My Adventures with God
by Stephen Tobolowsky
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A delightful collection from legendary character actor Stephen Tobolowsky—who currently appears on The Goldbergs, HBO's Silicon Valley, and the serial podcast The Tobolowsky Files— "a series of true stories that wrestle with a big idea: how belief shapes our lives. Funny, smart, and moving, this is a wonderful account of our relationship with the unknowable" (Susan Orlean, New York Times bestselling author of The Orchid Thief and Rin Tin Tin).In My Adventures with God, Stephen show more Tobolowsky explores the idea that most people's lives seem to fit into the template of the Old Testament. We all have powerful creation myths: tales of our childhood and family, our first battles won and lost. It is our Genesis. Then, like in the Book of Exodus, we go into slavery. Rather than building pyramids, we lose ourselves in fear and ambition—in first loves, first jobs, too many dreams mixed with too much beer. We eventually become free, only to wander in the wilderness. At some point we stop and proclaim to the universe who we are. This is our Leviticus moment. We reconcile what we thought we would be with what we have become. We often attempt a mid-course correction. Then, as in the Book of Numbers, we are shaped by mortality as we bear the loss of family and friends. Finally, we retell our stories to our children hoping to make sense of the journey, like Moses did in Deuteronomy.
Tobolowsky's stories tell of a boy growing up in the wilds of Texas, finding and losing love, losing and finding himself—all told through the prism of the Torah and Talmud, mixed with insights from science, and refined through a child's sense of wonder. My Adventures with God is a "fast-paced, precise, wide-ranging, and impressive book draws on the I Ching, Talmud, Einstein, Grimms' Fairy Tales, and reruns of SportsCenter to create counterpoints when discussing his life of faith. This is a well-told, must-read...for anyone interested in a comedic adventure with the divine" (Publishers Weekly). show less
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Member Reviews
I first encountered Stephen Tobolowsky, the writer, with his collection The Dangerous Animals Club. When I picked up that collection of personal essays that focuses on his childhood, I thought that his name and picture sounded familiar. With a quick Google search I realized that he’s “that actor in that show”. Seriously. He’s a character actor with an IMDB listing as long as Shaq's arm. The Dangerous Animals Club was absolutely hilarious and the title essay reminded me simultaneously of Stephen King’s The Body (the story that inspired Stand by Me) and David Sedaris. It is a must read.
The next time I ran into Tobolowsky (the writer – I can’t keep track of how often I see Tobolowsky, the actor), I was browsing iTunes for show more podcasts to listen to and there it was: The Tobolowsky Files! Sweet. Sign me up. After I had taken in just a couple of episodes, there he was again, with a new essay collection called My Adventures with God.
Tobolowsky’s latest essay collection, hot off the presses this week, turns away from his childhood and focuses on moments of his life dealing (however obliquely) with religion and spirituality. Never fear, the essays still have a great deal of humor and charm. But they are also tender and raw and deeply contemplative. He shares not only his own stories, but those of other people in his life and his ear for storytelling is impeccable. While this collection has themes of religion and spirituality, it is non-judgmental and widely accessible. I highly recommend everything I’ve heard and read so far and am looking forward to anything he may publish next.
I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks! show less
The next time I ran into Tobolowsky (the writer – I can’t keep track of how often I see Tobolowsky, the actor), I was browsing iTunes for show more podcasts to listen to and there it was: The Tobolowsky Files! Sweet. Sign me up. After I had taken in just a couple of episodes, there he was again, with a new essay collection called My Adventures with God.
Tobolowsky’s latest essay collection, hot off the presses this week, turns away from his childhood and focuses on moments of his life dealing (however obliquely) with religion and spirituality. Never fear, the essays still have a great deal of humor and charm. But they are also tender and raw and deeply contemplative. He shares not only his own stories, but those of other people in his life and his ear for storytelling is impeccable. While this collection has themes of religion and spirituality, it is non-judgmental and widely accessible. I highly recommend everything I’ve heard and read so far and am looking forward to anything he may publish next.
I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks! show less
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Author Information
Stephen Tobolowsky is an actor and writer living in Los Angeles with his wife and two sons.
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- My Adventures with God
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Biography & Memoir
- DDC/MDS
- 791.43028092 — Arts & recreation Recreation, sports, and performing arts Public performances Motion pictures, radio, television, podcasting Motion pictures Standard subdivisions Acting and performance Standard subdivisions History, geographic treatment, biography Biography
- LCC
- PN2287 .T5745 .A3 — Language and Literature Literature (General) Literature (General) Drama Dramatic representation. The theater Special regions or countries
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 28
- Popularity
- 923,780
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (2.50)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 7
- ASINs
- 1
