When he was a kid singing in his church choir, Clay Aiken never dreamed of becoming a pop music star. His ambition was to be a teacher, maybe even a high school principal. But Clay’s mother was right, and the music that was Clay’s joy in life was destined to lead him to unexpected triumphs.
I am one of those strange people who has never seen an entire episode of American Idol, just because I don't get into all this reality show stuff. I started listening to Clay Aiken and enjoying his music simply because he is good at what he does. I am intrigued by what he says, even if the paragraphs are a little short. Much of what he says strikes a resonance with my childhood, less the violent father (mine was verbally abusive). So far, his life philosphy matches mine. It isn't so common to see it anymore. I am looking forward to reading this weeks installments to see if the similarity continues. If so, I will be getting the book from my library:)
I bought this book when it first came out and am enjoying reading it again little by little in daily emails this week.
I found alot of what he writes of his childhood, I grew up very similar to that. With a single parent, bullied, picked on. made fun of, not a lot of money. It is something I have over come and grown from those experiences. To say I am glad there is someone else out there who went through the same thing, wouldn't feel right. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.
Reading his book has brought back many memories of my own childhood, both good and not so good and I find, at almost 30 years old, I am still continuing to grow. This book couldn't have shown up at a better time.
I am definitely one of those that has watched this show from the start. I thought Clay was awesome from the very first show. You think you know a person from watching them on tv, like he talks about. I love that their is more to him that just out to make the almighty dollar. I think some celebrities jump on the charity wagon to make themselves look better. It seems as Clay's charity has been part of the core of himself and why he loves to teach. Being that outside person growing up I am looking forward to reading the entire book. Thanks for brining this book to our attention!
This is not the kind of book I would normally pick up and read. But having read Monday and Tuesday's read, I'm enjoying it very much. I'm enjoying the sytle of writing. Nice and casual - like he's just talking to us.
I watched American Idol and was happy to see Clay win. Now I'm seeing that quite a bit of how I preceived him on TV is how he actually is. "To thy ownself be true"
I never would have considered reading this book, however thanks to this book club, I can't wait to get it. Just from these few installments, I can see that there are a lot of beautiful life lessons shared. As some of the other comments state, I can find many similarities between Clay's life and that of mine & my only son. I believe this will be a wonderful book the two of us can read together. He is a fan of American Idol.
Like Linda, this isn't a book I would normally give a second glance at the bookstore. But in reading it, I kept thinking about my 10 year old daughter, who's a big Clay Aiken / Kelly Clarkson fan. I might just go out and get this to show her how just because you make it big, doesn't mean you have to give up on your faith or your principles. I'm glad he wrote this book. We need more like this.
