A review by kmg365
Becoming Superman: My Journey from Poverty to Hollywood by J. Michael Straczynski

5.0

When I read an autobiography or biography of a famous person, especially one known for tv or movie projects, I often struggle to maintain interest in the early chapters, which in most cases deal with the subject's life before fame. Further, if the subject of the bio is famous for multiple projects, I'm antsy to get to the part that deals with the project I like the best. I think that's natural. Somewhere out there, there's a guy who read William Shatner's autobiography, and during the chapters about Star Trek thought “Yeah, yeah, but when are we going to get to T.J. Hooker?”

So when I first picked up an audio copy of the book, I thought, gee, I hope I can maintain interest until he gets to Babylon 5.

Holy shit. It held my interest, all right. In a vice grip.

I'm not going to mention any events from Straczynski's life, because it's not my story to tell, and you really, really need to read it yourself, because not only are the events jaw-dropping, the writing is superb.

I will share something from the last chapter. The author talks about the actual odds of the amazing things that have happened to him having happened, and they are staggering. I'm so glad he did that, because I kept noting astounding coincidences as I listened to the book, and he acknowledges how very unlikely it is that all those things happened to a single person. He also gives some great advice. When life knocks you down, get up and keep going. Do that again, and again, and again. All you have to do to win is get up one more time than you are knocked down.

Read it. Or listen. The audio reader, Babylon 5 alumnus Peter Jurasik, does a fantastic job. Even if you've never heard of the author. Even if you've never watched a single second of a science fiction television show, or picked up a comic book. It's about following your bliss, and being a decent human being while you do it.