Neil Patrick Harris, Choose
Your Own Autobiography (Crown Archetype, 2014).
Also available or Nook and Kindle.
(AUTOBIOGRAPHY WITH FICTIONAL ELEMENTS)
Reviewed by Kevin A. Penrod, Jr.
Off the bat I am gonna say this is the funniest
autobiography I have ever read! In the tradition of the "choose your own
adventure" books where you are put in the lead role as the character and
have to make choices to decide the outcome, Neil Patrick Harris puts you in
control of his life. Reading this book, I occasionally made the wrong decisions,
decisions that lead to death by avalanche, rapids, quick sand, and murder, and to
a girl displeased with a magic trick in which you (Neil Patrick Harris)
pretended to cut her sisters’ finger off. I also had an outcome in which you
(once again Neil Patrick Harris) imagined all your fame and were actually working
at a deli for the rest of your days. But the right choices lead to a pretty fun
life: being a child doctor on the show Doogie Howser, being named president of
the magic castle, starring in numerous movies and Broadway shows. Which led to
your first gay experience; after somewhat hiding it, you come out to the world
to very little discrimination. And that leads to you meeting the man that will
become your husband and going through the stressful journey of having your twin
children through surrogacy. With a lot of jokes here and there, a crossword
puzzle and a secret page *ssshhhhh*.
I could not put this book down. I found myself continuing because
I found that once I thought I made all the possible decisions, I would find a
whole new path in his life story. I recommend this book to fans of comedy, his
show “How I Met Your Mother,” and autobiographies. Once again such a fun read.
