialised medical help. It upsettingly appears that his family were not paying attention and that open communication was absent during all those years. I'll say no more about that.
The real shame about this book is the lack of developement of storylines which are really interesting. Things are touched on, ie he met several well known celebs but there is no development of these meetings, no annecdotes of interest and this lack of story development makes the book boring. In fact, this goes for many other areas, gigs are played, we learn which songs are sung but nothing interesting seems to happen anywhere. All the guys in the band and those who dropped in and out in earlier years blend into one. Their personalities are not developed.
Steve tells the background story to Kodaline's hits which is always great to know but some stories of song backgrounds are repeated, again the editing issue.
I wish I had loved this but I didn't and I blame the publisher 100% for that.
I bought this book for my now adult kids but none of them enjoyed reading it and gave up early on. On reading it myself, I realised why.
The problem is the fault of the publisher, Hachette Books Ireland. The book is very poorly edited, many parts are extremely repeditive eg 'Johnny be good' is mentioned numerous times, punctuation is absolutely dreadful plus the storyline sequence confusingly jumps around within chapters.
I am very critical of the publisher because they have done a disservice to Steve who has written a very open account of his mental health struggles. His honest account would be tremendously helpful to so many struggling people but from my work as a nurse I know that these very people have concentration issues. The poor editing is extremely aggravating and as a result the book is not a page turner but is in fact, a bit of a struggle to get through.
Onto the storyline now. I thought the episodes of Steve's panic attacks were descriptive and must surely be a comforting read for anyone going through this. He is to be commended for his continuous battle and realisation that while he will always have a bad day, he has learned how to deal with, rather than ignoring this.
On the subject of ignoring, I found it incredible that Steve's parents were so focused on encouaging him to study law in college, yet they didn't know what points he got in the leaving cert. His mother is a teacher and his father works in a psychiatric hospital but it's incredibly frightening that neither seemed concerned that he spent months secluded in his bedroom. His sister drove him to A& E and again, no mention of concern within the family unit or follow up conversation on what was wrong. If this is all true and not just an issue of editing one cannot be surprised that Steve struggled for so long without specialised medical help. It upsettingly appears that his family were not paying attention and that open communication was absent during all those years. I'll say no more about that.
The real shame about this book is the lack of developement of storylines which are really interesting. Things are touched on, ie he met several well known celebs but there is no development of these meetings, no annecdotes of interest and this lack of story development makes the book boring. In fact, this goes for many other areas, gigs are played, we learn which songs are sung but nothing interesting seems to happen anywhere. All the guys in the band and those who dropped in and out in earlier years blend into one. Their personalities are not developed.
Steve tells the background story to Kodaline's hits which is always great to know but some stories of song backgrounds are repeated, again the editing issue.
I wish I had loved this but I didn't and I blame the publisher 100% for that.
June 24, 2024
I wouldn’t be a big Kodaline fan, but when my partner bought this Kindle book last week, I was intrigued and grabbed it before him and I don’t regret it!
Steve Garrigan isn’t the typical frontman, he has been noted as the quiet one, maybe rude and standoffish but in reality he has been suffering from and living with crippling anxiety. In this book he goes in to detail of his love of music, the lengths he went to make it and how when he thought his 15 mins of fame was over, after his time on “You’re a Star”, he went into a downward spiral.
His parents were supportive but through no faults of their own, they were realistic. They couldn’t imagine Steve making it and believed education was the solid route for him. It was this traditional mindset that made Steve suffer so much more. I don’t think they understood the significance of the joint blow of the gigs drying up after “You’re a Star” and having to also repeat the leaving cert. He felt like a failure, that everyone was judging him and was waiting for the inevitable: “what happened to the band?” quip.
Kodaline got a reemergence, a publishing deal and then a record deal. Although he finally was back playing gigs and writing songs, he wasn’t taking care of his anxiety. Music was the crutch he leaned on, but the cracks would soon show and a cancelled gig in Barcelona would be the wake up call he needed.
