LiterariLeigh

Food for thought: Even big celebrities, movie stars, and famous politicians slept on somebody's couch at some point.

Stories I Only Tell My Friends is an autobiography by Rob Lowe. Mostly I picked it up because I like Lowe in St. Elmo's Fire, Wayne's World, on The West Wing, and wondered if he would talk about the highly inappropriate videotape that became the talk of 1988. And there is a bit of sex, drugs, and other scandalous talk.

But I was quite surprised by how very conversational Lowe is as a writer and he doesn't glamorize how he got to where he is today. A difficult Ohio childhood continues in Malibu where there's a lot of surfing going on, and parents let their kids roam free (accidents and injuries abound). His first big acting job was in The Outsiders, based on the novel by H.E. Hinton. There wasn't much money in the budget so the actors bunked in people's houses - I recall him having to share the living room with Tom Cruise. Becoming part of the "Brat Pack" was both a blessing and a curse with the craziness of the paparazzi and the excesses of the eighties so accessible. And anyone who watched The West Wing will be interested in what he has to say about being behind the scenes.

Did Rob Lowe do some stupid things? Yes. But he also managed to push forward, working to be a better, respected actor, a politically savvy celebrity, a loving husband and a caring father. It's the kind of book to sit comfortably and read with a good cup of coffee. Just let it roll.