When I Was Your Age
Life Lessons, Funny Stories & Questionable Parenting Advice from a Professional Clown
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- £14.99
Publisher Description
“Kenan is a master storyteller with extraordinary stories to tell. I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”—Leslie Jones
When I Was Your Age is a hilarious, heartwarming and surprising ode to growing up, getting older and wiser, and luck, life, and learning from the school of hard knocks, from SNL's longest-serving actor, Kenan Thompson
Kenan Thompson is Saturday Night Live’s longest-ever-serving cast member and a star of such pioneering sketches as “Black Jeopardy” and is hugely beloved thanks to a tidal wave of nostalgic fans who grew up on early 2000s classics All That, Good Burger, and Kenan & Kel on Nickelodeon.
He’s also a dad (to two girls) in his mid-40s living in suburbia, and whose universal, relatable, family-friendly humor has created unbelievable appeal and engagement from fans from middle America to coastal elites. Becoming a dad sucked the cool right out of him -- and he's OK with that!
When I Was Your Age is packed with hilarious yet poignant essays that are aimed to offer any reader valuable advice on parenting, focusing on positivity, and having fun in life. Kids, new parents, fellow fathers, budding comics, and aunties who want to pinch his cheeks, can all learn from his biggest mistakes and most triumphant victories. There’s something for everybody here!
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Kenan Thompson has been making people laugh for three decades and counting. In this funny and revealing memoir, the actor explores his life both on and off camera. Between his big break as a teenager on the ’90s Nickelodeon sketch show All That to his record-breaking, 20-years-and-counting tenure on Saturday Night Live, Kenan has racked up countless stories. He’s bounced back from career slumps and bankruptcy, rubbed elbows with showbiz elites, done more than a little partying with his SNL castmates, and even learned to take care of himself and become a responsible parent. Through it all, he’s stayed sincere and down to earth and very, very funny—this is a seriously charming read.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Saturday Night Live actor Thompson reflects on his family life and storied career in this rib-tickling debut memoir-in-essays. He begins with his childhood in Georgia, attributing to his tight-knit family his own eventual status as a "softie" dad to his two young daughters. The real focus, however, is Thompson's entertainment career, spanning from an early break on the Nickelodeon sketch comedy show All That through several films and into his ongoing tenure at SNL, where Thompson—who was hired in 2003—has become the longest-running cast member in the show's history. Though Thompson refuses to pick a favorite SNL host, he gossips about his audition process (he faced off against Kel Mitchell, his former comedy partner, to replace retiring cast member Tracy Morgan), sharing an office with "Weekend Update" host Colin Jost, and former president Donald Trump's appearances on SNL ("At the table read, he was a dickhead"). There are also behind-the-scenes glimpses at classic sketches including "Black Jeopardy!" and "What's Up with That?" The prevailing tone is light, but Thompson doesn't shy away from heavier topics, including his 2022 divorce from model Christina Evangeline and bankruptcy at the hands of a fraudulent accountant. Through it all, he's funny, candid company. For the comedian's fans, this is a treat.
