The Beautiful Ones by Prince

Prince was a musical genius.  There is no denying it, and there is no debating it.  If you plan to, unfriend me/delete me/stop reading.  Prince joined musical genres, styles, and instrumentation like no one before him, and I don't think we ever will again.  In addition to his own work, he wrote hundreds of songs for others vocalists and produced numerous albums of his own and others'.  Prince came from humble beginnings--a child of divorce with full and half-siblings in Minnesota. It's hard to believe a regular kid from Minneapolis would become a legend.  But he most definitely did.  

I have always loved Prince's music--from the 80s through his death in 2016.  So when the opportunity arose to add this posthumously published memoir to our collection, I jumped on it.  And being that I get to unpack the boxes, well, I grabbed it first. 

*Stops review, climbs up on soapbox, taps mic*

People tell me kids don't need to learn to read or write in cursive anymore.  WRONG.  Yes, there are transcribed versions of our founding documents like the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights, and later documents like the Gettysburg Address.  However, there is value in being able to read our history as written--seeing where penmanship changes due to stress or movement.  And how exactly are you supposed to sign a check or your driver's license?  Furthermore...

IF YOU CANNOT READ CURSIVE, YOU CANNOT READ THIS BOOK.

*Steps off soapbox, reminds friends who are elementary teachers to teach it anyway*

That's right, many of the letters, notes, and lyrics are in Prince's original handwriting, and that is in cursive.

I cried a lot reading this.  For many songwriters, the source is pain.  And there is a lot of it. Physical and mental.

Prince announced the memoir just weeks before his overdose.  I am grateful his estate allowed his co-writer to continue the work and publish it as per Prince's wishes.