by Zachary Levi
Read by the author
Support your local independent bookstore: Buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There is a lot of swearing, plus instances of verbal and emotional abuse. it’s in the Self-Help section of the bookstore, but it really could have been put in Biography or Thought/Religion.

I have a fondness (call it guilty pleasure) for celebrity memories, especially when read by the author. I adore them. I want to sit and listen to them tell their story. So, when I saw that Zachary Levi had one out, I jumped on it. I like him well enough though I know him best from his Operation Smile NerdHQ he used to do at Comic Con (back when i was obsessively watching that kind of stuff), though my kids loved him as Flynn Rider in Tangled (as did I).

What I expected – Zachary Levi seems like a pretty cheerful guy – was not what I got. He’s had a rough life, and the purpose behind this memoir is to be open about his struggles with mental illness and the in order to hopefully make discussing mental illness more mainstream. I did enjoy hearing his take on things – from living with a bipolar, narcissistic mother to acting to his failed marriage and his breakdown – especially since he’s a lot more spiritual than I expected (I don’t know why it surprised me when actors talk about God, but it does. It shouldn’t: they are people with beliefs too!). I liked that he was candid about everything, from having suicidal thoughts to how hard maintaining a healthy mental state is. He’s honest and candid and it is good that there is someone like him (pick one: white, male, famous)honesttalking about mental illness and the importance of mental health. The biggest disconnect was hearing this cheerful voice talk about non-cheerful things. But he was even honest in his reading, choking up a couple times.

So, while it wasn’t what I expected, I liked what I got.