Published By: Atria Books (May 7, 2019)
Genre: Memoir
Edition: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
Pages: 224
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Synopsis (From Goodreads) – Common—the Grammy Award, Academy Award, and Golden Globe–winning musician, actor, and activist—follows up his New York Times bestselling memoir One Day It’ll All Make Sense with this inspiring exploration of how love and mindfulness can build communities and allow you to take better control of your life through actions and words.
Common believes that the phrase “let love have the last word” is not just a declaration; it is a statement of purpose, a daily promise. Love is the most powerful force on the planet and ultimately, the way you love determines who you are and how you experience life.
Touching on God, self-love, partners, children, family, and community, Common explores the core tenets of love to help others understand what it means to receive and, most important, to give love. He moves from the personal—writing about his daughter, to whom he wants to be a better father—to the universal, where he observes that our society has become fractured under issues of race and politics. He knows there’s no quick remedy for all of the hurt in the world, but love—for yourself and for others—is where the healing begins.
Courageous, insightful, brave, and characteristically authentic, Let Love Have the Last Word shares Common’s own unique and personal stories of the people and experiences that have led to a greater understanding of love and all it has to offer. It is a powerful call to action for a new generation of open hearts and minds, one that is sure to resonate for years to come.
When I selected this book for my partner and me to read, I was unsure of what to expect. The goal was to choose a book that could contribute to our individual and relationship growth. I’m not a big fan of the memoir genre, but for the most part, I enjoyed this book, with it picking up for me in Part Three.
What I Liked
- Both my partner and I valued the perspective of love and its meaning from a male’s perspective. Throughout the book, we were able to feel Common’s vulnerability and passion. His enthusiasm for music, love for humanity, and openness in speaking of various relationships were appreciated. There were many personal stories that he shared that we could identify with.
- I loved that Common focused on various types of love from both a philosophical and personal standpoint. Initially, I assumed the book would focus on a romantic kind of love. Instead, the text gave insight to an Eros (romantic) love, a Storge (unconditional/family) love, Agápe (universal, godly) love, and a Philautia (self-love) love.
- I liked that upon the completion of the book, there were things of substance to take away. For me, the significant take away was the value of self-love, and to achieve any other type of love, one has to possess self-love first.
What I Didn’t Like
- At times, it seemed as the book jumped between the various types of loves described. I thought this interrupted the flow of the book.
- For me, Part Three of Let Love Have The Last Word is where the book picked up and gained momentum. I felt that this is where Common began to be the most vulnerable giving the audience a broader insight into his personal experiences.
- Lastly, there were some parts of the book that were repetitive.
Favorite Quotes
- “Dishonesty derails any opportunity for real growth and connection between you and another person, between you and God, and between you and yourself. With dishonesty, there is bad faith. The rules of the game keep changing, and the advantage is always in favor of the liar, of he who is going out his way to disrupt and disturb what should be a peaceful time and space, a simple yet wonderful moment.”
- “But to serve God and to serve other people, families, and communities, you have to care for yourself, you have to love yourself….the practice of loving yourself is difficult to establish, and there’s no one way to do it.”
- Acknowledge who you are, then with resolution pursue your higher self, that ideal and perfect version of yourself, reflecting God’s light, knowing that you will fail over and over again, but pursue anyway.”
- “Ego gets in the way of genuine communication and a real opportunity to begin the work required to heal wounds.”
- “Love and intent are interlocked.”
- “Saying Let love have the last word is not just a declaration—it is a statement of purpose, and it is a daily promise.”
- “Sometimes we fool ourselves, and we fool other people, but sooner or later, we have to get real and face the truth.”
- The only way you can harmonize with someone is by first knowing how you sound by yourself, as your own instrument, your own voice.”
Final Thoughts
Overall, I do recommend reading this book. If you choose to read it, go into it with an open mind, eliminate judgment, and with a willingness to be understanding and sensitive to Common using his personal experiences to share and educate.
Intuitive Intuition 