Finding Freedom by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand

My review

3/5 stars

So we all know that Harry and Meghan are a controversial subject. For my part, I feel like they have been unfairly treated, but that they've also invited some of the drama in unnecessarily, so no one is really faultless in this situation. This book is another in a long line of many books that I've wanted to read about the Royal Family. I find the subject endlessly fascinating and am never disappointed to read another book on the subject.

So, as expected, the book was definitely skewed in favour of Harry and Meghan's side of the story, and their version of the narrative. This was fully expected, given the title of the book. What I was pleasantly surprised about was that there was no overt blame-game in the book. From my perspective, I couldn't see any instances of other members of the Royal Family being bad-mouthed. Commentary on disagreements was seemingly kept neutral and based on stating facts rather than feeding emotive responses. No other member of the Royal Family seemed to be targeted. I respected that element of the writing a lot.

It was nice to get some more detail about the origins of their relationship. Before all of this drama, their love story was a fairy tale in many people's eyes, and it's always lovely to get some insight into the prelude to that fairy tale. Despite that, I was left feeling that the book was a little too heavily focused on the period before the wedding. Most people would have come to the book for more information on what happened AFTER the wedding and how they ended up in the position they did, so I'm sure I'm not the only one that was left feeling disappointed and a little misled by the content of the book. It also felt like there was a little too much invested in making sure that people felt warmly towards the couple, and therefore fed into the "pity them" narrative that they've been trying to create.

Because of this, and all the detail that was available about their private moments, I found myself questioning the sources for all of the material. I appreciate that the authors were part of the press gang that spent a lot of time following Harry and Meghan in their time serving the Royal Family, but some of those details felt like they would have only been known to Harry and Meghan themselves. Questioning how involved they were in the writing of the book naturally led to questioning just how reliable the book could be as a source of truth rather than propaganda. It detracted from the reading experience for sure.

My main point of disappointment is that the press was very obviously left out of the plot. There was no real in depth discussion of Harry and Meghan's tumultuous relationship with the press. Sure it was there, but so much was left out of the commentary that it was obvious that the whole picture was not being given. There are so many instances out there, for example, of how Meghan was vilified by the press for doing something that Kate was praised for. The fact that these types of discussions were omitted made it very clear that the authors did not want to antagonise their peers unnecessarily, which, though understandable, kind of defeats the purpose of writing the book in the first place.

It was a reasonably interesting commentary on a divisive situation, but it felt somewhat lacking in purpose for me to truly enjoy it.

Book blurb

The first, epic and true story of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s life together, finally revealing why they chose to pursue a more independent path and the reasons behind their unprecedented decision to step away from their royal lives, from two top royal reporters who have been behind the scenes since the couple first met. Finding Freedom is complete with full color photographs from Harry and Meghan’s courtship, wedding, Archie’s milestones, and many more unforgettable moments.

When news of the budding romance between a beloved English prince and an American actress broke, it captured the world’s attention and sparked an international media frenzy. But while the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have continued to make headlines—from their engagement, wedding, and birth of their son Archie to their unprecedented decision to step back from their royal lives—few know the true story of Harry and Meghan.

For the very first time, Finding Freedom goes beyond the headlines to reveal unknown details of Harry and Meghan’s life together, dispelling the many rumors and misconceptions that plague the couple on both sides of the pond. As members of the select group of reporters that cover the British Royal Family and their engagements, Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand have witnessed the young couple’s lives as few outsiders can.

With unique access and written with the participation of those closest to the couple, Finding Freedom is an honest, up-close, and disarming portrait of a confident, influential, and forward-thinking couple who are unafraid to break with tradition, determined to create a new path away from the spotlight, and dedicated to building a humanitarian legacy that will make a profound difference in the world.

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You can buy the book here now. It was published by Dey Street Books.

For more information on the authors, you can follow them on social media (Omid Scobie | Carolyn Durand).