The Chris Farley Show

I hope that everyone has got this book and started read it. It may be the best book we've read so far. I have throughly enjoyed it and that may be the reason I'm almost done! I realize our group of friends has a strange affinity for Chris Farley, but that aside, it's an excellent book.

I like the way the book is structured into one long narrative from several different perspectives. You really feel like you get to know exactly who Chris Farley was. With the variety of points of view, it seems like it's a three dimensional look into his life. I'm sort of surprised that his family was so involved in writing it. It seems like there is a ton of information in there that I would consider overly personal and wouldn't want anyone sharing about me or my family.

The most interesting part I've read is at the very beginning when Chris was speaking to people at the rehab facility during his longest stretch of sobriety. Somehow they got the text of the little speech he made and it was really insightful to how people in those situations get stuck in those situations. He was really frank about how he tried to work the system and tell people what they wanted to hear. He seemed to have a real honest opinion about his problems and addictions and there are several people throughout the book that say he genuinely tried to overcome them.

It's too bad that he died as a result of his addiction. This book really shows you the human side of Farley and makes you wish more than anything that he was around just to care about people the way he did while he was alive. He seemed to be a positive influence on everyone he touched. He was a funny man.

PS
The best story in the book is a childhood story that Tom tells about Chris causing trouble around the dinner table after getting caught by his mom doing something completely disgusting. I won't ruin it for those who haven't read it, but that is reason enough to read the book. Best story I've ever heard, hands down.