English Review Below
R A D I C A L L O V E
Zachary Levi
(28 Juin 2022)
Sortie Française inconnue
“From the minute we come into this world, even though we're not aware of it, we're trying to feel that we belong, that we matter. We look to our parents and our friends and our family, and our school and our society, and we ask them; "Who am I? Do I have worth in this world? Do I have purpose in this life? The answer, without question, is "Yes. You do." Unfortunately, most of the time we don't hear that answer.”
★★★★★
Radical Love is the debut memoir from Zachary Levi (Shazam!, American Underdog, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Chuck), which shares his emotional journey through a lifetime of crippling anxiety and depression to find joy, gratitude, and ultimate purpose. Facing the scars of childhood trauma and the voices in his head that told him he would never be enough, Zac recounts the raw yet honest behind-the-scenes story of his family life, career successes, and the personal disappointments that led him to rock bottom and landed him in a therapy center, where he learned to address the underlying issues that preceded his downward spiral. Radical Love combines witty, touching, and powerful commentary with relatable illustrations to help you on your own path toward mental wellness. With vulnerability and humor, Zac relates the valuable lessons and insights he’s learned so that you can rise from the ashes of trauma and pursue a meaningful life of gratitude.
Ce que j'en ai pensé
Je connais et admire Zachary Levi depuis que je l'ai découvert il y a maintenant quatorze ans dans la série Chuck qui est d'ailleurs encore à ce jour, l'une de mes séries préférées. J'ai suivi sa carrière, de la fin de Chuck à Remember Sunday, de son passage à Broadway avec First Date que j'aurais d'ailleurs adoré voir à son apparition dans Thor. De Disney lorsqu'il a prêté sa voix au personnage de Flynn dans Raiponce, à la série Heroes Reborn et plus récemment dans Shazam. Oui je peux dire sans me tromper que Zachary Levi est un acteur extrêmement talentueux qui mérite d'ailleurs plus de reconnaissance. Mais on connait tous Hollywood et la difficulté que c'est. J'ai également vu pas mal d'interviews de ce dernier, des panels aussi avec The Nerd Machine et je l'ai trouvé très drôle, très attachant et surtout toujours souriant. Autant vous dire que lorsqu'il a posté son annonce sur ses réseaux sociaux concernant la publication de son autobiographie dans laquelle il allait aborder certains sujets difficiles sur sa vie - traumatises de l'enfance, dépression en autres, j'étais extrêmement surprise sur le coup. Et puis je me suis souvenue que souvent, les personnes qui sont les plus touchantes et souriantes, cachent souvent une grande blessure.
J'ai tout de suite pré-commandé mon exemplaire de Radical Love. Je n'ai pas hésité un seul instant. Finalement, avant même de le recevoir, j'ai eu le privilège de découvrir les épreuves de ce dernier et de le lire quelques mois avant sa publication. Je vous partage donc aujourd'hui ce que j'en ai pensé. En débutant ma lecture, je n'imaginais pas embarquer dans cette montagne russe émotive. Je n'étais pas prête à lire un récit aussi honnête, authentique et touchant. Car ces trois mots résument en effet, parfaitement l'écriture de Zachary Levi ici. Il n'est pas là pour dépeindre une histoire enjolivée. Non, il est ici pour raconter son parcours de vie et sa guérison. Son combat contre la dépression, et ses traumatismes. Tout en donnant des conseils et en sensibilisant sérieusement le lecteur sur les problèmes que nous pouvons rencontrer en tant que personne mais que nos proches peuvent vivre sans que l'on en prenne parfois conscience.
Lire Radical Love fut difficile. Je ne m'attendais pas à autant d'honnêteté de la part d'une personne qui est quand même célèbre dans le monde entier. C'est brutalement honnête. Et cela renforce la vivacité de ses écrits. C'est un élément que j'ai vraiment aimé. Il n'a pas peur d'admettre ses erreurs, de parler de son passé et des douloureux moments l'ayant conduit à envisager d'ôter sa propre vie. J'ai eu la boule au ventre en lisant ses mots, j'avais les larmes aux yeux. Pour être honnête, j'ai même dû arrêter ma lecture parfois pour encaisser ce que je venais de lire. Je repensais aux moments où j'avais vu ce dernier affichant un grand sourire aux lèvres sur l'écran de mon ordinateur ou de ma télévision sans imaginer ce qu'il vivait en coulisses. Je me suis également mise à penser à toutes ces personnes de notre vie qui peuvent vivre la même chose sans que nous en ayons même conscience. C'est pourquoi c'est non seulement courageux de la part de l'acteur écrivain de se dévoiler mais aussi nécessaire.
