Synopses & Reviews
Actor, producer, and
New York Times bestselling author Rob Lowe offers up a collection of personal stories in an honest and celebratory memoir about men and women, art and commerce, fathers and son, addiction and recovery, and sex and love.
Actor Rob Lowe is an entertaining raconteur whose bestselling first book, Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography, was hailed as “self-deprecatingly funny” (The New York Times) and “thoroughly entertaining” (Time) and earned the author the cover of Vanity Fair. Love Life serves up another delicious selection of intimate stories and observations from Lowe’s life, told with humor, warmth, and brutal honesty. After writing his acclaimed debut effort, Lowe felt he had more stories to share and many more friends to introduce. The result is a touching memoir about the business and craft of acting, the pitfalls of success, family, love, and much more.
Among the many adventures Lowe describes in Love Life are what it’s like in the trenches as both the star and producer of a flop TV show; how a visit, as a twenty year old, to Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion led to a surprise in the hot tub; how an actor prepares for a role, as well as the practical, boots-on-the-ground details no drama or film school would ever teach you. You’ll delight at the hilarious account of the time a major movie star stole his girlfriend, and of coaching a kid’s basketball team dominated by omnipresent helicopter parents. The story of coming to terms with his son’s departure to college for the education his father never got will touch anyone with a family.
Building on Stories I Only Tell My Friends, Love Life is the literary equivalent of returning to a favorite restaurant to savor a completely different, delicious new dish. If you love life, you’ll love this book.
Review
“[Lowe] skillfully weaves stories together with common themes and a philosophical perspective. … Fans who fear he gave up all the good stuff in the first book will be pleasantly surprised. … Lowe’s candor and willingness to admit his flaws create an authentic voice. His easy writing style will hook readers who won’t judge his book by the handsome man on its cover.”
Review
“Lowe's self-effacing and straightforward assessments of his own foibles and weaknesses, combined with first-rate storytelling skills. . . .make [Love Life] still feel like a night on the town with a well-connected, charismatic friend with more tales to spill. . . .[I]t's sweet, and he includes very funny accounts. . . . Showing how well he can laugh at himself. ”
Review
“Lowe addresses his life with a welcome levity. This book confirms that Lowe is more than just a pretty face."
Review
"[Lowe] writes with perspective and humorous self-effacement.”
Review
“Not just pretty but witty and wise.”
Review
“[Love Life] is loaded with showbiz anecdotes, self-deprecating tales and has a general sweetness that some readers might not be expecting from Lowe.”
Review
"Engaging, relatable… entertaining and admirably frank."
Review
“A savvy writer with a quick wit, Lowe invites readers into his world with easy charm and disarming frankness.”
Review
"Lowe had been reborn as a winning memoirist."
Review
“Somehow Lowe manages to describe a visit to the Playboy Mansion and an unpleasant grade-school sleepover next to the manatee tank at Sea World with equal enthusiasm.”
Review
“If you love Rob Lowe, you'll love his "Love Life."…. His self-effacing humor keeps the pace brisk.”
Review
“The fact that his second book is every bit as engaging as the first proves his point. I’m betting he could do an equally fine job on a third.”
Review
“Lowe vividly depicts what it was like to be a 19-year-old Hollywood heartthrob. . . . As in the best celebrity memoirs and musings, Love Life is sprinkled with star power. . . . [Lowe] spills secrets and private thoughts with eloquence.”
Review
“Lowe is a gifted storyteller who uses humor and self-deprecation to draw readers in, and keeps their attention with fun tales of Hollywood behind-the-scenes.”
Review
“[An] easygoing but thoughtful memoir.”
Review
“Incredible. … This isn’t your typical celebrity written book. This was a fun read and very well written, that’ll have you laughing and shedding a tear along the way.”
Review
“A wild ride of a memoir by Rob Lowe that will leave you amused, fascinated and ultimately charmed.”
Review
“[Lowe is] an interesting and perceptive writer.”
Review
“An interesting read, and a page-turner. Lowe has an amazing insight about life and what is important.”
Review
“Love Life is just as genially and charmingly guarded as its predecessor. … [Lowe] is admirably self-aware.”
Synopsis
On the heels of his
New York Times bestselling
Stories I Only Tell My Friends, Rob Lowe is back with an entertaining collection that "invites readers into his world with easy charm and disarming frankness" (
Kirkus Reviews).
After the incredible response to his acclaimed bestseller, Stories I Only Tell My Friends, Rob Lowe was convinced to mine his experiences for even more stories. The result is Love Life, a memoir about men and women, actors and producers, art and commerce, fathers and sons, movies and TV, addiction and recovery, sex and love. Among the adventures he describes in these pages are:
- His visit, as a young man, to Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion, where the na ve actor made a surprising discovery in the hot tub.
- The time, as a boy growing up in Malibu, he discovered a vibrator belonging to his best friend's mother.
- What it's like to be the star and producer of a flop TV show.
- How an actor prepares, for Californification, Parks and Recreation, and numerous other roles.
- His hilarious account of coaching a kid's basketball team dominated by helicopter parents.
- How his great, great, great, great, great grandfather may have inspired everything from his love of The West Wing to his taste in classic American architecture.
- His first visit to college, with his son, who is going to receive the education his father never got.
- The time a major movie star stole his girlfriend.
Linked by common themes and his philosophical perspective on love--and life--Lowe's writing "is loaded with showbiz anecdotes, self-deprecating tales, and has a general sweetness" (New York Post).
Synopsis
ROB LOWE IS BACK WITH STORIES HE ONLY TELLS HIS BEST FRIENDS.
When Rob Lowe’s first book was published in 2011, he received the kind of rapturous reviews that writers dream of and rocketed to the top of the bestseller list. Now, in Love Life, he expands his scope, using stories and observations from his life in a poignant and humorous series of true tales about men and women, art and commerce, fathers and sons, addiction and recovery, and sex and love.
In Love Life, you will find stories about:
• KISSING UNEXPECTEDLY
• THE SECRETS THEY DON’T TEACH YOU IN ACTING SCHOOL
• HIS GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT GRANDFATHER’S ROLE IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
• PARKS AND RECREATION, BEHIND THE CANDELABRA, AND CALIFORNICATION
• TRYING TO COACH A KIDS’ BASKETBALL TEAM DOMINATED BY HELICOPTER PARENTS
• THE HOT TUB AT THE PLAYBOY MANSION
• STARRING IN AND PRODUCING A FLOP TV SERIES
• CAMPING AT SEA WORLD
• PLAYING SAXOPHONE FOR PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON
• THE FIRST JOURNEY TO COLLEGE WITH HIS SON
• WARREN BEATTY
• THE BENEFITS OF MARRIAGE
Throughout this entertaining book, you will find yourself in the presence of a master raconteur, a multi-talented performer whose love for life is as intriguing as his love life.
About the Author
Rob Lowe is a film, television, and theater actor; a producer; and an entrepreneur. He is also involved in politics and is the author of Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography. He lives in Los Angeles.Rob Lowe is a film, television, and theater actor; a producer; and an entrepreneur. He is also involved in politics and is the author of Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography. He lives in Los Angeles.