My Life, My Way

My Life, My Way is the autobiography by Sir Cliff Richard, the most successful singer, entertainer, and writer of our generation. He is unarguably the most loved and revered British celebrity of our time. This book covers almost all of his life from the earliest beginnings up to the time of printing in 2008. His style of speech comes through the narrative very well. Written very simply, and clearly, it was a great pleasure to read it, and consequently, I could understand Sir Cliff's feelings on any particular issue, hence this book is a very honest and open account that covers every aspect of his life.

Sir Cliff Richard's mother, Dorothy Webb, sadly passed away on 17th October 2007 after suffering from dementia, and this book covers many of the difficulties that he and his sisters encountered. This will be of interest to millions of people in the UK and throughout the world who have faced a similar difficulty or are currently facing it. In this book, he also writes about the difficulties that migrant families encounter, of having to uproot (p. 8). He explains that when the family moved to UK they had no home to come to. This was something that I understood very well, and found poignant, and I could relate to it in many ways, as I have never had a place I could call home either. This type of experience can stop people from starting a family of their own. It takes great courage to move a whole family from one part of the world to another and most people who have never experienced this will never know. When immigrants arrive in the UK, many look down upon them as undesirables instead of realising their courage and spirit.

I have great admiration for his work, not just within the music industry, but also for his dedication to Christian charities, and humanitarian work in general. In 1980, the Queen awarded him an OBE, Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, for his immense contribution to the music industry. In this autobiography, he mentions that people perceive him as a "weak Mr Nice Guy" figure due to becoming a Christian (p. 40). I cannot agree with that, because there are many people with a similar image. One such is Donny Osmond - Life is Just What You Make It. The thing to remember is that being nice to people is not a weakness, because it takes far more intelligence and courage to be nice to people all the time, besides, the Good Samaritan is the core concept of Christianity.

Sir Cliff is a testament to clean living, which is why at the age of 70 he still has his youthful good looks about him. I am sure he will break Methuselah's record of 969 years very easily, which is why I decided to write this. I figured it would take that long for this article to rise on the Google PageRank system!

When one considers the growing trend of superstars and their children seeking solutions in alcohol and drugs, Sir Cliff is a good example of someone who has kept a control of his life. He is a great example and therefore worth writing about and promoting. I liked his style of writing and thought it was very reminiscent to the Nobel Prize Winner Rudyard Kipling, who was also born in India. In his next autobiography, I would very much like to learn a little about his mother, where she was born, her hopes and her dreams. This Autobiography is highly recommended for everyone, and especially for those starting out in the arts and music entertainment industries, as it is a positive example of how to succeed not just in a career but in life as well.

Specification