REVIEW - Cher (audiobook)

 Cher: The Memoir (Part 1) by Cher (audiobook)

OVERVIEW

Wow! Cher lets it all hang out in Part 1 of her memoirs. This book covers her life before she was born and ends with her move to New York to pursue her acting career without a man in her life in approximately 1980. 

She details her marriages with Sonny Bono and Gregg Allman and relationships with David Geffen and Gene Simmons. She also discusses her music career including the ups and downs including her television shows and tours. It is a Cher fan's dream!     

But there is a lot of sadness in this book also. Cher had a difficult childhood so she would run wild to escape and explore. She was kicked out of her mom's home as a teenager setting her up to meet Sonny Bono who would change her life at sixteen. 

Finally, Cher was lucky in her career breaks, but biggest of all was surviving the '60s and '70s when so many died young. 

Full disclosure: there is a lot of raw language. So if that offends you, don't read this book. 

OVERALL REVIEW: 4.5 stars

Writing: 4.0 stars

The writing was perfect for an audiobook, but I'm unsure if it would be the same for a Kindle or print book. She has a warm, but honest style of writing. She talks about her recollections about events and people with some of these stories ending tragically or badly. Cher is real when talking about the "casting couches" in movies and the cut-throat music business. 

I think Cher had a ghostwriter to "clean up" the writing, but it ultimately came across as HER writing and her book.  

Narration: 4.0 stars

So the narration was really unusual for any audiobook that I had read. Cher has dyslexia which I didn't know. So narrating the entire book would have been difficult for her to say the least. 

A workaround was created where Cher would narrate the beginning of each chapter and then her narrator would take it from there. It worked well. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Cher so the transition to the narrator was somewhat jarring. 

 

Character Arc: 3.5 stars

This audiobook was in a somewhat chronological order, but it went back and forth in time which wasn't easy to follow. This method of storytelling is exactly how I think Cher tells stories in real life. But in an audiobook, it can be difficult to follow. 

Also, there were so many different people in this book from writers, directors, singers, musicians, and other people in her life that I didn't always understand Cher's relationship with them. However, it was easy to just ignore the lack of context and enjoy the audiobook. 

I would also say that some editing would have helped this memoir. This is only Part 1 of her memoir so there is still more to learn about Cher and her life!

Memorable:  5.0 stars

Since this was a tell-all memoir, it really told it all! From what Cher discusses, Phil Spector was bizarre even back then, Sonny was a womanizer and control freak, and she met some very good people along the way including David Geffen and Bob Mackie. 

By telling her issues with the men in her life, she will help others who read her book realize they can leave their controlling husbands or boyfriends. Cher wrote the ultimate female empowerment self-help book and it was awesome. 

As another California girl, Cher sounds like a girls girl, and would be amazing to have a nice long dinner with her by the beach in Malibu. 

Entertaining:   5.0 stars

This is so obviously top-notch. Cher knew everyone who was anyone! She has wild stories from Salvador Dali to Cass Elliot. It was fun to listen to and I am grateful she survived it.

Part II of her memoir should be another fun ride. 

Book cover: 5.0 stars

Perfection.       

Book title: 5.0 stars 

Perfect.  

STRONG recommend

STATISTICS

Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) borrow (audiobook)

Cher: The Memoir (Part 1) by Cher

HarperCollins

15 hours, 47 minutes

Release date of 11/19/2024

INFORMATIONAL LINKS

Cher

My Goodreads review

HarperCollins

Los Angeles Public Library

Happy reading, 

Dorothea 💜