Along the Way: The Journey of a Father and Son

This is a father-son dual memoir. I guess I'm not that into father-son dual memoirs. The stories were interesting, and I LOVE to hear celebrities read their own work, but I wasn't blown away. It didn't change my life. The most interesting parts, I thought, were when Emilio's life intersected with a bit of Rob Lowe's life, which I had already heard about thanks to Lowe's autobiography.

Not your usual Hollywood bio, and worth reading for that alone. Father and son take turns by chapter, more or less, to tell the story of their relationship, or more often, of events that they shared. Mostly this results in sharing self discoveries whether Emilio's maturing from father's boy to his own self, or Martin's coming to terms with his rages, and the damaging role alcohol played in his life.
Much of the book relates the making of "the Way" - the film they made together in Spain. Don't expect any kind of epiphany on the road to Santiago de Compostela, you will find that elsewhere in the book.
I found the section on the making of "Apocalypse Now" revelatory, but other readers may already know the story.

What a fabulous book. Sheen and Estevez may have left much out or covered much up--but it certainly seems like a deeply personal book, and I feel that if I met either one it would be like meeting up with an old friend. So much for the shallow Hollywood types.

Martin and Emilio share their history of family and their relationship as father and son. Along the way they share both their individual foibles as well as the relational struggles and celebrations. The book came about from the movie Emilio wrote and Martin stars in, The Way, which if you haven't seen do NOW! Martin shares his father's love and sacrifice, his alcoholism, early family struggles, acting timeline, and his love and passion in trying to keep the family near. Emilio shares his acting struggles and youthful mistakes, his mentors, bonding with his dad, and how his life as evolved into living his dream. Along the way each share a loving spiritual depth both individually and as family.
Some of my favorite lines about their family show more -
You are NOT disposable.
We can't get along without YOU.
Our concept of community is shaped by our family. If you ever get to the Kingdom alone, there is but one question. "Where are the others?" We are so made that we must travel alone, yet we can not do so without community. No one can live our lives for us or carry our inner burdens. We come to know ourselves only through the compassion to others. I may not feel your pain or understand your situation, but I will stay with you so you will never feel alone or forgotten. This is the most basic form of community and the simplest form of love. show less

Well-written and interesting, Along the Way: The Journey of a Father and Son, shows the love and respect of sons to their fathers and also the trials and tribulations of a family. You get the sense that both father and son are writing from the heart and of the love they have for each other.

This was apparently a truthful rendering of a touching and tempestuous relationship between father and son. It was amazing how broad the experiences of both men were and how connected they were in many arenas.

Beautiful and honest memoirs. I listened to the audiobook version which I think really enhanced their stories.