I found this to be an unexpectedly honest and in-depth look at grief and struggling to step up as a Widower, to be a mother as well as a father to three young children by Rio Ferdinand.

I had memories of him from his football playing days, but had no idea of the struggles he faced throughout his childhood, adolescence and becoming a reluctant celebrity. This was a warts and all look at his failings as a husband in some respects, and he does not shy away from admitting to his failures in this regard, but faces them head on.

I finished the book with so much respect for him and having watched his documentary for the second time, I have no hesitation in recommending this book to anyone whether they are dealing with grief right now, or know it is lurking around the corner for us all.

I enjoyed this book and thank Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read it.

An really, really excellent book. It feels really honest and gives hope to anyone suffering the loss of a loved one.

Very informative and heartbreaking. Really bares his soul on the pages. A great read would highly recommend.

The ghost writer did a really good job in making this book a fair read. I just didn't enjoy reading about Rio

An excellent book. Honestly written and full of inspiration for anyone suffering the loss of a loved one. Absolute credit to Rio for opening his heart and sharing his grief and advice.

I assumed Rio Ferdinand was like most men and unable to talk about emotions, but it seems he is worse than most even when things are good. When his beloved wife died he was unequipped to cope with his own grief let alone that of his children.
His life has been so centred on playing football, it seems a pretty miserable existence .Wary if a girl speaks to him in case it is his fame she is interested in rather than the person. Unable to enjoy family holidays because of needing to keep in the mindset of top player. Unable to cope with normal life at all. So when he is faced with grief he has no means of dealing with it. He hasn’t even been taught to say thank you to people who help him so finds himself trying to function in a hostile environment all of the time.
Somehow he dredges up enough sense to seek help for his children’s sake. The ensuing documentary has a great impact on complete strangers and he is then unable to respond to them but at least he tries.
Just when things are improving his greatest ally his mum also develops terminal cancer. At least this time around he has an idea of what he should do even though he doesn’t always succeed.

It took me a while to get round to reading this as I have always felt I disliked Rio Ferdinand and had lots of unsubstantiated options on him. I decided last night to give it a go and I was unable to put it down. It is a heartbreaking story told with such honesty and love, I think this book will save a lot of people if they take the time to read it as grief consumes you and no one ever tells you how to deal with it.
I have cried from start to finish, he told his very own private story in the hope of helping others and that's an incredibly brave thing for anyone to do.

I really enjoyed this book. I don't usually go for celebrity biography type books but I was intrigued by this one as it had a slightly different theme to it - losing a wife/spouse and becoming a single parent overnight. It was incredibly rare and honest and a great tool for anyone going through something similar.

I found this book very moving and insightful. I think we all have opinions of people we see on tv/playing sport and we form these without knowing anything about them apart from the public persona.

Rio laid himself open in this book and knowing more about his background and upbringing makes it even more incredible in what he has done.

I hate to use the word 'uplifting' but this book is, in the depths of such grief and sorrow he is building a new way to be for his children.

I started reading this book thinking "why did I take so long to actually get around to this"? Maybe I thought it was going to be depressing and I wasn't in the right state of mind. I don't know why, but it took me almost a year to begin reading it. I was living overseas when the documentary about Rio Ferdinand and his family's loss was screened in the U.K. I had read things on social media by people who didn't think much of him, who then watched the documentary, and their opinion towards him changed to one of respect and sympathy.

I guess I was ambivalent towards him. When I lived in the U.K. Rio was playing at Man Utd and they were the team to beat. I used to be quite into football back then and respected him as a player. I had no interest in his personal life, and to be fair, didn't pick up on any gossip about him - although I'm not one for gossip rags. Then I moved overseas; during that time the U.K. press began finding ways to "out" players who had taken out high court injunctions against British media outlets to prevent them reporting on their dubious personal lives. Everyone has heard about Giggs and Rooney's affairs. I was oblivious to Rio Ferdinand being mixed up in this. Strangely enough, until I was about 30% through this book I thought he sounded devoted to his wife. I picked up on an odd line about him saying he certainly wasn't a saint - but didn't think too much about it. Yesterday I was reading an article online about a dress (of all things), and the related comments. I knew Rio is now in a relationship with another woman, but didn't know her, her name or what she did for a living - I just don't care a great deal for celebrity gossip.
Many online comments were about this woman, saying she and Rio should be disgusted with themselves for allegedly creeping around behind his dying wife's back, while seeing this Kate. While married he also allegedly cheated on his wife at least ten times (this is how many super injunctions were taken out to prevent the press reporting). It's said to actually be over 30 affairs and flings.

Reading this made me reluctant to carry on with "Thinking Out Loud". It tarnished the entire book and made it feel like a fallacy. What kind of man can (allegedly) have numerous affairs, treat his wife with utter contempt and disrespect and then publish a book about grief and getting over the loss of her? It just didn't sit right with me.

