Be Kind: A Tribute to Caroline Flack

by Emily Herbert

'In a world where you can be anything, be kind.'

Caroline Flack was the girl who had it all ... beauty, talent, money, fame and a hugely successful career.

But, away from the television cameras and the fabulous parties, there hid a lonely, frightened young woman. Caroline was already a rising star when she shot to fame as the presenter of Love Island. With her beauty and her effervescent personality, she was perfect for the role and soon the show was drawing 6 million viewers.

Yet, behind the scenes her love life was chaotic. She dated Prince Harry, Harry Styles and Russell Brand before finding love with tennis player Lewis Burton.

Her world came crashing down on the night Lewis called 999 to report Caroline was attacking him. Police found Caroline hysterical and the couple covered in blood.

Just as it seemed life could not be any worse Caroline was fired by ITV and barred by the courts from contacting Lewis.

In this extraordinary and revealing book, Emily Herbert talks with friends and celebrities to reveal the heartbreaking true story of how this beautiful woman crashed from the pinnacle of fame and success to a lonely and tragic death.

A donation from the sale of this book will be given to cyber bullying charities.

200 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 13, 2020

Reviews

[8stitches 9lives · Rating 4 out of 5]

Energetic, warm and down to earth, television presenter Caroline Flack was beautiful both inside and out and when news of her suicide hit the Twittersphere everyone was shocked to their core; I genuinely thought it was someone playing a sick joke but when I realised it was true I shed a tear or two. Online bullies and trolls ought to think before they act as they could be responsible for injury or death in the most extreme circumstances; they often act as judge, jury and executioner and a person can be deemed guilty in the court of public opinion with very little evidence. I understand people are upset with the news that she had apparently committed domestic violence against her then partner and I agree that is very wrong but it should not lead to constant harassment, threats and nasty remarks Caroline was receiving daily. I guess these build-up over time to where, in Caroline’s case, she felt she could no longer cope. Sadly, the violence and threat of prosecution, relentless cyberbullying, mental health issues and fame combined to devastating effect.

It is a biography that begins by detailing Caroline’s childhood and formative years but the central focus is her rise to fame and the aftermath of it all. Of course, it isn't surprising that the Caroline we viewers knew on screen was a persona and she was quite different in real life; she had huge insecurities and struggled to come to terms with the fact she was becoming a rising star in the world of presenting and the wider entertainment industry. She made no secret of the fact that she was desperately lonely and longing for someone to love her for who she was; I find it both tragic and ironic that she helped many couples get together on Love Island yet her pining for a lover will never be possible. I particularly appreciate that Herbert focused more on revealing Caroline as a person and stuck to talking about her life rather than dwelling on her death. An emotional, deeply moving and heartbreaking narrative of the girl-next-door. RIP Caroline. Many thanks to Ad Lib for an ARC.

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Be Kind is a beautifully written tribute book to the late Caroline Flack. Emily Herbert has done a fantastic job of putting this book together with compassion and respect and has got a very good balance within the book tackling the mental health side in relation to Caroline without sounding over compassionate nor belittling or opinionated.

What happened to Caroline is a lesson everyone should learn about the dark side to social media. Her life was tragically cut short and if she had received help rather than being publicly whipped, the story may have had a happier outcome and this book shows that as it shows Carolines life within ups and downs throughout her short life.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

There has been so much written about Caroline Flack, both before and after her death and I hoped that Be Kind would reveal the true Caroline. The cover states that the book is a tribute and I genuinely feel that it is. I didn't want to know nasty celeb gossip and sex scandals but actually what lay behind the bubby personality and dazzling smile.

The book actually reveals a very vulnerable person who was desperate to be loved and suffering from debilitating mental health problems.

Emily Herbert does a good job of delivering the facts about Caroline's career and relationships, without sounding gushing or condescending. She says 'It's a cliche, but the sequins couldn't mask the heartache'. I think this must have been a hard book to write and she got the balance right.

I found the many quotes taken from tv and newspaper interviews a bit tiresome. Also, there are detailed accounts of occurrences from reality tv programs that happened years ago and didn't really involve Caroline directly.

I did want to know more about the person behind the mask and the book made me understand much more about Caroline. Small details like her love of gravy, how she misplaced her glitterball, and her work for charity were heartwarming additions to the book.

