Guilty Pleasure

There are three reasons why I decided to read Rob Lowe’s autobiography, Stories I Only Tell My Friends. 

1)      Another avid reading recommended it.

2)      Curiosity

3)      I am a West Wing junkie and especially loved his character, Sam Seaborn.  (I own all 7 seasons, could kick some serious butt at West Wing trivia and have a daughter named Ainsley…though in my defense my husband suggested the name first).

The West Wing aside, I was not overly familiar with Rob Lowe or his body of work.  I was too young during his “brat pack” days to appreciate St. Elmo’s Fire or About Last Night, though, after reading his book, I think that I might have to fire up the Netflix and watch those two classics.  I have seen him in the Austin Power’s movies and know that he has been in some TV movies.  Other than that, my knowledge is zip, zilch, zero. 

I have to say Stories was actually a pretty interesting book.  While at times I found myself skimming more than reading, Lowe was always able to pull me back in to his story.  The early part of his life was spent in Dayton, Ohio (interesting enough, also where West Wing cast mate Martin Sheen originates), and this is where his love of acting first developed.  After two failed marriages and some (continuing) mental health issues, his mother decided to move the family to Malibu, California…enter the interesting cast of characters that helped shape Lowe’s life and career.  It was here that Lowe became friends with some eventual big name stars.  Long before they were famous, Lowe hung around with Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheet and Sean Penn.  Class clown Robert Downey Jr. shared a high school history class with Lowe.  Then nobody Tom Cruise hung out with Estevez and Lowe as they all worked to break into the business.  To think, those were his childhood friends.  Along the way, Lowe crossed paths with other now household names.  While filming a movie in Chicago, Lowe shared Thanksgiving with a wealthy family and a beautiful teenage girl dressed as a fairy princess.  Not long after this, Daryl Hannah entered the acting world when she starred in the hit movie Splash.  Lots of partying, drinking and sex later, Lowe makes his way through rehab and turns his life around.  And this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Rob Lowe’s life experiences.  Overall, I would have to say that this was an enjoyable, easy read…just be forewarned…if your political leaning are more towards the conservative side (not that there is anything wrong with that), you might want to skim past his political views and participation in various campaigns.