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Joyful Recollections of Trauma

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Joyful Recollections of Trauma

By: Paul Scheer
Narrated by: Paul Scheer
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About this listen

From award-winning actor and comedian Paul Scheer, a candid and hilarious memoir-in-essays on coming to terms with childhood trauma and finding the joy in embracing your authentic self, featuring content exclusive to the audio edition, including excerpts from live shows and audio clips from home movies.

Paul Scheer has entertained countless fans and podcast listeners with stories about the odd, wild, and absurd details of his life. Yet these tales have pointed to deeper, more difficult truths that the actor and comedian has kept to himself. Now, he is finally ready to share those truths for the first time—but, of course, with a healthy dose of humor.

Blending the confident, affable voice that has won him a dedicated following with a refreshing level of candor, Joyful Recollections of Trauma chronicles Paul’s often shocking, admittedly tumultuous childhood and how the experiences of his youth have reverberated throughout his life. In his comedy, Paul has always been unafraid to “go there,” to play naïve, cringeworthy characters, imbuing them with disarming charm and humanity. That daring openness is on display in this memoir, but in true Paul fashion, it is also surprising, eye-opening, and side-splitting.

In this madcap journey through the inner working of his mind and creative process, Paul Scheer demonstrates once again that the truth is often stranger—and funnier—than fiction. Joyful Recollections of Trauma offers a unique perspective on universal themes: growing up, working through a challenging childhood, staying true to yourself, and finding success, fulfillment, and happiness in often strange and difficult circumstances. Throughout, Paul shares both the hard-fought lessons and the laughter that can be found in the darkest parts of life, and reminds us that what matters is not what you’ve been through but who you are becoming. If you loved recent memoirs by Molly Shannon, Maria Bamford, RuPaul, and Jennette McCurdy—or any book that moves you to both laughter and tears—Joyful Recollections of Trauma is the perfect listen for you.

©2024 Paul Scheer (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers Entertainment & Celebrities Personal Development Personal Success Funny Witty Heartfelt
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Paul Scheer is one of the most charming people on this earth! Being a long time listener of HDTGM, I have been blessed to hear snippets of Paul’s childhood stories the last decade and I am so stoked he chose to write a book. I really appreciate his candour about the hard times and the good, and the totally wacky. He is a great story teller. I rejoined audible to listen to this book.

Absolutely Charming

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I remember seeing Paul on the old Conan show, but then found the HDTGM podcast, and eventually Unspooled. When I heard this book coming out I was skeptical about it being another celebrity nothing book. Paul goes deep in to childhood trauma that the reader, or maybe just me, remembers similar things happening too. Thank you Paul for writing such a meaningful, and hilarious, book

One of the most open books I’ve read/listened too

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Great audio book by Paul. I cried at least three times due to similar experiences and admiration for the effort he’s put in.

Genuine emotion

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Paul gives a great and enlightening look into his singular childhood and a sampling of his most interesting stories. Always funny and heartfelt, I strongly recommend this book for anyone who likes a good story and a good time. Like catching up with a friend you haven't seen for a while and who has some great and crazy yarns to spin.

Honest, funny and charming

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As a long-time listener, first-time reviewer of Paul Scheer’s work, I wanted to give my first opinion of his autobiography. I found the unfolding of Paul’s life to be profoundly moving and heartbreaking at times. In recounting his childhood trauma, Paul sometimes downplays it to spare us the discomfort of focusing on the violence and isolation he experienced. He explains that this is a key part of his personality, minimising negative aspects to protect other people’s feelings.

I was expecting more odd and peculiar stories like those occasionally unearthed during the How Did This Get Made podcast—i.e., ghosts and mother-frenching. So, I was initially slightly disappointed that it wasn’t a compilation of truly weird events. But in the end, this book is so much more than that.

Paul brings his seasoned audio presenter skills to the reading of his audiobook.

I highly recommend it. Five Stars.

Joyful listening to trauma

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wow trauma is not easy to write or listen to . but wow U made me laugh in middle of worrying about U . U made me think even higher of U .thanks for allowing us some insight into the past present and what makes U tick . wonderful highly recommened

Brillant

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Long time HDTGM & Unspooled fan. This book is beautifully written & read. Funny & heartfelt. I was particularly moved hearing the story of Paul’s mother packing the car with her young son & all their belongings to leave an abusive husband/father and remembering my own very similar experience. I highly recommend this book for the LOLs but more so Paul’s honesty & vulnerability.

Long time, first time.

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So gratifying and satisfying. And ADHD? Who would have thought… probably one of the warmest embraces of bad things in someone’s life.