Lovers of XFactor, Strictly Come Dancing and I'm a Celebrity will love the anecdotes. I enjoyed reading about the very real and endearing friendship Caroline shared with Olly Murs, and how much she loved her family. It shows her immense talent for dancing, singing, and presenting and how she was held in huge regard throughout the showbiz industry. On the other hand, it portrays a sad and delicate person who just deserved to be treated with kindness.

[Beryl Weller · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was quite a sad read as I expected as although someone can be seen to be bubbly and happy on the outside - you never know what is going on underneath. People who are keyboard warriors should always think about what they post if they don’t know what it truly going on in the background. I feel sad that she couldn’t get the real help that she needed.

[Tracey Cain · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was quite disappointed with this book and I feel bad for the 1 star. For me, at times, it felt like the author was writing about things just to fill the book up and felt it went off track.

[Becki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful read. I loved Caroline flack i thought she was a truly humble person. What she went through was horrific. And I still think to this day she would be here if the things with the police had been dropped. In a world where you can be anything - be kind.

[Sharley · Rating 2 out of 5]

A pretty thorough recount of Caroline flacks television career and dating history but it is it a book that gives you any insight and I didn’t feel as though there was any emotion tied to it just a very detailed factual, albeit biased on the positive view account.
I’ll be honest I started to get bored of the level of detail and how it just seemed to be going from one show to another or from one ex boyfriend to the next.
Not really what I was expecting so it wasn’t for me



I received this as an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

[Millie Hobbs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, I sad to say this was not what I expected. Full of unnecessary information completed unrelated to caroline, much of it I had to skip past to read about what I actually picked the book up for - Caroline.

[Sarah Oakey · Rating 5 out of 5]

𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚋𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐... 𝙱𝚎 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚍!

Caroline Flack was very much a television personality of my time. Gaining fame in 2002 starring on Bo Selecta then going on to present cult TV shows such as I'm a celebrity get me out of Here, Big Brother, X Factor and finally fronting Love Island...I watched her win Strictly Come Dancing in 2014 and Star as Roxy Hart in Chicago in the WestbEnd..and watched her career go from strength to strength .

Caroline lived her life out on social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook which ultimately contributed to her tragic demise ...

Be Kind is a tribute to Caroline Flack which I read after watching her documentary 'Her life and death'. To say I'm moved and saddened is an understatement. Caroline was a beautiful and vibrant personality but who also was sadly obsessed with the public's opinions of her, and spent a lot of her time reading comments on her pages across social media.
After a private altercation with her boyfriend in Dec 201, the media turned against Caroline and the social media trolls jumped on board the negative bandwagon and tore her to shreds leaving an already fragile Caroline in tatters.

A mixture of fear of going to prison, online bullying by faceless trolls, fear of being hated by the public, not legally allowed to contact her boyfriend and losing her job with itv were all factors which lead to Caroline taking her own life in Feb 2020 aged just 40.

Caroline's plight started the #bekind movement. It initially had a huge impact but sadly bullying and trolling online stops for noone and continues regardless of the victims it claims.

It's a sad truth that the negative side of Social media of cyber bulling and trolling can be very destructive, malignant and harmful having created huge numbers suicides, cases of depression, anxiety and negative mental health. However to those of us who only use social media like bookstagram to be kind I salute you and send you hugs and kisses.

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emily Herbert (2021) BE KIND - A TRIBUTE TO CAROLINE FLACK
Audible - Ad Lib/Boldwood Book Ltd

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 out of 5 stars

Audible writes, "'In a world where you can be anything, be kind.' Caroline Flack was the girl who had it all...beauty, talent, money, fame and a hugely successful career. But, away from the television cameras and the fabulous parties, there hid a lonely, frightened young woman. Caroline was already a rising star when she shot to fame as the presenter of Love Island. With her beauty and her effervescent personality, she was perfect for the role and soon the show was drawing six million viewers. Yet, behind the scenes, her love life was chaotic. She dated Prince Harry, Harry Styles and Russell Brand before finding love with tennis player Lewis Burton. Her world came crashing down on the night Lewis called 999 to report Caroline was attacking him. Police found Caroline hysterical and the couple covered in blood. Just as it seemed life could not be any worse, Caroline was fired by ITV and barred by the courts from contacting Lewis. In this extraordinary and revealing book, Emily Herbert talks with friends and celebrities to reveal the heartbreaking true story of how this beautiful woman crashed from the pinnacle of fame and success to a lonely and tragic death."
=====
It's also very sad. The chain of events. She deserved better.
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#EmilyHerbert #BeKind #EmilyHerbertBeKind #CarolineFlack #Book #Books #Read #Reads #Reading #BookShelf #Library #Review #Reviews #BookReview #BookReviews #GoodReads #Audible #Audiobook #Audiobooks

[Eve L-A Witherington · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book talks about Caroline Flack and her high flying TV presenter career before the sad sudden ending of her life that shocked us all.

