Impossible: My Story
Stan Walker
HarperCollins NZ
pub. 2020

05 March, 2021

Impossible: My Story by Stan Walker is an autobiography that takes you on a journey from when he was a little kid to now. He shares childhood experiences that may shock and upset but shows what he has had to go through to become the person we know today.

I enjoyed this book because it was inspiring to see what strength and resilience he needed to overcome his traumatic experiences and become a successful artist. What kept me reading was what would happen next in the story or how he would survive this next challenge and actions he would take to keep his life moving forward.

There are times where the reader may find the book difficult to follow due to the author moving frequently between past and present events. This is worth pushing through as the book is an excellent read.

As a New Zealander, I enjoyed reading his journey because it was relatable to me on one level as I knew where places were because I or other friends and whānau had been there. Although places were familiar, Stan Walker’s life was more difficult because my childhood has been very different.

It was amazing to me that such a wonderful person now had to go through all of that and we didn’t know. He says during this book that writing his story might make people dislike him or not listen to his music anymore but he decided to do it anyway to show his fans all that he has been through.

After reading this though, it made me understand him and his music more. I now have a deeper understanding of his songs and their lyrics and their underlying meaning.

This book is both a great read and at times a struggle to get through, but it really helps if you want to know more about someone to know all that has happened to them and that makes them who they are.

I think that it’s amazing that Stan Walker can go through such traumatic life experiences and still have such an amazing outlook on life. I would highly recommend this book to people who maybe have suffered the same or similar experiences or people who are just more curious to learn about this New Zealand legend.

Grace Kairua is 14 years old and lives in Porirua.