Today, Donny Osmond's life is just what he is making it. He has a loving family with wife Debbie and their five sons, found success on the musical stage and TV talk show set, and now in his latest endeavor, can claim authorship of a hot-selling autobiography. He is in the driver's seat of his life and is, as the title suggests, just getting started.
This latest accomplishment, an autobiography that chronicles his experiences in the entertainment industry from childhood to present-day, provides fans with an intimate look at his life. The book reveals a story that fans were never privy to, a story that fills in many blanks and answers many questions about why Donny Osmond is the man he is today and how he came to be so. One discovers just how his life evolved from one that was made for him to one that is now being made by him.
Each of the turns Donny's life took influenced him in some way. His years on Andy Williams' show contributed both to his professionalism and to an unrealistic level of perfectionism that would haunt him in later years. Discipline, expectations, and responsibilities replaced days of carefree play. Rehearsals, setting up and breaking down stages, keeping up with studies through home schooling - these became his childhood endeavors. Traveling from one end of the country to the other, and later, from one continent to another became routine for the youngster and eventual teen idol. Donny recognizes both the advantages and disadvantages of all the travel and contact with so many people. In fact, he pays respectful tribute to his fans and many of the famous personalities with whom he and his family rubbed elbows.
Fans who grew up with him will almost certainly get a feeling of "deja-vu" as they read about familiar events. So many stories told in teen magazines, reported in newspapers and interviews, or written about in fan club newsletters gave just a glimpse but rarely a whole picture of those events. Here, details are filled in for the reader that help paint a more complete view of Donny's experiences. From his appendectomy to his appearance on the cover of "Rolling Stone" magazine, from the family's first hit record to the end of the "Donny and Marie" show, the story behind the story is told. It is enlightening, fun reading, and one gains a greater appreciation for the struggles he endured as well as the successes he achieved.
Placed midway through the book is a wonderful collection of photographs. It is easy to see how Donny's charismatic young face made him a popular member of the group right from the beginning on the "Andy Williams" show and later, how his maturing features as a teenager brought fans screaming to their feet. It is the pictures from his adult years, however, that show how Donny was affected by the events in his life. The look of relaxed happiness on his face at the opening night party for "Joseph" is in stark contrast to the 80's Donny looking pensively off in the distance, to an uncertain future. A picture says a thousand words and these speak volumes.
That time period when "things went south" for Donny brought home some hard realities about the business he was in. Mentioned are the devastating effect the closing of "Little Johnny Jones" had on him and the even greater frustration he felt when abandoned and ignored by entities in the music industry. Struggling to provide for his growing family while facing an uncertain future, it is clear that these events in turn helped bring about in him a greater determination to once again find a place for himself in the industry.
The extent to which Donny had to work to gain control of his life was illustrated with a description of a severe and debilitating bout with panic disorder. At that time, it was as though all the frustration and lack of control over his destiny for so many years finally came to a head. Surprisingly, as Donny points out in the book, it came at a time when things were going his way for the first time in many years. As he shares how he managed to understand his problem and gain control of it, one gains an appreciation for the stresses a performer endures when they are faced with both imagined and real expectations of so many people.
Donny's autobiography is a lesson in endurance and persistence. Regardless of his setbacks, it is clear he is a survivor. "Life Is Just What You Make It..." is a most appropriate title and one can be assured that whatever the future holds, Donny Osmond will land on his feet as he makes the best of any situation that may lie ahead for him.