A heart-rendering account of Rio Ferdinand's struggle to bring up his three children after his wife has died. A very frank story of dealing with not only his grief, but that of his young children. It takes him on a journey of self discovery which surprises even him.

Having watched the documentary I was looking forward to reading this. It was beautiful very open and honest.. heartbreaking

This had a short download time of 1 day and i missed it so was unable to read it.

Having seen Rio on TV he seemed cold and distant. From the book, it sensitively reveals the reasons for his personality and the journey he has made through his grief. It was extremely interesting to see how by instinct he did the right things for his children and how they have all continued to grow through their sad experience. Well done Rio

Having watched Rio's documentary earlier this year, I was keen to read this book. The documentary dealt with how Rio started to come to terms with the death of his wife and how he suddenly found himself being Mum and Dad to their 3 young children. The book deals with the same issues and offers lots of advice to people in the same position, but it also concentrates on Rio's early life. He tries to analyse what he feels made it difficult for him to talk about his loss and to ask for help. I really appreciated his honesty about his approach to his football - he clearly wasn't an easy person to live with during those years. It is just so sad that Rebecca never got to live their planned life after football, as she kept the family going while Rio concentrated on his career. I recommend this as a good read. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.

You expect you have a good idea of who Rio Ferdinand is, similarly to his BBC1 show, this book proves that just because he's in the public eye you actually have no clue about him as a person.

This book was a very eye opening and honest read about grief and emotion, as a result you don't need to be a fan of Rio, football or celebrity in order to enjoy it.

Thanks to NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton and Rio Ferdinand for my free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Very difficult to review this book. In part autobiographical; it covers Ferdidnand's life and career but, more importantly, the sub text covers love, grief and loss.

Rio Ferdinand, top class footballer, married with children, finds his wife has cancer. All family dreams and plans are shattered, but treatment provides hope. Then it all falls apart and Ferdinand has to deal with terminal lines, not once, but twice.

It's fair to say Im not a fan of reveal all bios. I don't know much about Ferdinand, but this book is profoundly touching. It's a remarkable tribute to his wife and mother. He's honest about the affect of loss, with practical advice for any young widower. He seems honest in explaining his standpoint as a professional, world class footballer. Training, the game and above all, winning supercedes everything. It's a difficult mindset for an outsider to understand, but I believe he tackles his ego centric world with honesty.

Difficult subject, handled with insight, compassion and warmth.

Despite not being a huge football fan, this book had me gripped from start to finish. To read the transformation of Rio from his humble beginnings, to an impossibly hard faced footballer then to this deeply thoughtful and caring father is the ultimate epiphany. I feel honoured to have shared this incredibly well written journey with him and know that I, like millions of others no doubt have been touched and helped by Rio and his story.

I couldn't actually finish the book, purely because it was a little too close to the bone. A heartbreakingly, moving story. The author deserves so much credit for writing the story especially given the environment he was raised in.

The writing and the prose was a lot better than I expected and it was such a revealing insight into the life of a elite athlete who was brought back to earth with a bump.

I've always liked Rio Ferdinand, this book just solidifies the respect that I have for him.

It can be very hard to read at times but I would recommend it to anyone without fail.

What an amazing read, Dealing with loss is very difficult and for Rio to put it all in a book and share it with other people is amazing, I'm sure for anyone who has experienced loss me included, this book is great for showing that whoever you are, however rich and famous we are all affected by it, death is a great leveller, the advice he was given and shared will definitely be a great comfort to someone else going through the same thing, I wish you and your family Rio nothing but love and happiness from now on and for always.

Having watched the BBC documentary, I was keen to read this book.
I find it hard to comment on the book.
To say that I enjoyed it would be untrue, however I have rated it five stars for the honesty.
Interwoven within the heart-breaking story is an informative insight into the way in which Rio Ferdinand was so driven during his professional footballing career.
There are so many upsetting aspects to the book.
I wish him and his family well for the future.
My thanks go to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for a copy of this book in return for this review.

A heart warming autobiography about grief, hope and a lot of emotion. But also has the path of recovery and a good read if you watched his documentary.

Thinking out loud. That is exactly how this book reads. Not that you are sitting having a conversation with Rio Ferdinand, more that he is in the same room not knowing that he has an audience.
I know very little about the life of Rio or any sportsperson. I am not interested beyond how well they play football/rugby/tennis/run etc.
I am so much NOT into the cult of celebrity that I would be a liability in most pub quizzes. So it came as a shock to learn that this young man had been so cruelly widowed ad three young children left motherless.
I have not lost a partner or child but they very nearly lost me. Now I have an idea how difficult, how horrible, it must have been for my husband to carry on as normal for the months I was hospitalised...and we had no family to help. He would never discuss anything heavier than the children's homework.
Rio Ferdinand is a man. Men do not show relationship weaknesses, especially not at work. Only one colleague and his boss knew Rebecca was ill. I don't think my husband shared with anyone.
I cried through much of this book. For Rebecca, for Rio, for their children, my children, my husband, me. It was hideously sad and wonderfully cathartic.
It was also scary. When public figures suffer like this it reminds everyone of the frailty of life. Money can buy private healthcare but it cannot save lives from this kind of blight. Ultimately we are all the same. Man plans and God laughs.
This is an excellent book.

I think most people will have heard of the fit baller Rio Ferdinand. He tragically lost his wife Rebecca to cancer when she was just 34. Rio had to become both father and mother to his three young children. Rio has also made a documentary, Being Mum and Dad, and it touched everyone who watched it. In this biography Rio is brutally honest about not being able to express his emotions. This is an honest emotional read and you don't have to be a fan of football to enjoy this book.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Hodder and Stoughton and the author Rio Ferdinand for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thinking out loud: Love, grief and being mum and dad a five-star read that will have you grabbing everyone you care about and not wishing to let them go. I was a little perturbed about this book at first as I had seen the documentary and thought this was just going to be a celebrity autobiography dealing with life as a footballer, but it’s so much more. There is a great quality to the writing, and the openness that is shared in the content and the stories shared are full of heart-warming tales about real life, not the glossed over version we normally see. I’m not a fan of football, but I have faced loss in my life and this book was so refreshing and showed you can deal with loss in your own way and there’s no cut and straight ways. It’s hard to pin this to one category, as there is so much in it. Overall I’m just glad I read it.

I was tempted to read this book after watching Rio in the BBC documentary “Being Mum and Dad” and reading an interview in the Guardian with the ghostwriter of this book, Decca Aikenhead. Decca obviously took a lot of care in writing the book as when reading the book it comes across very clearly as though Rio had written it. She has carefully selected the words to ensure the terminology and vocabulary would be within his useable. It is as though he is speaking with you and he comes across as he did in the documentary. She describes that having completed the book she felt not like a ghost writer but more like a surrogate writer and the project belongs to Rio - the rightful owner. Decca deserves praise for this as does Rio for being able to open up to her enough to see a vulnerable side to him and to verbalise his emotions to enable her to get them down on paper as this is clearly not easy for him.
It makes a great, but obviously sad, read.
I wish Rio and his family every happiness for the future.
Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.