Joyful indeed

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I’ve been a fan of Paul “Tall John” Scheer for many years. As an avid listener of HDTGM I was so excited when he announced the hilarious stories he divulged during the podcast and the reactions from co-hosts, audience members and listeners were the inspiration for him writing this book. When it was announced I pre-ordered it. That was six months ago, so it was a long wait. I’ve never done that for a book before, and I’m so glad Joyful Recollections was the book I chose to do it for. Paul’s reading is so full of personality I couldn’t imagine only reading it via a hard copy. I have a copy on the way to Australia (ready to be signed by Paul in just a few hours at his virtual signing!), but to really experience the full gamut of emotions and Paul as a person, the audiobook is the way to go. I won’t put any spoilers in, but like many, I was surprised that the “trauma” from the title was very real. For anyone seeking the lighthearted side of Paul’s life, you get a lot of that, but so much more. It is a fully realised memoir of a fascinating life that I relished. I also realised I had a lot in common with Paul and his life experiences. Even if I hadn’t, it is such a relatable story and he is such an open, warm, funny, open and relatable person.
Thank you for sharing your stories with us, Paul, I hope to hear many more. Whether they be on social media, Twitch, How Did This Get Made (the best podcast ever) or a second book, which I will gladly make my *second* pre-order ☺️

So relatable

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I was pottering around in the laundry, trying to use the weekend productively. Through my clunky, white headphones was the voice of Paul Scheer reading his memoir, "Joyful Recollections of Trauma."

Scheer was sharing how, in a moment of triumph, he overheard someone gossiping about him, and they were standing in the only escape route from the spot he then stood, frozen in place. Scheer eventually talks himself into leaving, passing the offender, and going out into the night to enjoy people better than this mean-spirited man, who Paul realised did not have to have this power over him.

I burst into tears. Not because I was sad, exactly, but because I have hidden in more bathrooms and small spaces than I could count, and now, I was also in a place of healing from inner and outer terrors. In a place where I recognised the power of community and had the ability and freedom to seek those people out.

Even though Scheer and I live worlds apart, literally and figuratively, I felt a kinship. I had always admired him and found him kind, funny, and approachable, and not just because he reminds me of my wonderful brother-in-law.

I found Scheer's body of work in a roundabout way. See, I had always loved Star Trek: Voyager. Partly because there was a woman captain in an impossible situation who chose to keep going for the sake of her crew. I always escaped into film and television, and it also taught me how to socialise, for better and for worse.

One day, I was looking up my captain, Kate Mulgrew, and saw she was in a satirical crime comedy. I watched the few short clips, and I was *hooked.* Being in Australia, I can guarantee I obtained the rest of the show by illegal means (sorry, Paul). It was fun, silly, and piqued my curiosity. "Wait, two of the leads are married?!" I exclaimed, "and they have a MOVIE PODCAST?"
Since then, my life has been a constant rotation of Paul's movie podcasts, and him showing up as a guest role in all my favourite shows.

When I heard through the podcast he was writing a book about joy and trauma, I genuinely did not know what to expect. I had heard some of the funny stories of his childhood and wondered, is this tongue in cheek trauma? Or is this perhaps going to be full of toxic positivity and unrelatable anecdotes that will knot up my stomach, like so many celebrity penned works do? The answer to both, I'm happy to report, was a resounding no.

Joyful Recollections of Trauma is a surprisingly vulnerable and brave journey that was far more personal and relatable to me than I could have imagined. In editing notes, he was told to "go deeper," and boy... he delivered.

Yet, a hopeful tone remains throughout the scary, painful social interactions, the physical abuse (yes, that happened), the grown adults giving chase to a child and another trying to break into his home (yes, that happened), and the fire he started while innocently acting out his own movie scene behind a holiday cabin (yes, that happened).

This tone is not just because it is cushioned with soft and funny vignettes, which are sometimes clips from the podcast that tie in nicely to the chaper, but because it gets to the root of healing and self-acceptance in a realistic manner. In a way that does not lay blame the hurt on the traumatised child in any of us, but gently reiterating the power of safe and caring blood/chosen family, therapy, gentle self insight and correction, and a desire to break unhealthy cycles: turning toward personal values and away from unhelpful actions and people who wish harm.

Particularly touching is the struggle of even sharing such a story. For generations, families have been more comfortable in hiding trauma under rocks and in tightly locked drawers, with many events plainly and eloquently expressed in this memoir being no exception. Scheer grapples with the idea of things not "being his business," even those things shaped and changed him in ways that ran deep into his very veins and neurons. While he clearly loves those who would rather keep these tales hidden, there is something particularly powerful in Paul standing up, reclaiming that trauma, and making it his business to share them with the world.

How was he to know that by doing so, he would gain more community than ever before and remind that community just how far they have come together? Perhaps, even help those who are early in their own journey.

That little girl in the southern regions of Australia, undiagnosed neurodivergent, weird, isolated, and hurt: she needed to hear it. That girl who escaped into creativity and films, who spent hours acting out her own movie scenes in lonely gardens and hillsides: she needed to hear it. That girl who had to be resilient and eventually got help after feeling like everything should have been obvious to the powerful grown-ups around her well before that point: she needed to hear it.

She's still in there sometimes, and with books like this one, she will never feel fully alone again.

Heartbreaking, optimistic, and accessible

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