This is a fascinating commentary and update of the author's first memoir, "Just a Geek." The entire content of the first book is included and commentary appears at the bottom of the pages in footnote format. Newly gained perspective and honesty regarding things left unexpressed in the earlier book adds a level of memoir that shows the author's growing maturity while coming to terms with his mental illness and his difficulties growing up with abusive parents. ANd there's a lot about Star Trek, too. ( )

Back in 2004, Wil Wheaton published an edited collection of some of his blog posts with additional linking material to turn it into a coherent narrative under the title Just a Geek. Last year, Just a Geek was republished with extra blog posts, but more importantly, footnotes. These footnotes clarify some stuff from the original book, apologize for bad writing or insensitive jokes, and expand on stuff he didn't say back then, about how his father emotionally abused him and how his mother deprived him of a childhood in her drive to turn him into a child star. I found it a bit of a mixed bag: the "comedy" footnotes were generally not funny and soon got wearying, the ones apologizing for misogynist early 2000s Internet discourse were necessary at first but not at the one hundredth iteration.

I found myself wishing that the material about his parents had been worked in as extra essays, not footnotes; what's frustrating is that the most important one (about the abuse he and his sister went through on the set of the film The Curse) doesn't appear until very late in the book, but it provides important context for a lot of what you've been reading. Aside from this, the best material in the book was generally the original contents of Just a Geek: I liked the discussion of his cameo in Star Trek Nemesis a lot, as well as his interactions with his TNG castmates, which were very sweet. There's a good "found family" vibe to it.

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/hugos-2023-best-related-work/

A book on a subject that I am not all that invested in (Wil Wheaton), written by an author who is deeply and passionately committed to that subject (Wil Wheaton). In fact this is an update of an autobiographical book first published in 2004, with explanatory footnotes telling us how his life and attitudes changed between then and 2021, with Star Trek: The Next Generation probably the single topic with most coverage but plenty else as well (for instance, there’s a gruelling account of a family medical emergency).

I found the result is a bit unsatisfactory; the structure is choppy, as most of the content is recycled from Wheaton’s blog, and some of the content is repeated, usually more than once, especially the question of how lousy his parents were. And there is a running joke, which gets old rather fast, about how much he hates his editor for the crime of, er, editing. But I give a couple of plus points for actually having the footnotes at the bottom of each page rather than the end of the book. ( )

Enjoyed listening to this and learned a little about Wil. ( )

All I can say is that it was an absolute privilege to read this book; to be given a glimpse inside Wil's head. This is an annotated and expanded edition of his original book (*Just a Geek*), and it is so refreshing to see someone, celebrity or otherwise, take ownership of the horrible things they said or wrote, to apologize for them, and to strive to be better. Finally, I believe this book is a triumph in the goal to destigmatize mental illness (and he says it *is* an illness, because illnesses are not our fault) and promote ways to lead your best possible life, despite battling these inner demons every day. (He also adds trigger warnings where appropriate.) He doesn't sugar coat it. It's real and it hurts and parts of it were tough to read because I wanted to reach through the pages and tell him it was going to be okay. But it was *honest* and *real*.

Despite not knowing him personally, having read this book, I am so proud of the man he's become. He's been through so much - he *continues* to battle his brain every day - and yet he says he's happy and living the life he wants. I really hope that whoever ends up reading this finds it as inspiring as I did. ( )