I read "Face the Music: A Life Exposed" in late November of 2016 after seeing KISS in concert. As a kid, I wasn’t a huge KISS fan. There were songs I liked and others I had just heard growing up with my dad who was a bigger fan. As a kid, I was always drawn to one member, in particular, Paul Stanley, The Starchild. There was something different about him that made him stand out from the other four and I had no idea what it was.

On stage, he was the center of attention, but that wasn’t it. He brought something else to each performance that I only learned about after reading his book. After reading the book, I wish I’d been introduced to it sooner in life. I would recommend it to anyone, KISS fan or not.

You may be asking, what is so intriguing about The Starchild? Why is his book so fantastic? Why should you read this autobiography?

Paul Stanley brings a more creative and poetic aspect to the autobiography. His book is split into six parts: No place of hiding, baby, no place to run, Out on the street for a living, I’ve been up and down, I’ve been all around, Under the gun, The highway to heartache, and Forever. For a die-hard one would recognize these titles as songs lyrics to some of the popular KISS songs (Love Gun, Black Diamond, Sure Know Something, Under the Gun, Hell or Hallelujah and Forever).

How is that creative? These titles are not just song titles, they related to a period of his life he is referencing in that particular section of the book.He creatively tells about his past and what led to his ultimate success while still keeping it real.

How else does this book stand out amongst other biographies? Besides keeping with his natural creative way of speaking when he writes, there are great lessons to learn. One of the best lessons comes in his prologue, “It’s easy to live your life with your hand closed. But you get nothing with a fist that you can’t get in multitudes with your hand open” (Stanley 4).

Stanley was bullied and teased for having a stump of an ear on his right side making him deaf on that side. This was a condition caused by microtia. Can someone say deep and so true? Shouldn’t we be teaching our kids this? This coming from a man who was bullied a large part of his childhood and treated as incapable.

I read the prologue and his early life and felt as if I was listening to a friend’s story. It was so similar to my own personal struggles and those I’ve heard from my friends. Then his continued story of struggle to fame when all he really wanted was to just create his music and share it. He never imagined he would be the lasting legend he is today.

Still not interested? Wait till you read his story about taking on one of the hardest roles on Broadway. In Toronto, the famous Starchild would put on a different mask. He took on the title role in The Phantom of Opera in 1998. This is one I wanted to go see, but never made it to his run. It seems we all hide behind a facade, but where does the real disfigurement lie?

Christine tells the Phantom “it’s in your soul that the true distortion lies”. Stanley was captivated by the character and brought the character to life on stage as no performer had done before. He brought personal experience that allowed him to connect to the character in a new way.

Even if you can’t relate on a personal level as I have and you’re not a KISS fan, I still recommend the book. He has wonderful wisdom to impart on others. There is something that each person can take away from Stanley’s book. If that’s not enough, Stanley received encouraging reviews from other artists like Jimmy Page and Sir Elton John. They had great things to say about his writing ability and storytelling as well as his musical achievements.