Je dis souvent que j'ai du mal avec les autobiographies et c'est peut être pour cela que j'ai beaucoup aimé lire Radical Love. Ce n'est pas une autobiographie à proprement parlé, Zachary Levi raconte ici son parcours vers la guérison en donnant des conseils à chaque chapitre dans des encarts colorés. Il met en avant son combat en illustrant ses maux par des histoires du passé. Il n'est pas là pour raconter l'acteur qu'il est, les rôles qu'il a eu ou ses succès. Il utilise ses expériences professionnelles en exemple mais c'est tout. Ne vous attendez pas à des anecdotes sur les tournages de Chuck ou Shazam car il n'y en aura pas.
Radical Love est pour moi un coup de cœur. Vous n'avez pas besoin d'être un fan de l'acteur pour apprécier l'écrivain et l'humain derrière ce livre. J'espère qu'il sera traduit en plusieurs langues pour permettre à un plus grand nombre d'avoir accès à ce témoignage. Je pense qu'il en aidera plus d'un et c'est rien que par ce biais, une grande réussite de la part de Zachary Levi. Il a le cœur sur la main et est si altruiste écrire ce livre et le partager en acceptant de se montrer vulnérable est une belle preuve de l'incroyable personne qu'il est. Merci. Merci d'avoir écrit ce livre et d'avoir accepté de le laisser prendre vie.
English Review
I have known and admired Zachary Levi since I discovered him fourteen years ago in the the TV Series, Chuck, which is still one of my favorite series to this day. I have been following his career, from the end of Chuck to the wonderful movie Remember Sunday, from his hit on the Broadway Show First Date, which I would have loved to see but I was not in NYC back then, to the time he acted in the Marvel Movie, Thor. From Disney when he voiced the character of Flynn in Tangled, when he was in the Heroes Reborn series and more recently in Shazam. Yes I can say without being mistaken that Zachary Levi is an extremely talented actor who deserves more recognition. But we all know Hollywood and how difficult it is. I've also watched many interviews of him, panels too with The Nerd Marchine and I always thought he was funny, very endearing and above all always smiling. So when he posted on his social networks about his upcoming book, his biography in which he was going to tackle some difficult subjets about his life - childhood trauma, abuse, depression and more, I was extremely surprised. And then I remembered something my mom always told me, that often, the people are the most touching, kind and smiling are most of the time adding a deepest pain.
I immediately pre-ordered my copy - even a signed copy, of Radical Love. I didn't even hesitate. Not even for a minute. Finally, even before receiving it, I was lucky to be able to discover an advanced copy of the book and read it a few months before the official release. I will share with you today my review of the book and what I thought about it. When I started reading it, I had to idea I was going to enter this emotional roller coaster. I was not ready to read such an honest, authentic and touching story. Because those three words do indeed perfectly sum up Zachary Levi's writing here. He is not there to paint a fancy story. No, he is here to tell you about his life journey and his recovery. His fight against depression, and his traumas. While giving advices and seriously raising awareness tothe readers on the issues we all can meet as a person but also, that our loved ones can live without us someting even noticing it.
Reading Radical Love was difficult. I was not expecting so much honesty from a person who is very famous all over the world. It's brutally honest. And this reinforces the vivacity of his writings. It's really something I loved. He is not afraid to admit his mistakes, to talk about his past and the painful moments that led him to consider taking his own life. My stomach was going into knots reading his words, I had tears in my eyes. To be honest, I had to stop my reading to be able to process what I had just read. I thought back to all the times when I had seen him on TV with a big smile on his lips whereas I was watching him on my computer or TV sceen without imagining what he was going through behind the scenes. I also started thinking about all those people in our life who can go through the same thing without us even being aware of it. That's why it's not only brave for the actor-writer to tell his story, but also necessary.
I often say that I have trouble with autobiographies and maybe that's why I really enjoyed reading Radical Love. This is not an autobiography strictly speaking, Zachary Levi tells here his journey towards healing by giving advice to each chapter in colorful inserts. He highlights his fight by illustrating his traumas and pain with stories from the past. He is not there to tell you about the actor he is, the roles he has had or his successes. He uses his professional experiences as an example but that's all. Don't expect any anecdotes from the filming of Chuck or Shazam because there won't be any.
Radical Love was for me a huge hit. You don't need to be a fan of the actor to enjoy the writer and the human being behind this book. I really hope it will be translated into many languages to allow as much people as possible to have access to his testimony. I think it will help more than one and that this only fact is a great accomplishment from Zachary Levi. He wears his heart on his sleeve and is so altruistic writing this book and sharing it while accepting to be vulnerable. This is a great proof of the incredible person he is. Thank you. Thank you for writing this book and for agreeing to let it come to life.
A huge thanks to Harper Horizon and NetGalley for this wonderful reading !
Zachary Levi talking about his book
If my review is not enough to make you want to read it, just listen to Zachary Levi
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