Academic Texts

Book review - Samu Haber - Forever yours

Pic made by me from my own book of Samu

Book Review

Biography of Samu Haber – Forever Yours

Written by Co-Author Tuomas Nyholm

When reading the first few lines of Samu Haber's biography Forever Yours, published in 2020 and written by co-author Tuomas Nyholm, you could think you're holding a thriller in your hands and not the biography of one of the most famous Finnish musicians over the last few years. Samu's way of life from the very beginning as a child until today has been like a roller coaster ride with ups and downs, breakdowns, big failures, and great success. And what nobody had expected before is the fact that it has also been paved with criminal machinations in which he sells rental rights to tourists in Spain and therefore almost goes to jail. Samu grows up in Viherlaakso, Finland, where he lives with his family. At the age of 6, his parents get divorced. As a consequence, he stays alone with his mother, his sister Sanna and his baby brother Santtu. He feels responsible for his family because now he is the man in the house and thinks he has to do all his father did so far. The one thing that keeps him up is ice hockey, which he loves and plays passionately until the age of 10. Suddenly his interests completely change at that moment he is holding a friend's guitar in his hands for the very first time. But still, it should be a long way to his first success in the music industry. Thanks to his everlasting will, strength, and courage, he finally succeeds - his so-called world domination plan gets real. In the end, it takes him 102 visits to record labels to get a contract for recording his music. This has been the starting point to Samu's great success with his band Sunrise Avenue, with whom he sold about over 3 million CDs, but also to personal disappointments, broken relationships, and mental breakdowns.

The most interesting fact of this biography is that Samu honestly reveals some traits of his character and true personality plus many facts behind the scenes fans wouldn't have expected. He is often far away from being that sunny boy we see on screen. Few people would argue that he is a calculating and cold businessman, a personality with a big ego who takes his decisions without considering others people's feelings. But it is this ruthless honesty that defines his story and makes the person Samu Haber approachable and vulnerable for the reader and his fans. His honest view inside the whole story of his career and his band Sunrise Avenue is supported by statements from band members, his manager Mikko Saukkonen, and friends who tell about personal experiences they made with the person Samu Haber over the past few years. When reading this book you can feel Samu's passion for music, the band project, and the strong belief in his dreams. He is always ready to put all his effort into this and to give far more than 100% at any point in time. Even if it means that he or other people suffer from his decisions and the hard work he does. One proof for this is his experience of being a star coach at The Voice of Germany for the first time. The audience only sees a joking and always smiling Finn sitting in that red, turning chair but nobody would have expected that exactly this Finn is full of fears and doubt because of his lack of knowledge of the German language. Then, he takes pills and drinks a whole bottle of wine every evening to be able to sleep at night and it is no wonder that someday he breaks down, mentally and physically. All those people who criticized this book or the person, Samu Haber, himself after they had read it don't understand that he wouldn't have got this far if he wasn't who he is. He has a strong and a weak side, he did a lot of mistakes on his way to success and he admits that he isn't proud of them but in the end, he also states that this is him and this is his story. You can decide whether you like it or not. My single point of critique is that if Samu had written the book himself and not with the help of a co-author it would have been even more personal but maybe it is sometimes better to realize your limits. Even if you can write wonderful songs that don't mean you are also able to write a whole book and bring it into a chronological and meaningful order. As an extra, the book includes some pages with photos from Samu's photo album and a collage with pictures of fan tattoos.

This book is a must-read for all true fans of Samu Haber because his story is deeply motivating and inspiring for everyone. And, by the way, it immediately conquered number 1 of the Spiegel bestseller list with its publication. The message of Samu's biography is clear: never give up your dreams, be strong and fight for what you believe in. You only got one life to live. Even if it seems to be impossible, if you have the strong will to reach a goal you can always do it no matter what the circumstances are like or as Samu states: Be honest, work hard and follow your heart.