Prince wrote a book.

Technically he was in the process of writing a book when he passed away in April of 2016. It wasn’t complete yet. Really, it had barely gotten started. However, through the work of a team of people who were in the process of pulling his thoughts and ideas together for a book when he passed away, Prince’s story, “The Beautiful Ones” was published in 2019.

Prince’s death is still surreal to me. As I’m sure it is for so many people. I loved him when I was a teenager, went to see Purple Rain five weekends in a row when you had to physically drive to a theater and pay money each and every time you wanted to watch a movie. He overwhelmed the senses. He entertained. He moved you.

“The Beautiful Ones” does the same.

The first thing I noticed about the book when I picked it up was that it was heavy. I mean physically. And, it turns out, heavy in every other way.

This is a book of substance.

You can feel the richness in the texture of the cover, the thickness of the page, the variations in the colors, the black and white of it, it is truly a full bodied work. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a large coffee table type book. It’s small, full of imagery and off beat stories, moments captured and lost again, the artistry of a musician and a soul. When I think about it, the book is a lot like Prince himself.

The introduction, written by Dan Piepenbring, is long and intimate. His experience becoming the writer who would work with Prince is fascinating. It turns out the man and the legend were very much like one might have thought. Unpredictable. Enchanting. Amazing.

Yet the way the writer describes Prince meeting with him at Paisley Park then giving him a ride back to the hotel in Chanhassen, Minnesota is so…so…normal.

Imagine Prince grabbing his keys and giving you a lift. Imagine seeing him driving around a quaint Minnesota town running errands…doing something as mundane as putting gas in his car!? It’s so human. Yet his life was so large. So full. His talent so impressive.

“The Beautiful Ones” doesn’t leave the reader to only experience Prince in words. The pictures (so many pictures!) are sweet and sexy, strange and silly. Copies of his handwritten lyrics, a synopsis of what would become the movie Purple Rain, jotted notes on the backs of photographs, every time you flip the book open you discover something uniquely fascinating. There is so much in this book that you cannot ingest it in one sitting. You have to come back to it when you’re ready to dive into more.

Also very much like Prince I think.

To say that this book inspired me to strive for more creativity isn’t quite correct. First, it intimidated me. Then it intrigued me, then charmed me, then made me sad and then happy. I will always feel a pang of grief when I think about Prince passing away. But what “The Beautiful Ones” says to me is that he really did live his creative truth. That is a stunning accomplishment, and one he got to revel in for decades, which leans towards happily ever after, doesn’t it?

I felt this book deeply. It stirred my spirit, challenged me to be more. Still does, because I haven’t even managed to get through all of it. There’s so much to read and look at again, as well as so much to discover later. “The Beautiful Ones” is like his music. I don’t think I will ever be done with it.

There is a quote straight out of the pages of this book that I’ve seen shared around social media as a meme complete with Prince’s symbol. The writer, Dan Piepenbring, shared it as the purpose of this book…

“I want to tell people to create,” Prince told him. “Just start by creating your day. Then create your life.”

Simple. Profound. Human. An artist through and through. I’m still moved by him.

I highly recommend “The Beautiful Ones”. Here’s a picture of mine. You’ll have to get your own 😉

– Darci