Elton John – Me: Book Review & Audio Summary

Book Info

• Book name: Me: Elton John Official Autobiography
• Author: Elton John, Alexis Petridis (ghostwriter)
• Genre: Autobiography / Memoir
• Published Year: 2019
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers (Henry Holt and Co. in the US)
• Language: English
• Awards: Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller

Audio Summary

Synopsis

Forget the rhinestone glasses and flamboyant costumes for a second. ‘Me’ is Elton John ripping open his chest and showing you every scar. We’re talking about a kid who got potty trained with a wire brush, who spent decades drowning in cocaine and vodka, who watched friendships with everyone from Princess Diana to John Lennon bloom and sometimes crash. This isn’t a victory lap autobiography-it’s a confession booth session with one of music’s most complicated icons. The man sold 300 million records, sure. But he also nearly killed himself. Multiple times. And he’s finally ready to talk about all of it.

Key Takeaways

• The Big Idea: Fame doesn’t fix you-Elton’s childhood wounds followed him through every sold-out stadium and platinum record
• The Controversial Point: His unfiltered takes on other celebrities will make you wince (and laugh, and gasp)
• The Actionable Part: Recovery is possible at any age-Elton got sober at 43 and rebuilt his entire life
• The Hidden Gem: The quiet moments with David Furnish show what real love looks like after decades of chaos

My Summary

The Cold Open: This Isn’t Your Typical Rock Star Memoir

Look, I’ve read a lot of celebrity autobiographies. Most of them are sanitized garbage ghostwritten by some poor soul who had to make ‘I partied a lot in the 80s’ sound profound. So when I cracked open Elton John’s ‘Me’, I was bracing myself for another round of humble-bragging disguised as reflection.

I was wrong. Dead wrong.

Within the first few chapters, Elton’s describing how his mother potty trained him by beating him with a wire brush until he bled. He was two years old. And that’s just the opening act. This book doesn’t ease you in-it grabs you by the collar and says ‘You wanted the real story? Here it is. All of it.’

The Childhood That Shaped Everything

Elton-born Reginald Dwight in 1947-grew up in social housing in suburban London. His father Stanley was cold, critical, and apparently had opinions about how one should eat celery. (I’m not making this up.) His mother Sheila was volatile, controlling, and stayed that way until her death.

The kicker? When Stanley remarried, he became a warm, loving father to his new kids. Just… not to Elton. They didn’t speak for years before Stanley died in 1991. Elton didn’t go to the funeral.

And his mom? She told guests at Elton’s wedding to David Furnish that she didn’t support same-sex marriage. At the wedding. Her son’s wedding.

(I had to put the book down after that one. Just sat there staring at my coffee for a good five minutes.)

The Writing: Raw But Sometimes Rambling

Here’s where I gotta be honest with you. The prose isn’t tight. It’s not supposed to be. This reads like Elton talking to you at 3 AM after a few drinks-jumping between decades, dropping celebrity names like confetti, occasionally losing the thread before finding it again.

Ghostwriter Alexis Petridis did a solid job capturing Elton’s voice without over-polishing it. You can hear him in these pages. The British dry wit. The self-deprecation. The moments where he’s clearly still processing trauma he’s carried for sixty years.

But yeah-some sections drag. There are stretches in the middle where you’re wading through tour dates and business deals and you’re thinking ‘Okay, but what about that time you and [redacted celebrity] did [redacted thing]?’ The pacing wobbles. It’s overlong. Some readers have called it ‘a slog,’ and I get it.

But when it hits? It hits.

The Celebrity Stories (Yes, They’re Wild)

Elton’s had dinner with basically everyone who mattered in the last 50 years. Princess Diana. Michael Jackson. John Lennon. Freddie Mercury. And he’s not afraid to share his actual opinions about them.

Some of these anecdotes are genuinely touching-his friendship with Diana comes through as real and complicated and sad. Others are just… bonkers. The kind of stories that make you go ‘Wait, that actually happened?’

I won’t spoil the best ones. But let’s just say: if you ever wanted to know what really goes on when rock stars get together, this book delivers.

The Addiction Spiral

This is where the book earns its weight. Elton doesn’t sugarcoat his years of cocaine and alcohol abuse. He describes himself as someone who was ‘dying’ and ‘completely out of control.’ The descriptions of his binges are harrowing-not in a glamorous, rock-and-roll way, but in a ‘this man was trying to kill himself slowly’ way.

Getting sober at 43 wasn’t a Hollywood redemption arc. It was brutal, messy work that took years. And he’s still doing it. There’s real vulnerability here-the kind you don’t fake.

The Verdict: Who’s This Actually For?

If you’re looking for a detailed musicology breakdown of every album, this ain’t it. ‘Me’ is about the person, not the discography. Some fans have been disappointed by that-they wanted more about the music, less about the therapy.

But if you want to understand how someone survives childhood abuse, global fame, addiction, AIDS crisis grief, and still comes out the other side married with kids and relatively sane? This is your book.

It’s not perfect. It’s too long. It meanders. But it’s honest in a way most celebrity memoirs are terrified to be. And honestly? That’s worth something.