I did think it was quite strange that a majority of the book (60%-70%) is before Kodaline, but this is the part of his story he wants to share, a part that took him so long to share with himself and the people around him. In particular it was so sad to see that he couldn’t open up to his father, who worked in a psychiatric hospital, in case he thought he needed to be locked up. I was so taken aback by the sheer honesty and openness in this book. Definitely recommend.
Steve Garrigan isn’t the typical frontman, he has been noted as the quiet one, maybe rude and standoffish but in reality he has been suffering from and living with crippling anxiety. In this book he goes in to detail of his love of music, the lengths he went to make it and how when he thought his 15 mins of fame was over, after his time on “You’re a Star”, he went into a downward spiral.
His parents were supportive but through no faults of their own, they were realistic. They couldn’t imagine Steve making it and believed education was the solid route for him. It was this traditional mindset that made Steve suffer so much more. I don’t think they understood the significance of the joint blow of the gigs drying up after “You’re a Star” and having to also repeat the leaving cert. He felt like a failure, that everyone was judging him and was waiting for the inevitable: “what happened to the band?” quip.
Kodaline got a reemergence, a publishing deal and then a record deal. Although he finally was back playing gigs and writing songs, he wasn’t taking care of his anxiety. Music was the crutch he leaned on, but the cracks would soon show and a cancelled gig in Barcelona would be the wake up call he needed.
I did think it was quite strange that a majority of the book (60%-70%) is before Kodaline, but this is the part of his story he wants to share, a part that took him so long to share with himself and the people around him. In particular it was so sad to see that he couldn’t open up to his father, who worked in a psychiatric hospital, in case he thought he needed to be locked up. I was so taken aback by the sheer honesty and openness in this book. Definitely recommend.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 21, 2022
Having been a fan of Garrigan's band practically since the release of their first album, I found it fascinating to read through not only the journey of how they came to success but the intensity of his personal struggles with anxiety throughout the process. Constantly reminding readers to reach out for help when they need it (no matter how embarrassing it may seem at the time) this book works not only as a personal and a band memoir, but also as a guide on how to approach living with anxiety and how to make the best of the situation. Great job!
April 13, 2024
A truly open and candid account of Steve's life and the formation of Kodaline. I don't want my rating to seem harsh, it is a great book. It's written very informal and how I imagine it would be if he was telling the story but for me sometimes this was also a downside. As someone who struggles with reading, it didn't always flow for me.
February 1, 2022
I am in awe of this book. Speaking up about mental health is really challenging, but Steve has written about it so honestly and I think that is amazing. Great read. Kodaline are awesome!
August 10, 2022
This is a book I was eagerly anticipating and unfortunately it didn’t live up to my expectations. The writing style just wasn’t for me - conversational language can work but it was just too conversational for me. Given this writing approach, I found the author repeated himself quite a lot saying stuff numerous times over the space of one page. It felt like he was going around in circles at times. For this writing style, a story such as this would have sufficed as a podcast episode or would work better in audiobook format. I read the book partially on audio and I personally preferred that method of reading.
I enjoyed it from the point of view of a Kodaline fan. I love their music and they are probably my favourite band (tied closely with The Script, WDW, 5SOS & New Hope Club). There was a lot of the band’s origin story that I didn’t know about which was nice to learn about. There was less of an emphasis on mental health than what I had believed there would be. Having read Me & My Mate Jeffrey by Niall Breslin, I think I was expecting this book to be in a similar vain. However it wasn’t. This doesn’t make it a bad book, it just means it wasn’t the book I thought it would be.
3⭐️
I enjoyed it from the point of view of a Kodaline fan. I love their music and they are probably my favourite band (tied closely with The Script, WDW, 5SOS & New Hope Club). There was a lot of the band’s origin story that I didn’t know about which was nice to learn about. There was less of an emphasis on mental health than what I had believed there would be. Having read Me & My Mate Jeffrey by Niall Breslin, I think I was expecting this book to be in a similar vain. However it wasn’t. This doesn’t make it a bad book, it just means it wasn’t the book I thought it would be.
3⭐️
November 19, 2022
🫂❤️🩹
January 25, 2024
I got you brother
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