Making It So: A Memoir

This was s fantastic book, capturing so much of Patrick Stuart's life. I love the very humble beginnings as well as his insight into many of the major events in his life. I first became aware of Patrick Stuart in Excalibur, but he has left this experience out of the book. I am sure that he hits on the events that really meant something or moved him and perhaps that experience wasn't significant. I would go on to see him in Lifeforce before enjoying his Captain Picard in STTNG. If you have ever wondered how someone can make it in the arts through hard work and determination, look no further than this book. It is detailed and has a sense of humor that helps it flow.

Like many people my age, I came to know Patrick Stewart through Star Trek: The Next Generation. I knew he worked in British theatre, and I’ve always been an admirer of their theatre tradition, and I recognized him from Excaliber, a movie I love, and Dune, a movie I watched because I love the book and I’m a big fan of Sting. (Stewart’s anecdote about meeting Sting is quite funny, as is his meeting with David Lynch.) I’d also seen him in Macbeth on Broadway. Still, I wasn’t sure I would be all that interested in his autobiography. Once I started reading, however, it didn’t take me long to realize that this is an excellent book, and he doesn’t get to Star Trek for over 300 pages have passed.Reading about Stewart’s childhood is quite eye-opening: the handful of rooms, the outside toilet (where he did most of his reading, no matter the weather), the abusive father. He got into the theatre at a young age and got himself into acting camps and, ultimately, acting school. Frankly, I am always amazed at how seriously the Brits take their acting, as evidenced by how many great actors have learning experiences like Stewart’s. Also, why I think British actors, as a whole, easily outshine their American counterparts. His stories of his theatre work are some of the best in the book. I love his stories about going on tour with Vivien Leigh and auditioning for the Royal Shakespeare Company especially.He is generally frank about his relationships, and his stories are not gossipy, which I like. He is willing to take the blame for his mistakes, and generally seems to understand his fault in the break-up of his first two marriages. I don’t think he does a particularly good job of getting himself off the hook with the “but we’re in love” approach to his current, much, much younger wife nor with what appears to be the strain between him and his children, but you can’t really expect much more than he tries to give us here.Overall, this is a wonderful autobiography, made better by the fact that he seems to have written the entire thing on his own. (I hope I’m not misled on this.) He has many wonderful stories to tell, and he does it well. His insights into the stage, what makes a show work, and Hollywood are all fascinating and fun. I wasn’t sure I would make it through this one, but it is a joy to read.

I put this one on my wait list with the library as soon as it was released. It finally came into my queue in March, 2024. Well worth the wait.Stewart weaves the stories of his life wonderfully, at times skipping ahead or returning to the past. Much of it feels like a conversation where an avid fan likely knew a few incidents but not much detail.He’s brutally honest about his life, loves, failures, and drive. I wanted to read it because I’m a Star Trek fan. I needed to read it because some of the pain of his upbringing sounded familiar to me. It was good to find someone putting words to struggles I’ve tried to leave buried. That made me hopeful.Lots of moments with genuine laughs and a few with tears. I found myself often turning to IMDb to find pictures of the personalities he encountered on stage and screen and learn more of their stories too.It was worth the wait. I’m glad I got to read it.

Patrick Stewart bares his desires, his passion, and yes, some deep flaws in his past to show his fans his humanity and vision. What is becomes is an entertaining walk down memory lane through scenes most have never experienced.Sir Patrick unfortunately goes painstakingly through his early childhood in far more pages than he later devotes to X-Men. He mentions abuse but glosses over those horrors while still using them as motivations. I would like to have some of the mundane history of small town England truncated. It just didn’t have the same bounce as the later stage and screen writing he turned out in the rest of the book.We do get great stories of his time on stage with Shakespeare. Most of his life he served the minor character lives of those plays and not as the leads he would play after his tv stardom took hold. It gives hope to people to keep trying.He also reveals some serious flaws in himself which paint him as not a good person at times. How little he really writes of his personal life in this memoir is striking. It’s in there but mostly as asides after he gets married and onward. What we learn are byproducts of what is going on for him professionally. I won’t spoil them now but many people will think of him differently now.I think he is an amazing actor and can’t wait for more Picard if it happens. This is a good book full of well placed name drops and fun stories of famous people all struggling before fame to make it. It humanizes him and that makes the powerful Professor Xavier and the mighty Captain Picard feel so much more like friends we miss.

É uma biografia sem escândalos, mas justa e honesta.

Am exactly halfway through the set. It's been a lot of fun, from learning about the Yorkshire accent ("twindoh", "gazunder") to backstage shenanigans. I, too, spent part of my childhood without comforts like an indoor toilet or one's own bathwater. So it's both a nostalgic listen, and an eye-opening one for a non-actor. Sir Pat is a compelling writer, and, it seems, a considerable horndog. :-)My only complaint is that each disc (after the first) is split into only two tracks. So I'm faced with a choice, each time: either commit to listening 'til the end of the track, or spend awhile trying to find my spot, next time I start it up. It would have been so much easier if they'd broken each track into 2 or 3 (so, a total of 4 to 6 per disc, instead of 2). But that's a minor quibble. In every other way, this has been a delight and well worth the $.

Dieses Buch erfüllt absolut meinen Erwartungen. Ein fantastisches Buch. Schön und interessant erzählt. Ein fantastische Englisch. Leicht zu verstehen weil es keinen Slang enthält. So wie man es von einem Shakespeare darsteller erwartet.

Lo voy a leer durante un viaje a fin de mes. Aún no puedo opinar.

I think this book is very well written. It keeps you locked in and gives a nice insight in the life and personality of Patrick Stewart.