I’m as obsessed with Hamilton as the next person, so when I saw that Leslie Odom Jr. was coming out with a memoir, I immediately requested the audiobook from my library.
Unfortunately, it’s an Audible exclusive, which means my library can’t add it to their catalogue. Lucky for me, my brother got me a year of Audible for Christmas, so I was able to use a credit to get this audiobook.
LOJ narrates the audiobook himself, and of course he does a great job, but unlike Born a Crime, I’m not sure the audiobook adds anything significant to the experience. So, while I recommend the audiobook, I don’t necessarily recommend holding out for it if you have better access to the ebook or a physical copy.
I was also intrigued by the concept of this book: the idea that you can fail your way to success. As someone who’s been failing a lot lately, the idea has a lot of appeal for me right now. I’ve also been seeing stuff like that all over my Instagram lately. Someone famous (I can’t remember who) once said something like, “I never fail. I either succeed, or I learn”. I love that quote, have seen it a lot lately, and I think LOJ even used it in his book.
Not to diminish LOJ’s talent, or the years of hard work he put into his career, but it doesn’t sound like he did a whole lot of failing. He was cast in a production of Rent when he was still in high school. He was offered a role in Aida when he was still in college and almost dropped out to take the opportunity because how many opportunities like that come along in a lifetime?
Apparently several times if you’re LOJ.
Like I said, I’m not trying to diminish his talent or years of hard work, because there’s no denying that he’s incredibly talented and it’s obvious why Miranda wanted him to play Burr, but I just didn’t hear about a whole lot of failure in this book. Even at his lowest point, when he considered quitting acting, it sounded like he wasn’t having that hard of a time getting jobs, he just wasn’t getting the jobs he wanted and wasn’t bothering to take advantage of his network.
So, yes, there may have been a little bit of failure involved in LOJ’s career, as well as his share of talent and hard work, but there was also a whole lot of luck involved. He seems to have a knack for being in the right place at the right time and that’s something you can’t learn or develop.
Having said all that, I still very much enjoyed listening to this audiobook and wished it had lasted much longer than it did. It’s full of love and positivity, and who doesn’t need more of that in their lives?
What did you read/listen to this week? Anything you had been expecting to love, but instead only liked?