- Hardcover: 416 pages
- Publisher: Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd; First Edition, First Impression edition (16 Oct 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0283073675
- ISBN-13: 978-0283073670
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16 x 4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 550,399 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
The Sun, May 2003
This is one book you can't afford to miss - and it's hard to put down.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
Television presenter Ulrika Jonsson started to write her autobiography at a very troubled time in her life. Her unborn child had been diagnosed with a rare and life-threatening heart condition, and she was facing it alone because the child's father had left her. She had a son by her first marriage to look after, and a string of failed relationships behind her. Seriously depressed, living with a constant barrage of media comment and criticism, she had lost any sense of who she was. Ulrika started to write as a way of trying to understand herself and her life. It took two years to complete.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Finally! An autobiography written by someone who has a comprehension of the English language!
22 Sep 2007
Format:Paperback
I originally bought and read this when it was released in hardcover nearly five years ago, but as I am re-reading it, I decided she deserved a review.
I didn't like Ulrika; I thought she was an unfaithful, talentless attention seeker. However, after reading the book [and now I am a little bit older] I can finally see her as a woman who's had a tough life, made some mistakes but has lived to tell the tale. For an autobiography, it's very well written which is a bit of a novelty in this day and age [I'd like to think she didn't use a ghostwriter].
Ulrika writes in a very matter of fact manner. She's been used and abused by men, [and life in general] and yet she's no victim.
I didn't like Ulrika; I thought she was an unfaithful, talentless attention seeker. However, after reading the book [and now I am a little bit older] I can finally see her as a woman who's had a tough life, made some mistakes but has lived to tell the tale. For an autobiography, it's very well written which is a bit of a novelty in this day and age [I'd like to think she didn't use a ghostwriter].
Ulrika writes in a very matter of fact manner. She's been used and abused by men, [and life in general] and yet she's no victim.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I wasn't a fan of Ulrika, I thought she was pompous, looked down her nose at people and I found that irritating, until I saw her on Big Brother, where I saw her softer side and I warmed to her. This book was recommended by a friend. Although I wouldn't say it was a page turner, I did find it enjoyable, and very witty in parts. She has a great sense of humour, and this definitely comes across in the book. On a personal note - her early memories of being abandoned by her mother, and being left with her 'cheating' dad clearly affected her life and her lack of ability to choose the right partners in her life, and this was sad to read. I think she still struggles with the relationship with her mother, and I can relate to that.
The book certainly is 'honest', however what you have to remember is that two people can tell very different sides of a the same story and both tell it 'honestly' so yes it's an honest account of things, but from one perspective.
What I struggled to understand though was why she kept making such bad choices of men, and when she starts having children (all bar the John who was the only stability in her life, and whom she chose to cheat on and leave) she naively goes from one bad relationship to another. If I was going to psycho-annalyse I'd say that having stability was not a familiar feeling for her, and that it un nerved her, so she kept on almost punishing herself, going on self destruct, and choosing these unsuitable men, which is fine if you're just on your own, but not when you have children, it seemed immature, careless and selfish. A lot of the time I was wondering when she was talking about others, what their side of the story would have been. It's obviously her thoughts and opinions, but I found myself wondering what the 'other side' of the stories would have been, how they would differ and what they would have said about her. In parts I didn't feel she looked objectively at other people, and as another reviewer pointed out, she depersonalizes and uses 'nicknames' for people she doesn't like 'The German, The Italian' etc... and it does get tedious.
I found it interesting to read about her troubled relationship with Stan Collymore (I only obviously knew what had happened through the press, and I know from experience what they're like), and how her personal and business life was affected by her ongoing problems with the press. But what I found most interesting was how she built her very successful career. She is ambitious, a hard worker and incredibly driven, all of which I very much like about her and admire her for. I love reading about successful women. Ulrika has done incredibly well for herself and I believe she would have found writing her book theraputic, and I hope she has finally learnt from her mistakes seeing things in black and white and that her marriage to Brian will see her settled and happy for many years to come. I wish her all the very best - she deserves it.
A note to some of the other reviewers... there was no ghost writer acknowledged in her book, I read it from start to finish so I can only conclude that this is indeed all her own work with the help of an editor, and if so well done Ulrika! It's a fantastic achievement.
The book certainly is 'honest', however what you have to remember is that two people can tell very different sides of a the same story and both tell it 'honestly' so yes it's an honest account of things, but from one perspective.
