Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love
Ratings65
Average rating3.8
A truly appreciated the stories, feelings, thoughts and life that JVN shared in this book. I felt joyous and upset at different times, and thank them for having the courage to share.
I listened to the audio book, which I think let it shine more being told in the original voice, as intended.
I love him even more now! A must read/listen for JVN fans, so touching and inspiring.
Really good. He was very open and and this book is an important read I would recommend.
The flow was good too, with transitions where needed.
An amazing audiobook! Deep and thoughtful while still being hilarious. This deals with addiction and recovery in a way that is informative while still remaining light hearted.
I loved this. Funny, courageous and always entertaining. I have a newfound respect for jvn! I did not know anything about jvn's life.
I appreciate all kinds of memoir, especially about struggles, but this lacked something for me. And the Bill Clinton interlude? I understand cutting the tension but this too fell flat. I feel like I didn't really learn much about who JVN is and instead was more impressed by his seemingly-encyclopedic knowledge of Olympic athletes.
Jonathan has lived quite a life and really turned things around for himself. It's not surprising that he is so compassionate with the people he meets through his show “Queer Eye”. I think this would be an amazing book for a young person in the LGBTQ++ community to read, but really, anyone who has ever struggled with abuse, drugs, family dynamics, sexual issues or self-love will be able to relate. Johathan talks about it all and is honest and raw, but manages to remain funny and upbeat through it all.
It feels wrong to rate someone's memoir, as if you're ranking their life and pain. My two-star rating is based only on the writing and pacing of this book and is no way reflective of JVN's struggles and triumphs. Jonathan is an amazing and powerful presence, and I hope this book is inspirational to many. It's not, however, well crafted or edited. The timeline, especially in the beginning, is all over the place, leaving the reader immensely confused about what happened & when. Cliches abound, and JVN doesn't really touch on how he overcame addiction, abuse, and depression, other than the generic “self-love and care.”
I almost DNF that book. Almost.
Queer Eye is one of my utmost favourite TV series of all time. I love the rhythm, all transformations and the dynamic the Fab5 have. Although, after that, I realized that... would be better to keep loving them away from reality.
I do not love Jonathan more or less than before after listening to his biography. I do respect him and his trajectory – even the deep bad things that he let happen to him and what he suffered too – to become the JVN that we love so deeply in the series.
However... I was expecting more. I was expecting a different part of his life to be presented. I was hoping to listen to his family, his stepdad and their relationship that he always said it was so, so close and unique (note only his childhood, when they first met). I was expecting more step by step ways to ensure and love yourself.
I was expecting less ice-skating, self-destruction emphasis, less groceries and indulgent unhealthy food descriptions.
It's Jonathan! I was expecting feeling light, full of energy, laugh out loud with his stories and bravery while challenging and overcoming life obstacles. But no. I kind of became depressed and grumpy with all. And unsatisfied with what I was spending my time with.
At some point, I've started to blame myself for not being an LGBTQ+ person hence to not appreciate or make connections with what was his reality, his true demons.
It's pretty sad to give 3 stars for an autobiography. Obviously, that doesn't mean that his life until now worth 3 stars.
But for now... I do not think this book could be used as a feeding soul material for me.
I love JVN.
That being said... he's better in word than text. It was basically like reading one big long podcast. I will listen to JVN. I will watch JVN. But I did not enjoy trying to read JVN.
I've loved Jonathan ever since he started on Queer Eye. This memoir gave me a deeper look at his life and what he's had to endure to get to where he is now. It was funny, raw, and emotional. Reading his story made me love him even more. What made this even more of a 5 star read for me was listening to it on audiobook. I could feel all his emotions as he read his story. Such a great book!
Listened to the audiobook. He's definitely not a writer, but there are some flawed/funny stories, some in particular about risk-taking, boundary issues, and sorting through your multiple performative-selves that I think teens especially will find relatable. He does at least acknowledge that his family privilege got him out of some circumstances that others would not be able to bounce back from. A mostly interesting listen.
This book very much reads like a transcribed convo (monologue) with JVN, which personally I enjoyed very much but I could see it being a turnoff to some readers. a lot of the “shocking” reveals from this book have kind of already come out via interviews and shorter articles but it's still a VERY raw memoir (as mentioned in the title) about some really tough issues, yet it also has hilarious moments. Basically–if you are already a fan of JVN I think you will enjoy this book! If you're not, well, you're not.
Over the Top is exactly what you expect and not at all what you expect. It's a celebrity memoir, but JVN takes it to the next level. He's so open and raw. I appreciated that so much. I feel weird rating it because of the subject and because it's his life story. It was great, flowed well, and had a good balance of laughter and heartache. Some reviewers didn't like a few of the tangents, but they seemed natural to me. But then again, I'm all for a good tangent. I also got to walk away with one of my favorite quotes ever.
“I might look like sixteenth-century Jesus, but sometimes I struggle with being the landlord of Petty Lane.”