Happy People Are Annoying

I was curious about reading into Josh Peck's personal life through his memoir and what I got out of it was pretty unexpected. I was mostly expecting a look into his career with some funny anecdotes... a mostly positive and sunny affair. Although he does go through his career project after project, it's instead quite the heavy, personal read into the many inner demons and dark moments Peck has faced throughout his life from his issues of drugs, self doubt, overconfidence, overeating, and the lack of having a father figure. It's a very well written reflection on his past and how he has confronted it to become ultimately a better person. My only complaint was that I was completely uninterested in his rise to fame through social media and marketing (which others may find interesting). I completely understand why he needed to write about it but thank goodness that section was short. So overall this was a solid read that's surprisingly dark and heavy, similar to that of Jonathan Van Ness' excellent memoir. Ultimately he tries his best to share some advice on being happy and if you're curious into his career or his personal life, I'd recommend it.

I listened to this book all at once in one day, only pausing briefly when I needed to focus on something. This is a deeply personal dive into everything you would want to know about Josh Peck. Does he talk about Drake & Josh? So briefly that it might as well not have been in the book. Does he talk about his relationship with Drake Bell? Not at all. This book is about Josh Peck, the person, navigating his life up through 2021 and all of the baggage he's had to deal with in life. It's all delivered in a way that feels like he's talking directly to the reader who asked him to tell his life story. It's the opposite of embellished. There are a lot of ups and downs. It's worth a read, but it's also definitely worth a listen. Josh does his own audiobook, which is great.