I remember watching Caroline on CBBC growing up and following her as she went on to present The X Factor as I watched that and Big Brother too before finally Love Island as her career took off with Itv.As

The book shows the highs of her life while also highlighting that as her star took off and her fame grew her depression was very much still present and in these modern times kindness towards all should be the most important thing, great everyone as you wish to be treated!

Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

[Nina March · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really struggled to find anything bad about this book. I suppose my only critique was that at times the writer goes into a bit too much detail about other things that don't really seem relevant to Caroline's and her life, however, I appreciate that this may have been to provide context to the reader. It was so heartwarming to learn more about this person who was far more talented and special than people realised. But it was heartbreaking at the same time to know that she dealt with more demons than people realised. I loved reading and hearing about her story and life but also wish things could have ended and been different for poor Caroline. If anyone takes anything away from this book I hope it's something Caroline quoted herself. " In a world where you can be anything be kind."

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so sad to read. This woman with so much beauty and talent snubbed out after struggling with mental health issues and at the end of the day no matter what part the law and the media played in her downfall and ultimate suicide it was so sad to read of a young girl with so many insecurities about not being good enough when the world loved her. This was someone self deprecating and honest about her mistakes and a sad loss but I hope we do all remember to just be kind

[elizabeth turner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wanted to read this to get an insight into her last days but this book didn't provide it

Wanted to read this to get an insight into her last days but this book didn't provide it. I understand that social media played a massive part and whilst there was a lot of detail of this too much of the book focussed on in depth detail in the programmes. I don't think it helped provide insight into the last few days of her mental health.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened on audio

I haven’t read Caroline’s autobiography, but this was on Spotify so I thought it might be interesting. I liked hearing about her and her twin and about her different roles through the years. I learnt so much about her that I hadn’t known before. I did get a bit confused when the author would go into huge details about things off topic. I had to check I was still listening to the same book. But apart from that a great read especially if you loved Caroline. It did make me feel incredibly sad that she is not here, she deserved the world.

[Susie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really nicely written over something so tragic. Some parts were not necessary as they did not involve Caroline directly. I also didn’t feel like I learn a lot that I hadn’t already heard in the press, from the description I thought it would be friends and colleagues recalling stories etc about her life.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

[Rona Nimmo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Be Kind A Tribute to Caroline Flack
by Emily Herbert

A beautiful well written book book about a beautiful,extremely troubled person Caroline Flack.

At points I found it quite difficult to read as it tells how broken this modern society is with regard to mental health.

Just be kind you don’t know what is going on behind closed doors .

4.5/5

[kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fairly boring rendition of Caroline’s professional career nothing deep

Fairly standard rendition of Caroline’s professional career nothing deep. But will give 2 stars instead of 1 to be kind.

[Sean Flatley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A truly moving book

I was truly moved and the book left a lump in my throat where Caroline took her own life. I pray dearly that this never happens again for any presenter in the near future.
RIP Ms Flack, you are truly missed.

[Lizzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book

A sad day for the whole world when Caroline flack died . Reading this makes the question of whether wanting to know the warts and all of any person in the public eye or to just the big moments like we did 50+year's ago.

[Caroline Goodson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An even more heartbreaking story having read about her from the beginning as I had forgotten a lot of what she had done prior to Love Island and Xtra Factor. Such a loss. Very well written retelling of her rise to fame full of sympathy and empathy.

[Kelly Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better off reading her biography

A good little read,far too much about subjects and people not really relevant to Caroline however.
Either way a good read with a sad ending.

[tina lawley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book my heart is breaking such a beautiful girl

Would recommend this book
Such a beautiful girl
So sad.
My heart goes out to her family and friends
God bless

[Emma Johns · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, beautifully wrote and a touching tribute to the wonderful Caroline. Sad too but honest and something which people need to speak about. Good to know more about Caroline off screen too and her background.