Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography

Written by Rob Lowe

Narrated by Rob Lowe

Actor Rob Lowe's memoir presents a wryly funny and surprisingly moving account of an extraordinary life lived almost entirely in the public eye.

A teen idol at fifteen, an international icon and founder of the Brat Pack at twenty, and one of Hollywood's top stars to this day, Rob Lowe chronicles his experiences as a painfully misunderstood child actor in Ohio uprooted to the wild counterculture of mid-seventies Malibu, where he embarked on his unrelenting pursuit of a career in Hollywood.

The Outsiders placed Lowe at the birth of the modern youth movement in the entertainment industry. During his time on The West Wing, he witnessed the surreal nexus of show business and politics both on the set and in the actual White House. And in between are deft and humorous stories of the wild excesses that marked the eighties, leading to his quest for family and sobriety.

Never mean-spirited or salacious, Lowe's Stories I Only Tell My Friends delivers unexpected glimpses into his successes, disappointments, relationships, and one-of-a-kind encounters with people who shaped our world over the last twenty-five years. These stories are as entertaining as they are unforgettable.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio
• Release date: Apr 26, 2011
• ISBN: 9781427212283

Rob Lowe

Rob Lowe is a film, television, and theater actor; a producer; and an entrepreneur. He is also involved in politics and is the author of Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography. He lives in Los Angeles.

Reviews for Stories I Only Tell My Friends

[Alicia · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a wonderful, heartfelt book. I couldn't recommend it enough.

[Valerie De leon · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It was a good read with very interesting inside Hollywood stories.

[Ben Holt · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A great read. Rob is as great a writer as he is an actor. The reading in his own voice only helps to tell the tale (it almost always does when the author reads it). I recommend this and the memoirs of Burt Reynolds (also read by him) if you like tales of Hollywood behind the scenes, without any gossip or pretentiousness.

[Ellen Wilts · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I am sure it is hard to write a tell all book but i was disappointed he hardly mentioned Melissa Gilbert.

[tmcanning · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A very moving, sometimes unsettling and very funny listen. This guy can tell a story (and do perfect and hilarious impressions of some of Hollywood's finest throughout)! Rob Lowe has indeed led a charmed life, but he lets us know about the struggles, disappointments and crises he has faced as well. Highly recommended.

[Lyle Miller · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book gave me a whole new look at Rob and his beginnings. At first I was put off by all the name dropping, since I have never actually known a celebrity or if I new them growing up, I would have forgotten them by now. That being said, I didn’t grow up in Malibu and I definitely didn’t have even my pinky toe in theater. The second half of the book was fantastic and I was honestly sad to see it go. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a whole slew of Rob Lowe performances to catch up on. Enjoy!

[abbyebee · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Fascinating stories from a Midwestern boy turned Hollywood star.

[Christopher Emily · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Such an outstanding Book, couldn’t recommend this more. Really makes you think about life and just the part of life no one likes, getting older.

[ric_443240277 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved this book! I had no idea Rob Lowe had such a great sense of humor, and an amazing vocal impersonations! Wow! Love that he narrated his own book.

[kim · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Interesting tidbits about Hollywood, his life and the characters he played.

[celeste · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved listening to Robb’s honest and earnest beginnings and impressions of other encounters with celebrities. Humble and kind with neat insight into the industry. Changed my perspective and humanizes what society is so quick to criticize. A very good listen.

[Michael King · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great stories!! Very fascinating!!

[govmarley-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've always enjoyed Rob Lowe: St. Elmo's Fire, The West Wing, and Parks and Rec, but I wouldn't consider myself a huge fan. Sure, he's pretty, and he's taken some great roles. Billy Hicks was one of my first crushes: the pretty, dangerous, incorrigible bad boy with a heart of gold silently screaming, "fix me; love me!" Sam Seaborn was the perfect package: smart, witty, and doing important things for important people. And who couldn't love Chris Traeger? He was literally the best person to move to Pawnee. Ever.

However, you don't have to love Rob Lowe to love this book. It's well-written, and he shares lots of interesting stories about growing up in Ohio, breaking into show business, and the wins and losses along the way. My favorite part was about getting his role in The Outsiders and the subsequent adventures in filming. You can see by his stories that Charlie Sheen has always been a little off-center, and Tom Cruise has always been intense and crazy. I also enjoyed his stories of growing up in the excesses of Malibu, how he felt like the outsider growing up, and his journey to stardom when he wasn't mature enough to handle it. He shares some of his struggles with addiction and gives small glimpses into what seems to be a strong marriage and happy family life. His journey could have gone a very different way, and I think he's grateful for what he has.

