Brendan & Lori O'Gara

Like many Americans I have a fascination with the British royals. The idea of a queen or king is romantic to us because we don’t have one. Little girls want the fairytale. Unfortunately, reality is far from a romantic fairytale.

I hesitated to read Spare because of what I thought I knew of Prince Harry and the royals. I loved Diana and was a bit disgruntled about the way she was treated by the queen. Of course my long distance view was completely manipulated by the media, which Harry goes to great lengths to explain.

In Spare Harry tells us from his perspective what happened between the royal family and him. He describes the Palace staff’s skill of feeding a narrative to the media. It’s not difficult to feel empathy for Harry and Meghan as you read the story. The book reminds me of Paul Harvey, “Now the rest of the story.”

I wanted to reach into the book and hug the hurt little boy prince. Yes the story is a bit whiny poor little rich kid, but the sad fact is he and his brother were motherless children. Why on earth didn’t their dad and grandmother hug them and love them more? I’m not surprised Harry used drugs and William became aloof.

All in all, the book was worth the time. Just remember it is one side of a multiple side saga and from one point of view.

Light & Love, Lori