Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Hachette Books, and author Mike Campbell for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

Mike Campbell was the lead guitar player for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers for 40 years. He was that and much more. I knew some of the background going in. I was a huge fan of that music, and have a Heartbreakers tattoo on my leg. They are definitely in the bands I would list at the top of my favorites list. I’d heard stories through the years about the band, and Mike tells it all in his memoir, simply titled Heartbreaker. It says it all and more.

For Mike, it was a case of rags to riches. He details just how poor they were growing up. His father was in the military, and it put a strain on the family that eventually fractured. There were also missteps along the way, as is the case in so many families. Mike learned from this, though, and it gave him a great outlook on life. Instead of being angry and resentful over the things he didn’t have, he saw the world through the eyes of someone who was grateful for all that he did have. This is probably the reason his partnership with Tom Petty lasted as long as it did.

Mike Campbell taught himself to play guitar, and he never stopped working at it or learning. That’s a big part of what made him a great guitarist. Too many decide they are at the top of their game and look down on the rest of the world. Mike seemed to approach every interaction and encounter as a learning experience. There are plenty of those in the book, which reads like a who’s who of rock & roll. Mike played with Don Henley, Fleetwood Mac, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, and more.

He doesn’t shy away from the controversies in the band or the problems. Drugs were there. He laments the losses caused by it, especially for those who didn’t make it. The appreciation he shows for what he achieved speaks volumes, though, especially about how he managed to make it through. California in the 1980s was a hard place to be, especially when you were a star with the people always telling you how great you are and wanting more of it. From reading this, I think that it affected Tom Petty more than it did Mike Campbell. It’s Mike’s attitude of gratitude above all else that allowed him to stay with Petty in a musical partnership that is up there with Lennon and McCartney. Maybe even more so, since they wrote together for much longer.

I liked seeing Mike come out from under Petty’s shadow after Tom Petty’s passing in 2017. I remember it distinctly because I was in Las Vegas when it happened, the day after we had been locked down in MGM during the tragic shooting there. Petty was his brother, and he loved him, but his death gave Mike the ability to perform out from under Tom’s shadow as well as the possible jealousy Tom had for Mike’s talent. At times, it seems like Petty knew he was nothing without Mike and resented it. Whereas, Mike knew he was nothing without Tom and was grateful. I don’t think he gave himself enough credit, nor did he have that confidence in his abilities to strike back when Tom would sometimes dismiss his efforts. Whatever it was, though, it worked for them until the end.

It was a pleasure to get to know the quiet man alongside Petty for all those years. He comes across as a quiet, thoughtful man with a great outlook on life. He emphasizes focusing on the present and looking at life with that sense of gratitude. It’s something that is missing in our society, as people focus more on what others have that they don’t and are always trying to keep up. If more people had a philosophy in life like Mike, the world would be a better place.