U2’s Bono to publish memoir, ‘Surrender,’ in November

U2‘s Bono has certainly lived an interesting life, and now we’ll get to read his side of the story in his memoir, Surrender, coming November 1.

The book may be titled after U2’s song “Surrender,” from their 1983 album War, or perhaps “Moment of Surrender,” from their 2009 album No Line on the Horizon. It’s subtitled “40 Songs, One Story,” as each of the book’s 40 chapters is named after a U2 song.

The book follows Bono, born Paul Hewson, from his childhood in Dublin, to the formation of U2 and its journey to superstardom, to his 20-year career as an activist for causes such as the fight against AIDS and extreme poverty.

Bono also created 40 original drawings for Surrender, some of which are featured in an animated video, in which he reads an extract from the chapter titled “Out of Control.” The extract is from the part of the book where Bono describes writing U2’s first single on May 10, 1978 — his 18th birthday — 44 years ago today.

In a statement about the project, Bono says, “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,” he continues. “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.”