“Be authentic. Be yourself. And most important of all..make it personal”

You’ve probably heard of Drew Barrymore, child star, actress, writer and business woman. I picked up the audiobook of Barrymore’s latest book ‘Wildflower’. I didn’t know when starting that Barrymore had already released a book as a teenager ‘Little Girl Lost’ (which is incredibly hard to get hold of). This is a different story, while it touches upon that part of her life, this is a positive story where Drew is nothing if not grown up.

Barrymore was legally independent at the age of 14, something which she was for at the time. There are points where I just wanted to give her a hug. As a 14-year-old she was living in an apartment, working shifts at a coffee shop, unable to cook or clean and completely alone. This is part of the story that she tells. On the other hand, Drew writes about the love and wonder the being a mother brings, letters to both of her daughters as well as her anxiety at parenting when she didn’t have her parents around.

Each chapter shows a different part of Barrymore’s life in a kaleidoscope. From what it’s like to be on a boot camp with her fellow Charlie’s Angels to crazy antics from her twenties. There’s a lot to laugh about while creates a balance. Barrymore is a breath of fresh air and has an obvious flair for writing and being able to inject humour too, something which not many can.

This book has definitely kick started a fascination with Drew Barrymore. She had so many challenges in what seemed a life of privilege, she came out of the other side and now she’s a kick ass business woman, writer, actress and more. I’d fully recommend this book, it’s not a chronological book, while it does jump around a lot I thoroughly enjoyed it. For this book, there was definitely an added benefit hearing her act it out.

I gave Wildflower four stars ****. This is an excellent read with an important message. She doesn’t make excuses and admits when she made mistakes. Humorous, thought-provoking and brilliant. Get reading.