Surrender
40 Songs, One Story
by Bono
Published By: Knopf in 2022
Genre: Nonfiction | Biography & Memoir, Arts & Entertainment
Page Count: 576 (Hardcover)
Audiobook Length: 20 hours and 25 minutes
Audiobook Narrator: Bono
ISBN: 9780525521044
Publisher’s Description
Bono – artist, activist, and the lead singer of Irish rock band U2 – has written a memoir; honest and irreverent, intimate and profound, Surrender is the story of the remarkable life he’s lived, the challenges he’s faced and the friends and family who have shaped and sustained him.
‘When I started to write this book I was hoping to draw in detail what I’d previously only sketched in songs. The people, places, and possibilities in my life. Surrender is a word freighted with meaning for me. Growing up in Ireland in the seventies with my fists up (musically speaking), it was not a natural concept. A word I only circled until I gathered my thoughts for the book. I am still grappling with this most humbling of commands. In the band, in my marriage, in my faith, in my life as an activist. Surrender is the story of one pilgrim’s lack of progress … With a fair amount of fun along the way.’ – Bono
As one of the music world’s most iconic artists and the cofounder of organizations ONE and (RED), Bono’s career has been written about extensively. But in Surrender, it’s Bono who picks up the pen, writing for the first time about his remarkable life and those he has shared it with. In his unique voice, Bono takes us from his early days growing up in Dublin, including the sudden loss of his mother when he was 14, to U2’s unlikely journey to become one of the world’s most influential rock bands, to his more than 20 years of activism dedicated to the fight against AIDS and extreme poverty. Writing with candor, self-reflection, and humor, Bono opens the aperture on his life – and the family, friends, and faith that have sustained, challenged, and shaped him.
Surrender’s subtitle, “40 Songs, One Story,” is a nod to the book’s 40 chapters, which are each named after a U2 song. Bono has also created 40 original drawings for Surrender which will appear throughout the book.
About the Author
Bono, born Paul David Hewson on May 10, 1960, is an Irish singer-songwriter, musician, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and lyricist of the rock band U2. Bono is known for his powerful voice and his passionate lyrics, which often deal with themes of social justice and human rights. He is also a successful businessman and philanthropist, and he has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in fighting AIDS in Africa.