‘A FRANK, FUNNY, POWERFUL MEMOIR,’ The Guardian
***
‘Put very simply, the details of my life could be boiled down to “boy dreams of being a comedian and then becomes one”, so in a basic sense everything has gone according to plan. Item number one on the lifetime to-do list has been well and truly ticked off.
‘But, of course, things are never that simple, because nobody becomes a comic without some degree of “character building” along the way…’
When Jon Richardson unearthed his teenage diaries among a stash of 1990s mementoes, he faltered. How much value could there be in revisiting the awkward, unfiltered thoughts of a 14-year-old boy, especially now, in his forties and a successful comedian, actor and father?
As it turns out, quite a lot.
In this candid memoir, Jon reconnects with his younger self: a working-class boy growing up in an era when Oasis dominated the charts and Baywatch posters plastered bedroom walls. Recalling mortifying misadventures (including a humiliating PE lesson on the climbing ropes), to small triumphs that felt enormous at the time, like winning a pack of Chewits for the ‘cleanest tent’ at scout camp, Jon revisits the moments that shaped him and, ultimately, set him on the path to comedy.
But beneath the humour lies something deeper: a raw exploration of adolescence and identity.
The Teenage Diaries of a Stand-Up Comedian will take readers on a nostalgic trip down memory lane but, above all, it is a moving reflection on what it means to grow up and whether we ever really leave our younger selves behind.
***
‘Put very simply, the details of my life could be boiled down to “boy dreams of being a comedian and then becomes one”, so in a basic sense everything has gone according to plan. Item number one on the lifetime to-do list has been well and truly ticked off.
‘But, of course, things are never that simple, because nobody becomes a comic without some degree of “character building” along the way…’
When Jon Richardson unearthed his teenage diaries among a stash of 1990s mementoes, he faltered. How much value could there be in revisiting the awkward, unfiltered thoughts of a 14-year-old boy, especially now, in his forties and a successful comedian, actor and father?
As it turns out, quite a lot.
In this candid memoir, Jon reconnects with his younger self: a working-class boy growing up in an era when Oasis dominated the charts and Baywatch posters plastered bedroom walls. Recalling mortifying misadventures (including a humiliating PE lesson on the climbing ropes), to small triumphs that felt enormous at the time, like winning a pack of Chewits for the ‘cleanest tent’ at scout camp, Jon revisits the moments that shaped him and, ultimately, set him on the path to comedy.
But beneath the humour lies something deeper: a raw exploration of adolescence and identity.
The Teenage Diaries of a Stand-Up Comedian will take readers on a nostalgic trip down memory lane but, above all, it is a moving reflection on what it means to grow up and whether we ever really leave our younger selves behind.
Reviews
A frank, funny, powerful memoir