Favorite non fiction of 2022. Best Reads of 2022.

I don’t read many of non fiction but one really stood out this year: Beyond the Wand by Tom Fulton!

I had NO IDEA of what a great guy Tom Felton was!!

Candid, self-deprecating, still able to be amazed by what happened to him, humble, down to earth despite his extraordinary experience and giving his time to many charities.
I truly liked his brand of humor and his typically British narration, interlaced with “mate” , “my most winning smile”, “knob head” etc.

From his childhood with three older brothers, some up to no good but all protective, to the beaches of Malibu and back to London, we follow Tom in his tribulations.

I loved learning more about his family, brothers and his very cool and protective mom. And I enjoyed immensely listening to him talk about the actors and directors who made Harry Potter’s movies what they are now.
Never had he a bad word for them but always did he give us their quirks and personalities, their acting process… it truly was fascinating and very interesting to listen to some of what happened backstage to make the movies happen.

Also, Tom Felton touched and moved me.

Because he also gives us his naked truth. With candor he is talking about his genetic heritage making him prone to depression. About his need to be close to his family. To have a normal conversation with “real” people. To help others and give back what has been given to him on one of his most somber days.

After listening to this, Tom Felton seems someone I’d love to know in real life. To go fishing with or go help distract sick children or simply, to go for a swim in the ocean.

Tom Felton is funny, often the jokester but he also is feeling everything. He is strong and fragile at the same time. Flawed, like everyone of us. Real. And quite far from Draco Malfoy’s arrogance and sneer at the beginning of the series.

And of course, him narrating his own story was the cherry on top.