I persevered and tried to ignore what I now know about the man. The book is part memoir, part autobiography and part a manual for dealing with loss and grief, after his wife Rebecca is diagnosed with cancer.
From about 60% onwards in particular, parts of the book could be helpful for someone grieving the loss of a loved one. Although Rio had the help of numerous professionals and resources normal people simply wouldn't have access to, there are some helpful pointers and lists of charities and helpful organisations.

Knowing how reluctant some men are to deal with emotional issues and grief, the fact this is written by a footballer, may encourage them to pick it up and read and in the process learn to open up more.

I wish I could write a more positive review and had remained oblivious to what Rio had (allegedly) been up to while he wife was in a hospital bed dying from cancer. This review would have been totally different. Sadly it altered my opinion of him and made me contemplate what he was doing at various points in the book, when he kept reiterating he has a "terrible memory" and grief can also make you blank time. I'm aware I should have attempted to remain neutral, that's rather difficult when a book is about his "cherished beautiful" wife that he appears devoted to. There was another part that now makes me cringe, about moving on and dating other people and how unless you've been in the same situation you can't possible understand. Now I can't help but think he raised such a point because he (allegedly) had someone else on the sidelines. Really wanted to enjoy this. Sadly, i feel let down and feel there could possibly be an ulterior motive to this book :(

Saying that, Rio appears to be a fantastic father to his three children. He's willing to see his errors and attempt to change them to be a better father. I'm sure this book will help many people, in particular men, to help deal with their emotions and grief after the loss of a loved one. Which if you take the book on the surface, and don't know any other details, is what the aim of it is - to help people to open up and overcome grief.

Thought provoking,very emotional.????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

This was a memorable read - one which has stayed with me and I am glad I have read. I found Rio's openness about his pain and grief an absolute inspiration. I would urge people to read this.

I found this book difficult to read. Not because it is badly written, but because he was so driven, that I struggled to imagine what it was like for his wife and children. I felt that I needed to take a break before I too became consumed. Well done for telling it like it was, and coming out the other side.

Gosh this is so moving. It’s a great read and makes you think. It would be of great comfort I should think for someone in a similar situation. It’s hard not to be rather in love with Rio having read it though. It’s a lovely read, but very poignant.

I had seen the documentary and it was so sad. Anybody who has lost someone close to them should read this book. Rio is extremely honest.

Such a difficult subject and brutally honest, this book will be one you remember for a long time afterwards.
Even the stoniest of hearts will feel the raw emotions of a young man and his family through what I can only imagine as one of the hardest times of their lives.
A very insperational moving book that will doubtless help other people who are going through or have been through the same kind of grief

I've read many celebrity and sporting autobiographies, but this was so very different. Rio Ferdinand's book read more like a confession at times rather than the memoirs of one of the worlds top footballers.

Rio had been bought up to hide his feelings, not to talk about anything emotional and that to show feelings was a sign of weakness. This was carried on into his football career where his whole life centered on winning matches. Failure was not an option and the loss of a match was met with utter devastation.

When Rio met and married Rebecca she understood that his world of football was all-consuming, that he would miss big family occasions because he was away playing football and not always be there for herself and their children.

Rebecca accepted this lifestyle because she knew that the career of a footballer was so short lived and that the day would come when he would hang up his boots and they could reap the rewards of his dedication to the game with a lavish and privileged lifestyle. She ran the home to perfection and was a fantastic mother to their three children, happy to keep everything running smoothly, and accepting that her husband was working for the benefit of their family.

Tragically Rebecca died from cancer in 2015 leaving Rio with three children he hardly knew how to communicate with and no idea how to care for.

Rio had been unable to accept that Rebecca was terminally ill and refused to let her talk about her upcoming death, her deepest wishes, messages for her children and now the guilt was wearing away at him. Rio doesn't just tell how things happened, but how he told the world they had happened, because he was in denial, still working and avoiding facing up to the sadly inevitable.

The autobiography is an enormously brave account and an extremely honest view of how badly he got things so wrong. From such a private, guarded and proud man, this book is truly amazing, and you can tell that it is done purely to help others avoid making the same mistakes he did.

The book shows that people can change, adapt and admit that to move on you need to show feelings and admit insecurities.

A tragic, heartbreaking book that will help so many grief-stricken people carry on after bereavement.

Rio Ferdinand also made a powerful and acclaimed documentary called 'Being Mum and Dad', that was aired by the BBC in 2017.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Well written, with honesty and sensitivity, This is a story of a man's life and career and how he coped with the loss of his young wife. It is fast paced, poignant and gives a message of hope to those in similar circumstances.

I received a copy of this book from Hodder& Stoughton via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

having watch the tv show on Rio, i couldnt wait to read this, great to find out more about a well loved icon.