🎧📚 Still Just a Geek 👍
The Still Just a Geek: An Annotated Memoir audiobook by Wil Wheaton broke my typical rating system. Listening to Wheaton speak from his heart about the contents of his original memoir, Just a Geek, and tell the stories I've been reading on his blog for two-plus decades was amazing. The almost 24 hours worth of audio passed quickly and gave me so many laughs and chuckles. I'm so pleased that he's found the success and happiness that eluded him for too much of his life.
I can't give it two thumbs up though. The first reason is not Wil's fault. We now know Neil Gaimon is a terrible person and having him read his introduction from Just a Geek casts a shadow over the beginning of the audiobook. Wil takes himself to task and apologizes for numerous jokes that haven't aged well. But because of the timing of the recording, Wil was blissfully unaware of the well-corroborated Gaimon allegations we've since learned.
The second reason isn't Wil's fault either. He's incredibly brave and open about the personal trauma he experienced because of his parents throughout the book. The story he tells about taking The Curse role against his will and the resulting abuse he and his sister suffered is absolutely horrific, raw, and disturbing. I don't regret listening to that section and admire Wil's courage in talking about it so openly, but I also felt deeply uncomfortable hearing his very real pain firsthand.
The vast majority of the audiobook is entertaining geek comfort listening and I would whole-heartedly recommend it to Star Trek and Wil Wheaton fans alike. But I do so with the caveats that I've mentioned previously and the warning that Wil went through a lot of challenging times. If you can handle the emotional low points the highs and humor are well worth the journey.