Cher tell her story in her memoir split into 2 parts. Part 1 released november 19, 2024. Part 1 begins before Cher was even born. Or Cherilyn as her mother thought she named her, or Cheryl as what was written in her birth certificate. And spans her humble beginnings, her rise with Sonny and Cher, two marriages, two kids and a whole lot of fashion.

But I’m getting ahead of myself, the memoir of course doesn’t start there, it begins at the very beginning – before there even was a Cher, there was her mother – an actress who never quite made it, but lost a part to Marilyn Monroe and spends a lifetime wallowing in what could have been. And her father – a non-present Armenian who gambled and did drugs.

Her mom almost had an abortion, but got off the table just in time for there to be a Cherilyn, who bounced around schools, and watched her mom go through men. I’m not sure I needed her to go that far back and devote several chapters to this, but I’ll take it.

Showbusiness feels like something she just wandered into because of her surroundings, and most of the things just happened on a whim. She saw Dumbo as a child and really wanted to find her own feather and land on the big screen just like the elephant with the big floppy ears.

Around the age of 16 she moved in with Sonny who was 11 year older, he wrote her a song that she was scared to sing alone, but when Sonny sang it with her, she found her feather in him and was ready to fly. And as she states a numerous of times, there would be no Cher without Sonny and there would be no Sonny without Cher.

I was surprised to find that she was so shy and leaned on Sonny to take her first steps into the limelight. A trust that both became a stepping stone to her future career, but also a detriment to her net worth. As Sonny created Cher enterprises, little did she know she was a mere employee and owned absolutely nothing.

It was interesting to read about this period in her life that I knew nothing about. The 70’s era, Sonny and Cher the musicians, the comedy hour hosts, the married couple, the parents and eventuallly, the friends.

The more I kept reading the more I kept thinking: Cher has to be the most easygoing, forgiving, non-judgmental person alive!
Forgiving the most brutal betrayals, not judging anyone for their actions but always choosing to see the best in people and living every day as if it was yes-day!
It’s almost like her happiness was teflon. Nothing negative would stick. She would just keep calm and carry on.

As she was figuring herself out, while going with the flow, she was dressed by Bob Mackey – a designer she stayed faithful to and has some epic collaborations with – I’m looking at you Met Gala dress 1974. She was also pictured heavily by THE Richard Avedon (as a photographer, this blows my mind, he’s the ultimate photorgrapher!)

To me it solidifies the saying that you need a whole lot of luck to make it, it’s not simply hard work and talent. Like she states – luckily, her body type became popular around that time, because before that, the popular type was more curvy like Marilyn. It makes me furious, because something like “body type” shouldn’t be in fashion. But she is right of course, this is what it was. And while she may have struggled to be seen as a slim tall woman, once that became popular, she was a big hit!

The persona we’re all used to seeing slowly but surely revealed itself as she hung out with the who’s who of iconic artists in the hall of fame and walk of fame while she rocked a ton of Bob Mackey outfits she’s still known for today, that are seen as Halloween costumes every year.
It’s a Cher I never saw myself. Growing up in the 90’s I first discovered Cher through the movie Mermaids where she also sang on the soundtrack.
But the first 432 pages – part 1 of this memoir only got us to the 80’s!
I’m very much looking forward to the continuation and reading the behind the scenes of the eras I got to watch with my own eyes.
Awaiting part 2 in 2025!

FYI about the audio: I listened to this on audio, and it was fun to hear Cher narrate her own story, but then she let us know that her friend Stephanie would be narrating parts of it. Which Stephanie did, absolutely beautifully! But it did feel a little weird having Cher’s very distinct voice begin to tell her story, only to have her friend Stephanie take over mid paragraph. It tears you out of the story just a little. And Cher starts off every chapter narrating herself, so she drags you along with her. But if she hoped it wouldn’t bee too noticeable that she jumps ship after the first paragraph of every chapter, she would be mistaken.