Lindsey Stirling

I was honestly surprised how much I enjoyed this memoir. I read it in one sitting last night. I've followed Lindsey Stirling's career ever since I saw her first youtube video in 2010 and this book offered a unique and eye opening glimpse into her childhood, beginning of career up until now. I have a much greater appreciation for her after reading this. She is very unassuming and modest (I had no idea she was Mormon!) which is rare for a musician of her fame and talent. She stills drives her show more parents old Toyota Echo (that's my car!), spent a year and a half as a Mormon missionary on the East Coast, worked her way up from the bottom, threw herself back into her music after losing America's Got Talent, worked through her anorexia, and eventually achieved super stardom after a lot of hard work and support from family and friends that never gave up on her. It's an inspiring memoir and a must read for fans of her music. Teens and adults that like "clean" memoirs (no drugs, sex, or alcohol) will also enjoy this, it's very refreshing honestly. show less

I really like Lindsey Stirling, so when I first saw her book on the shelf I knew I needed to at least give it a shot, even though I expected it to be similar to other recent "this is my life" books published by YouTubers. And it was, but still an enjoyable read. Also, since it was available at my local library, it's part of my Read Your Library challenge.

What I really liked about this is that Lindsey isn't afraid to dish on herself. She shares the good with the bad and doesn't ask for pity show more at any point. It's easy to see why she's been such a success in her music career. Her approach to life is worth reading about and emulating if you need a little inspiration. I feel like I learned a little about myself while I was learning more about Lindsey Stirling, and what more can you really ask for from any book? show less

It's funny, it's quick, it makes me want to come back and read more. That's a five star rating in my ledger. If you liked Felicia Day's book, this is cut from the same cloth. They're both YouTubers, both violinists, both thrive on production, and both don't need no man (sisters doing it for themselves).

It's candid, it's upbeat, it's intriguing. I couldn't tell how much was Lindsey's voice and how much was her sister, but both are fun to read. The content is as quirky as her, but retains the show more solemnity of her talent. It's the kind of book you could start at bed and then stay up half the night reading. It doesn't talk about the nitty-gritty of moving from nothing to an international concert thrower, but it does about other personal issues. Usually, these are framed with more depression and darkness (Angela's Ashes) than a Lifetime movie. But this one doesn't do that. It offers hope.

This isn't relevant to the review, but makes me a little sad that there's so little about the father. He only gets a 1500 word chapter. If that was excised, you'd think she was raised by a single mom. Don't dads have a role in life? I hope if my daughter becomes a famous violinist, she tells me how Andrea Bocelli was mean to her. show less

At times this book reads like a young adult self-help book, but I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. Lindsey's childhood was a lot like mine, right down to growing up in an LDS family of girls, so any reservations I initially had were squashed because this is a person I could relate to. Lindsey is a unique person, and I'm glad she's had the courage and tenacity to share her talents with the world; I'm a little bummed I never ran into her while I was at BYU.

This isn't another one of show more those pretentious memoirs about a twenty-something trying to figure stuff out—it's full of stories of an unconventional life, and it's hard to not to feel like you've made a friend for life by the end. show less