If you want a glimpse into what drives someone to persevere as an actor, this is a read for you. I've never had that drive, that pull, to push myself outside of an ordinary life, so it was fascinating to read what kept him going. It was surprising, and an interesting perspective. Clearly it's why I'm not a star--I would never tolerate the bullshit he did to maintain his fame. That, coupled with the cool stories about movies, shows, and actors made this an entertaining read.

[Francoise Larouche · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was delightfully pleased by the writing, the reading of Rob Low’s book.

[Jackie Lenz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I always liked Rob Lowe, this is a great insight into his life, an insider view of the movies we was in and an honest depiction of his experience. I really enjoyed it, his reading was great and his impressions are spot on!

[Jackson Wright · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Rob Lowe is a great writer! Listened to his narration of the audiobook and I could tell he was genuine about what he wrote. He does some real funny impressions, including Christopher Walken and Bill Clinton. I hadn't realized how many movies he was in that I am aware of but have never seen. I'm definitely going to be on a Rob Lowe kick now.

[Sarah Hall · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely riveting, great depth of story. Rob Lowe's account of his life and acting career feel honest and insightful.

[luis perez · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

buena

[Colleen Dunnigan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fantastic book!!!! If you like 80's movies, GET THIS! He explains so much about his roles and costars. Some private life but not enough to be like "ok,ok we get it". Very entertaining and I learned a lot of things I didn't know about him. 5☆ for sure

[Claudia Collins · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Rob Lowe is a talented writer. He not only engaged me from the first sentence, but encouraged my interest throughout the book.
I wasn’t a huge fan, however I am now. What an honest, non-judging, loving man.
Bottom line, a fun read from start to finish.

[cherilove · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow! I really didn't expect this to be such a great book. OK, once I read the excerpt in Vanity Fair, I knew it would be pretty darn good. Here's the disclaimer: "I usually don't read celebrities' books." Truthfully! But if they were all as well-written as this, I'd pick them all up. Lowe turns out to be a great story-teller who has found himself in a lot of amazing circumstances, very intelligent, devoted to his wife, and a killer mimic. (I "read" the audiobook.) Highly recommended.

[Sarah Meyer · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Inspiring, entertaining, surprising, and funny. I am disappointed only in that it wasn’t twice as long. Also, as expected, Rob’s performance narrating was outstanding.

[John Wilkins · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A very interesting journey from a modest midwestern boy to a successful Hollywood acting career. So cool to hear him give voices to the different people in his life story. I loved it!

[uberbutter · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe

★ ★ ★ ½

This is the memoir of Rob Lowe's life so far (he is currently 48 years old with over 30 years of acting under his belt).

I really enjoyed the beginning part of this book. The story of his childhood and his family dynamics. He was your average teenager except with cooler friends (he went to school with actors such as Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen, Chris and Sean Penn, and Downey Jr – just to name a few). I really like the end of this book with his adult realizations and his changes. It was the middle part that made me give this book only a 3 star rating. He talks about the movies he did (which he should) but that's about it. I felt like the middle was a big “look – I made movies and let me name drop a lot so you are aware of all the people I know!”). It was nice at first but after reading about such things for over 100 pages, I got it – you were popular and you know a lot of people Mr. Lowe. From my research, I know he was far from innocent during his 80s popularity in the “Brat Pack” but he seems to nonchalantly skim over much of that period (although some aspects are brought up briefly).

I can't deny though that it was quick read and I devoured it. A fun memoir and it was well written in many aspects but definitely not an all time favorite for me.

[Mark Dames · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great book, great guy, not what I expected. New fan!

[Nichole Nicholson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Surprising and entertaining! I would recommend to anyone that’s looking for something fun to listen to.

[Rebecca Jimenez · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Rob Lowe is brilliant. And I am in awe of the detail in which he remembers his life.

[maria · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed it so much! Rob hit all the emotions for me in his book and especially love hearing him read it.

[r · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I can live with the fact that I purchased this book. It is well written, very entertaining, candid and I highly recommend it. He also shares some pretty authentic life experiences. Now he is also a shill, for the man, sadly. For a while, he had the courage of his convictions, and I would still highly recommend this book.

[mike_roth · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A surprisingly humble account of a remarkably charmed life, a good portion of which was spent in my own hometown of Dayton Ohio. How did he just happen to meet all those up-and-coming stars? Martin Sheen plus Allison Janney plus Rob Lowe makes three Daytonians in the cast of The West Wing.