How many of you have read Luther’s unofficial biography released in 2004? I only ordered it last month, and it finally arrived in my post box this week. Once I started reading it, I could not stop, and finished reading it in 3 hours!! It is an interesting, easy-to-understand book. After reading the book, I think I understand Luther better, and respect him more.

My feelings after reading the book are as follows:
(1) He had his own principles/goals/determination and was not easily affected by the people around him. The book mentioned a lot of people around him took drugs / smoked / drank, but he was never interested in these things. He only focused on his music and career. The book also mentioned when everyone was at parties / took drugs / etc. at night, he was always alone in his apartment, listening to his favourite music and/or composing songs.
(2) Unfortunately, the only activity he lacked the determination was his addiction to food! Almost every chapter of the book mentioned about his weight going ups and downs. The beginning of the book mentioned he had 6 consecutive days of strong headache just before the stroke, but he ignored these dangerous symptoms and focused on work. I wonder if he had taken care of his body more carefully, he will probably still be alive with us now!
(3) He had relatively poor self-image since his young days and felt lonely/isolated, mainly because of his weight. It is funny that the book mentioned in the 1970s, he preferred to sing background vocals and did not want to be the centre of attention because of his weight.
(4) I also wonder how unhappy and lonely he was in 2003-2005, when he was doing those gruelling rehabilitation exercises after the stroke. He could not compose songs nor go to the studio anymore, and even had to re-learn how to do simple things like getting out of a car, changing clothes, etc. And he spent his time reading magazines and playing Grade5 crossword puzzles. He must have felt very miserable and painful emotionally then. Probably he gave all his best during these 2 years and felt very tired at the end.
(5) It took him the whole 1970s to struggle (some failures happened after small successes) to eventually launch his solo career in 1981 at and ‘old’ age of 30. His determination showed that life is not easy, and he was a soldier, fighting one battle after another battle.
(6) I also have a feeling that he was so obsessed with getting a pop billboard #1 position and winning Grammy Awards, and ended up eating a lot when he failed to achieve these goals. It is quite sad to me, since my personal opinion is that, awards/chart positions are not long-lasting. A lot of singers easily top the charts, but eventually disappear after few active years (due to their poor singing and lack of understanding of what music really is!)
(7) I really like the book that focused more on his career struggles/battles/achievements, instead of on his personal life. The book did briefly mention about his personal life in some chapters, and it seems he never had a long-term relationship and rarely found his true love. It is understandable that he felt lonely, yet from the book, I also get an impression that he won other types of love – friendship, support of his fans, his strong ties with his mother/sisters/nephews and nieces. I would say an unmarried, single person is still more fortunate than someone who is unhappily divorced!

I really recommend all Luther fans who have not yet read this book (or even don’t know about this book) to order it! It is a must-read book!