Bono Releasing New Memoir, ‘Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story’ in November

On Tuesday, U2 front man/cultural icon Bono celebrated his 60th birthday with some big news: he’s penned a memoir, Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story.

The book will be published in November, and promises to be “honest and irreverent, intimate and profound.” The official synopsis adds that “Surrender is the story of the remarkable life he’s lived, the challenges he’s faced, and the friends and family who have shaped and sustained him.”

It’s #Bono’s birthday & the news is out. He’s written a memoir. ‘SURRENDER: 40 Songs, One Story’
Coming 1 Nov. He reads from the chapter #OutOfControl about starting to write U2’s 1st single on 10 May 1978, his 18th birthday, 44 yrs ago. https://t.co/b95HrfaFcC #SurrenderMemoir pic.twitter.com/xOcUmmxs3j

— U2 (@U2) May 10, 2022

Said the man himself in a statement:

“When I started to write this book, I was hoping to draw in detail what I’d previously only sketched in songs. The people, places, and possibilities in my life. Surrender is a word freighted with meaning for me. Growing up in Ireland in the seventies with my fists up (musically speaking), it was not a natural concept. A word I only circled until I gathered my thoughts for the book. I am still grappling with this most humbling of commands. In the band, in my marriage, in my faith, in my life as an activist. Surrender is the story of one pilgrim’s lack of progress. . . With a fair amount of fun along the way.”

The memoir draws its title from its 40 chapters, each of which are named after a U2 song. Bono has also put together 40 drawings that will appear throughout the book. 

For decades, Bono has amassed a legacy of masterful songwriting, impactful charitable endeavors and an overall spirit of goodwill that has been felt the world over. By the looks of it, Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story will be a richly rewarding addition to his lauded history.