Making It So

  Making It So (2023) by Patrick Stewart

Covid has struck and it has been nearly a week since I finished this. I'm still not quite up to writing a more substantial review, but I want to get these thoughts down while the book is fairly fresh...

 Sir Patrick Stewart--Shakespearean actor. Captain Jean-Luc Picard. Professor X--the well-known man of stage, television, screen has put together a delightful memoir that takes the reader from his hard early life in Yorkshire, England through school until he found his feet the first time he set foot on stage. He was no instant star and he may have taken a slight detour into journalism before making it his life's work, but he really knew from that first part in a school play that acting was what he wanted to do. He worked his way up through repertory theater to a stint of more than forty years as a part of the Royal Shakespeare to world-wide fame as Captain of the Enterprise and the leader of X-Men. 

It was really interesting to learn about his early years and his experiences in the theater. I felt like I knew about him during the The Next Generation years--both through watching the show and seeing various reunion segments with the actors (clips from conventions or talk shows and whatnot). There are portions of his life that he doesn't spend much time on--mostly about his personal relationships post-Star Trek. It would have been nice to hear a few more stories about his friendship with Ian McKellan. But overall, a very entertaining read. ★★★★

First line: We called it t'bottom field, never wondering where, in relation to "t'bottom," t'middle field and t'top field might be.

Last lines: And I hear Sunny calling. Supper's ready.