What I struggled to understand though was why she kept making such bad choices of men, and when she starts having children (all bar the John who was the only stability in her life, and whom she chose to cheat on and leave) she naively goes from one bad relationship to another. If I was going to psycho-annalyse I'd say that having stability was not a familiar feeling for her, and that it un nerved her, so she kept on almost punishing herself, going on self destruct, and choosing these unsuitable men, which is fine if you're just on your own, but not when you have children, it seemed immature, careless and selfish. A lot of the time I was wondering when she was talking about others, what their side of the story would have been. It's obviously her thoughts and opinions, but I found myself wondering what the 'other side' of the stories would have been, how they would differ and what they would have said about her. In parts I didn't feel she looked objectively at other people, and as another reviewer pointed out, she depersonalizes and uses 'nicknames' for people she doesn't like 'The German, The Italian' etc... and it does get tedious.
I found it interesting to read about her troubled relationship with Stan Collymore (I only obviously knew what had happened through the press, and I know from experience what they're like), and how her personal and business life was affected by her ongoing problems with the press. But what I found most interesting was how she built her very successful career. She is ambitious, a hard worker and incredibly driven, all of which I very much like about her and admire her for. I love reading about successful women. Ulrika has done incredibly well for herself and I believe she would have found writing her book theraputic, and I hope she has finally learnt from her mistakes seeing things in black and white and that her marriage to Brian will see her settled and happy for many years to come. I wish her all the very best - she deserves it.
A note to some of the other reviewers... there was no ghost writer acknowledged in her book, I read it from start to finish so I can only conclude that this is indeed all her own work with the help of an editor, and if so well done Ulrika! It's a fantastic achievement.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I'm just finishing the book now and have found it to be a real page-turner. From her sad, rather neglected childhood, the book charts her story, through her arrival in England as a foreigner to her rise as an overwhelmingly successful television personality who has had her own shows and presented Eurovision and the Royal Variety Show.
What makes this story so interesting though, is not the steep climb in her professional life, but more the ups and downs and vulnerabilities of her personal life where she paints herself at turns as both villainous adulteress and victim. This is an incredible book and I have enjoyed it thoroughly.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Honest
Read about this book in a sunday newspaper. Thought I'd have a read. I like true stories and accounts of peoples lives. Very interesting. Don't judge people by what you see on tv.
Published 9 months ago by Jackie
Honest?
In response to the review by A Reader (anon) entitled Liar....
It would appear to be somewhat unfair for the author of this piece to be so judgmental towards Ulrika. Read more
It would appear to be somewhat unfair for the author of this piece to be so judgmental towards Ulrika. Read more
Published on 11 Feb 2007 by Mrs Pickers
Honest...kind of
I'd always found Ulrika a tad irritating but this book changed my opinion...until she began tearing Sven's partner Nancy to shreds in the closing chapters. Read more
Published on 8 May 2006 by Daisy Duke
Honestly
Ulrika Jonsson is one of those celebrities mainly known on her own territory -- namely, the U.K. That gives American readers of her autobiography, "Honest," a chance to take her as... Read more
Published on 19 July 2005 by E. A Solinas
Amazingly well written and superbly funny!!
Well Ulrika's biography is certainly a cracker and stands out from the crowd of the ghost written genre. Read more
Published on 19 Mar 2004 by J. Maher
Surprisingly wonderful
I was lent this book and only read it because it seemed rude not to. I am so glad I did. She does not try to make herself out to be perfect and she is frank about her problems... Read more
Published on 28 Aug 2003
me me me!!!!!
I bought this book because i saw Ulrika been interviewed on tv and i thought she seemed nice.However i got a little bored reading it and my conclusion is that Ulrika seems to be a... Read more
Published on 25 July 2003
Honest is the Word
I am only half way through this book and finding it very interesting, enlightening and honest, as the book says. Read more
Published on 21 July 2003 by Helen
honest review
I found this to be a book that I couldn't put down. The book as the title suggests appears to be a very honest account of Ulrikas life and how she was feeling at the time. Read more
Published on 2 Jun 2003 by "hayleyrob01"
A Long Long road....
Ulrika jonssen honest. the title is completly true. i didnt know much about ulrika so i decided to read. Her life has been overshadowed with ill health, affairs and depression. Read more
Published on 23 Mar 2003
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