by Wil Wheaton
First published 2022
Wil Wheaton returns to his 2004 memoir Just a Geek with fresh perspective and brutal honesty. The actor who played Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation examines his journey from child star in Stand by Me to convention circuit regular to social media phenomenon with over 3 million followers. Wheaton annotates his original blog posts from wilwheaton.net with new insights, adding recently written material that reveals his ongoing struggles with depression, his path to finding love and starting a family, and his discovery of writing as his true calling. He confronts his complicated relationship with his past roles, including his stint as Evil Wil Wheaton on The Big Bang Theory, while exploring how he rebuilt his career beyond the shadow of child actor expectations. The memoir traces his evolution from someone who doubted anyone would read his random thoughts to a respected voice in science fiction and pop culture. Wheaton delivers an unfiltered look at reinvention, creative fulfillment, and the messy process of growing up in public.
Genres: autobiography, memoir, biography-memoir, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, reinvention
Setting: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Period: 2004
436 pages · Hardcover · William Morrow
Content warnings: depression, mental-illness