Even though the actor is well-acquainted with overcoming the pressure of performance anxiety, Lowe worried as he stared down at the blank page of his sophomore effort, “You’re asking people to spend money, sit down, stop their lives and listen to what you have to say, so you better deliver.” But he understands that one can’t just write with an audience in mind: You have to say what you have to say.

Lowe explains that his first book was neatly contained within the narrative frame of his life, whereas Love Life evolved in a more episodic matter and forced him to do the heavy lifting of finding the arc of the story. In 2011, he published his first memoir, Stories I Only Tell My Friends, a “well-modulated actor’s memoir,” as Kirkus called it, and now he’s following up with Love Life, a memoir that also reflects on the highs and lows of the Hollywood life and how this charmed and challenging world is overshadowed by his most important role: family man. After years of entertaining guests at dinner parties with his treasure trove of material and knack for storytelling, he decided to put pen to paper-and loved it.

“If 11 people tell you you’re drunk, you should probably lie down,” jokes Rob Lowe-not in regard to his days of heavy partying, but about his decision to write a book.

Stories i only tell my friends review