Audiobook Review: Don’t Stop Believin’ by Olivia Newton-John

Don’t Stop Believin’
by Olivia Newton-John

Publication date: March 12th 2019
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Summary:

With candor, humor, and warmth, legendary musician, actress, activist, and icon Olivia Newton-John reveals her life story—from her unforgettable rise to fame in the classic musical Grease to her passionate advocacy for health and wellness in light of her battles with cancer. Perfect for fans of Tina Turner’s My Love Story and Sally Field’s In Pieces, this international bestseller is an extraordinary can’t-miss memoir.

For more than five decades, Olivia Newton-John has been one of our most successful and adored entertainers. A four-time Grammy Award winner, she is one of the world’s best-selling recording artists of all time, with more than 100 million albums sold. Her starring roles in the iconic movies Grease and Xanadu catapulted her into super-stardom. Her appeal as a performer is timeless.

In addition to her music and screen successes, Olivia is perhaps best known for her strength, courage, and grace. After her own personal journeys with cancer, she has thrived and become an inspiration for millions around the world. A tireless advocate for countless charities, her true passion is as the founding champion of the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre in her hometown of Melbourne, Australia. Olivia has always radiated joy, hope, and compassion—determined to be a force for good in the world.

Now she is sharing her journey, from Melbourne schoolgirl to international superstar, in this deeply personal book. Warm, candid, and moving, Don’t Stop Believin’ is Olivia Newton-John’s story in her own words for the very first time.

Source: Goodreads

Thoughts:

Olivia Newton-John was someone I didn’t know a huge amount about before reading this memoir. New to my library following her death earlier this year, I thought I’d find out more about the superstar behind Sandy from Grease.

Olivia has had an interesting life and I really enjoyed hearing her stories, especially the anecdotes she told so candidly. It was particularly poignant to hear her describing her battle with cancer, especially her positivity and optimism on the subject. Olivia seems like she was a really sweet and caring woman, with a fun sense of humour too.

I listened to this book in audiobook and I really liked that it was narrated by Olivia herself, a really nice touch. Told in chronological order, Olivia takes us on a journey of her life from childhood and her early singing days, sharing stories of love and loss and giving some advise on how to stay healthy and strong through even the most difficult of times. Olivia did all sorts of things in her time, including representing the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 which I was really surprised I didn’t know already!

Although I completely appreciate the importance of the topic to Olivia, I did find that the last couple of chapters went off on a bit of a tangent as she shared her beliefs and health interests. These are an important part of her life, as she battled cancer multiple times, but for me I felt it did go on a bit and felt dangerously close to becoming preachy at times. As it was wrapping up a really nice read, and Olivia has now passed from the cancer she was fighting, this didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the book and I’m really glad to have read it.

Overall rating: “Don’t Stop Believin” by Olivia Newton-John is probably even more poignant since her death earlier this year. I enjoyed this candid autobiography and have learned a lot about the life that this musical superstar had. A nice 4 star read!