Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and the Musical Rent

I read this book while flying across the country to clean out my late mother's apartment the day after she died. I was around the same age as Anthony when he lost his mother and found that this book spoke to me more than I ever could have anticipated. I would have liked to have heard more about Rent and what it was like working with Jonathan Larson but I still found the book to be touching, self aware, and a moving testament to the power of love and the pain of loss. Would recommend to both theater geeks and to anyone who lost a parent in their 20s.

If you are a RENTHEAD then this book is a must. This is Anthony Rapp's first book and I was quite impressed. He has the gift of insite into the human soul. This is a unique and great gift for someone to have. His gives details that no one else knows about RENT. I especially enjoyed the story of the day Jonathan Larson died. He goes into specific details and gives a us a climps of what it was like to be in RENT. He also goes into vivid detail about his sexuality and his mother coming to terms with him being as he prefers be called a "queer." The mother-son relationship is the deep foundation of this entire book. The events leading up to his mothers death and the success of RENT go hand in hand in his life. It shows what it must have been like to watch you mother die while fame and fortune are coming upon you. Overall this book was great. I bought it the day it came out and read it in 3 days. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone under the age of 15 probably. But its a great read. I'm rereading it all ready

Perhaps it's best to preface this by saying that I have had in the past year the pleasure, privilege and honor of getting to know the author of this book. Anthony, aside from being an actor of immense talent and accomplishment, is eloquent, intelligent and has a heart of gold. I speak so highly of his personality in this review only to go on and say that it shows in the heartfelt nature of his memoir. The book reads incredibly quickly; it's just that good. The raw emotion keeps coming and coming, and pushes you to keep reading. But what's most astounding about the book's raw emotion is its flat-out honesty, without fear of telling truths, even if they're ugly. I think it's rare for a show business memoir to be as up front and honest as this, while at the same time being so intensely personal. Anthony's not afraid to bare his faults, a brave and admirable leap. Anthony's voice throughout the book is gentle and accessible, only adding to the book's readability. It's rare to read a book and to actively feel. There's a finite difference between recognizing emotion in a story and actually, truly feeling for it. When you read any story, you can recognize it as a happy one or a sad one, but it's another step entirely to actively experience the impacts of those emotions -- to laugh and to cry as your turn the pages. Without You doesn't only simply ask its readers for such a cathartic response; it commands it. Catharsis in tragedy brings to the fore the notion of universality. When I bought my copy of Without You, the person who helped me find it at the store said "oh, is that the Rent guy?" Sure, Anthony's "the Rent guy," and yes, this book unlocks so many secrets that many Rent fans can only wish they had been part of, as Anthony puts into words so many things about the beloved show that fans -- myself included -- long to be able to express. But the Rent connection is far from all there is to be found here, and impact is not contingent upon familiarity with the show. The focus of the book is Anthony's loss of his mother, after her long, hard battle with cancer. Anthony's voice in his book puts this on a level so personal that not only is it a book for anyone who has experienced loss, but a book simply not to be missed. Even if you haven't experienced a loss of that magnitude, you will find something in this book of which to grab hold -- something that will cause you to re-evaluate your choices, past and present. Art's job is to hold a mirror to reality; this book is art made of a reality, making the mirror image that much clearer. I don't hesitate to assert that people will take this moving, well-written book to heart. Check it out -- you will not regret it.

Anthony Rapp is best known for his wonderful portrayal of Mark, the frustrated filmmaker trying to make the ends of his life meet in the groundbreaking musical, "Rent". Also a film celebrity, Anthony can now proudly add to his resume the word "author". "Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and the Musical Rent" is a magical, wonderous, heartbreaking journey of discover of life and of oneself. "Without you" is a gift to many different groups. First, us "Rentheads" who love and have every musical syllable memorized, will absolutely devour Anthony's recollections on the making of the musical, both the stage version and a brief mention at the end of the book of the new movie version. Secondly, people who have suffered the loss of a loved one will treasure Anthony's story of his mother's brave battle with cancer. Third, those who love a good coming out story will apprecaite Anthony's amazingly honest recollections of his growing up years as he came to terms with himself. This is a book for everyone. I was struck by Anthony's gentle and honest prose. His writing is vivid, accurate, and honest. There were times, especially when he discusses his relationships, that it was painful to read; I felt as if I were there, listening to him recount these painful stories. Rarely does writing bring me to tears, but Anthony's remembrances of the loss of Jonathan Larson was stunning and heartbreaking, and I required a box of Kleenex right next to me. The same for the story of his mother's last days. It's not normal for me to read a book cover to cover in the course of a couple of days. The last one I remember doing it for was the most recent Harry Potter. But Anthony Rapp has written a memoir of love and loss that I simply could not put down. Whereas Jonathan Larson's gift to us was Rent, Anthony Rapp's gift to us are his memories, and his recollection of them in "Without You". You simply have to read this book.

Without you, by Anthony Rapp is a touching story of the best moments and the worst moments in life. I was excited to read this book, thinking that it would be all about the musical Rent, but it was so much more than that. Rapp describes much of his life and captivates the reader in an emotional way. This is a tell-all book revealing a side to Rapp that many people can connect with and it shows that although he played Mark Cohen on stage, behind the scenes was a tough journey for Anthony. I truly connected with all he had to say in his biography and read the entire thing cover to cover in under one day because I was so captivated by his use of language and emotional lure. This book is a must read not only for 'Rentheads" but those of us strugging with loved ones loss, sexuality, pain, and life in general. So many emotions went into writing this story and the reader will go through so many emotions reading this. This is an amazing story of a man's journey with not only Rent, but with issues many other people go throguh and some even more difficult.

I have a feeling most people will think that Without You is a behind the scenes look at Rent, almost like a book parallel to the infamous Rent "bible". This is not the case at all. While touching on Anthony Rapp's journey through Rent, Without You delves much deeper than the show itself. Without You is a great read, and shouldn't, in my opinion, only be read by "Rentheads". I'm not the type of person who usually is deeply affected by books. But, wow, did this one hit me hard. It was just so emotionally charged - you can easily tell that the words came pouring right out of Anthony's heart. Anthony has a great narrative voice, and although not known as a writer, he's got such an entrancing way with words. He's such a talented writer with so many great stories to tell. The book is so touching, and at times, truly tragic. It's honest and raw and enthralling and pure and most of all, it's so brave. It's quite personal and at times I almost felt like I shouldn't be reading what was sitting in front of me. Anthony just laid his flesh out on the table. He held nothing back, and it took a lot of courage for him to do that. There are things that I didn't expect, that surprised me a little bit about his character, but if anything, seeing Anthony come through all of these situations only upped my respect for him as an actor, as a writer, and as a person. I think this is the type of book you can pick up ten times, and still be affected and find something different that pulls you in. Obviously, I extremely enjoyed it - and I think most other people will too, regardless of whether or not they are familiar with Anthony's other work.