Live TV chaos, backstage meltdowns, and the irreverent art of keeping your cool when forty million eyes are watching.

For readers of John O’Hurley’s It’s Okay to Miss the Bed on the First Jump and Chelsea Handler’s Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea, Daytime Emmy-winner Tom Bergeron—host of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars and America’s Funniest Home Videos—offers a series of humorous and inspirational stories on surviving Hollywood, including behind-the-camera stories with A-list celebrities.

Bergeron traces his broadcast path from a teenage radio DJ in Haverhill to live network television. The memoir recounts detours through Maine mime theater and local morning talk shows.

The chapters pair candid studio accounts—including ballroom fainting spells and game-show pranks—with his daily meditation practice. The author shares the practical habits that kept him grounded through live emergencies.

• Pop Culture Memoir: At sixteen, Bergeron cold-called Three Stooges legends Moe Howard and Larry Fine using a tape recorder suction-cupped to the family telephone.
• Television History: Memorable broadcast milestones include leaping into a giant Fifth Avenue orange juice display and navigating an elaborate April Fools’ Day prank orchestrated by Henry Winkler.
• Daily Practices: A decades-long habit of repeating a Sanskrit mantra helped the host cool a youthful temper and center his focus before hitting the stage.
• Raw Honesty: Candid personal reflections explore professional setbacks, agonizing bouts with stress-induced back spasms, and the grounding discipline of staying in the moment.