Nick Carter was only 12 years old when he rose to international fame as a member of the best-selling boy band Backstreet Boys. While he was living the dream of young musicians everywhere in studio and on stage, there was much about his life behind the scenes that soon became a nightmare of his own making. Raised in an atmosphere of fear and neglect, Nick carried his childhood chaos with him into his career, self-sabotaging through the abuse of alcohol and drugs to the point where he – and his heart – nearly imploded. When Carter’s long road back to mental, physical and spiritual health was interrupted by the drug-overdose death of his sister, Leslie, he vowed to share all that he has learned about overcoming life’s challenges – particularly self-defeating behaviors – with others. What results is a rare memoir that combines deeply personal recollections with constructive advice to help you replace your most damaging, self-defeating behaviors with new habits to reclaim and enrich your life.
“Your environment can shape you. If you don’t decide what you want to do with your life and go after it, you’ll end up just taking what life give you.”
It’s been a while since I wrote a book review so I’m excited to start back. My goal is to write at least 200 reviews for the blog and we’re at only 89.
We have here a memoir/self-help book by Nick Carter. Writing his name just takes me down memory lane for the Backstreet Boys used to be my favorite band and the piercing blue-eyed blond was my favorite. My favorite songs were “Quit Playing Games With My Heart” and “Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely”.
Anyway, I’m here about Nick’s book. As I mentioned, it’s not a tell-all memoir. Rather, it is a self-help book and I get the sense that Nick wants to help people who’ve threaded familiar paths, but it appeared a little repetitive. However, it is one of the best rare memoirs I’ve read given that I don’t care for celebrities’ stories. The book is packed with statistics on binge drinking and smoking, two nasty habits Nick worked hard to get over.
Nick grew up in a dysfunctional family, something he was always vocal about and being in the spotlight made him a target for spiral downfalls. Although he is trying to be a better man as each day passes by, there is still the nagging thought that he might relapse. It’s a repetitive thing we’ve seen over the years with celebrities; they say they’re on the mend and 3-5 years later, they’re falling off the wagon and reverting back to their old ways. That’s when they realize that they’re not strong enough.
Over the years, Nick has matured, and he is now married and he is also a dad. I must say that fatherhood looks good on him.
His goal is to motivate readers and although I am not motivated, I really enjoyed this book. Nick bares everything from his past to his readers as if he was talking to a personal friend. He was brutally honest and it felt like I was attending a therapy session. Nick encourages readers to keep fit, eat healthily, and to work on their goals. He also got spiritual for a moment when he talked about thinking good thoughts so you won’t be tempted by the devil (it takes more than this, but cleaning out your mind and replacing the negative with cleanliness is a good start). So, the real take away from this mem-self-help, is that everyone struggles with something, but we can overcome them with the right mindset. I have no idea what Mr. Carter is up to lately, but once he’s still a part of the industry, peace may not be permanent in his world.
QUOTABLES
The entire book is almost quotable and since I’m a quote collector, I’ll share a few of my faves:
^ We all want to help others who are struggling in their lives, especially if they are our loved ones, but as these universal survival methods prove, you have to save yourself first. Being a martyr or a victim does no one any good. You need to be strong, stable, and secure before you can see anyone else to safety. (Page 24)
^ There is shame only in wasting your life by not making the most of your talents and your gifts and the precious time you’re given. (Page 24)
^ You can’t go back and make things better either. And you certainly can’t fix everyone in your life. But you can fix yourself and that should be your focus. (Page 47) This was my message for Postive Monday this week! 😃
^ And remember, the people who are best for you may not always tell you what you want to hear, but you can count on them to tell you what you need to hear. (Page 70)
^ Remember you have the power to choose a positive attitude even negative things happen to you. (Page 79)
^ There are two wrong ways to handle mistakes. One is to pay no attention to them at all and just keep making them. The other is to get angry and depressed but not learn from them or make corrections. (Page 82)
^ Like so many other child celebrities, I stayed young in all the wrong ways for too many years and had a lot of growing up to do. (Page 225)
COVER:
I love how stripped down the cover is! 5/5 for me.
OPENING:
While writing this book I took a break to get together with some old friends and a few million other people. That’s when I found myself standing on a stage in New York City’s famed Central Park kicking off the Labor Day weekend. I was performing in public for the first time in many years with all of the original members of Backstreet Boys. This was the launch of our 20th-anniversary reunion tour and it was being broadcast around the world as part of the television show Good Morning America.
VERDICT:
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