Book ~ "The Road Years: A Memoir, Continued ..." (2023) Rick Mercer

From Goodreads ~ At the end of his memoir "Talking to Canadians", Rick Mercer was poised to make the biggest leap yet in his extraordinary career. Having overcome a serious lack of promise as a schoolboy and risen through the showbiz ranks - as an aspiring actor, star of a surprisingly successful one-man show about the Meech Lake Accord, co-founder of "This Hour Has 22 Minutes", creator and star of the dark-comedy sitcom "Made in Canada" - he was about to tackle his biggest opportunity yet.

"The Road Years" picks up the story at that exciting point, with the greenlighting of what would become "Rick Mercer Report". Plans for the show, of course, included political satire and Rick’s patented rants. But Rick and his partner, Gerald Lunz, were also determined to do something that comedy tends to avoid as too they would emphasize the positive. Rick would travel from coast to coast to coast in search of everything that’s best about Canada, especially its people. He found a lot to celebrate, naturally, and was rewarded with a huge audience and a run of 15 seasons.

"The Road Years" tells the inside story of that stupendous success. A time when Rick was heading to another town - or military base, sports centre, national park - to try dogsledding, chainsaw carving, and bear tagging; hang from a harness (a lot); ride the “Train of Death;” plus countless other joyous and/or reckless assignments.

Added to the mix were encounters with the country’s great. Every living prime minister. Rock and roll royalty from Rush to Randy Bachman. Olympians and Paralympians. A skinny-dipping Bob Rae. And Jann Arden, of course, who gets a chapter to herself. Along the way he even found the time to visit several countries in Africa and co-found and champion the charity Spread the Net, which has gone on to protect the lives of millions.

I like reading bios/autobios and I like Rick Mercer so that's why this book caught my eye. I'd read Talking to Canadians and this one picks up where that left off ... with the start of Rick Mercer Report, which ran from 2004 to 2018.

I liked Rick Mercer Report. With that show, Rick accomplished what he set out to do when he created it ... he got to see a lot of Canada, meet and hang with many Canadians (ordinary folks and famous people) and experience exciting things that many of us will never get the opportunity to. Obviously not all the shows could be discussed but many were highlighted and I found myself heading to YouTube to rewatch segments he talked about ... like tobogganing with Geddy Lee, spending the night when Stephen Harper was prime minister, fishing with Bob Rae, indoor skydiving with Alex Lifeson and more.

I liked the writing style. Rick was honest about what he thought of people, especially politicians, and he was usually amusing ... I could "hear" his voice in the writing. There were colour pictures at the end from some of the segments in the show.

Book ~ "Talking to Canadians: A Memoir" (2021) Rick Mercer

From Goodreads ~ Canada’s beloved comic genius tells his own story for the first time.

What is Rick Mercer going to do now? That was the question on everyone’s lips when the beloved comedian retired his hugely successful TV show after 15 seasons - and at the peak of its popularity. The answer came not long after, when he roared back in a new role as stand-up-comedian, playing to sold-out houses wherever he appeared.

And then Covid-19 struck. And his legions of fans began asking again: What is Rick Mercer going to do now? Well, for one thing, he’s been writing a comic masterpiece. For the first time, this most private of public figures has turned the spotlight on himself, in a memoir that’s as revealing as it is hilarious. In riveting anecdotal style, Rick charts his rise from highly unpromising schoolboy (in his reports “the word ‘disappointment’ appeared a fair bit”) to the heights of TV fame. Along the way came an amazing break when, not long out of his teens, his one-man show "Show Me the Button, I’ll Push It. Or, Charles Lynch Must Die", became an overnight sensation - thanks in part to a bizarre ambush by its target, Charles Lynch himself. That’s one story you won’t soon forget, and this book is full of them.

There’s a tale of how little Rick helped himself to a tree from the neighbours’ garden that’s set to become a new Christmas classic. There’s Rick the aspiring actor, braving “the scariest thing I have ever done in my life” by performing with the Newfoundland Shakespeare Company; unforgettable scenes with politicians of every variety, from Jean Chretien to George W. Bush to Stockwell Day; and a wealth of behind-the-scenes revelations about the origins and making of "This Hour Has 22 Minutes", "Made in Canada", and "Talking to Americans". All leading of course to the greenlighting of that mega-hit, "Rick Mercer Report".

It’s a life so packed with incident (did we mention Bosnia and Kabul?) and laughter we can only hope that a future answer to “What is Rick Mercer going to do now?” is: “Write volume two.”

I like reading bios/autobios and I like Rick Mercer and that's why I read this book.

Rick Mercer was born 50+ years ago in St. John's, Newfoundland and these are his stories of his family, friends, career and spouse.  

School wasn't his thing but once he discovered entertaining, he knew it was what he wanted to do.  After being part of some groups, he hit it big with a one-man show with the name of a journalist in the title ... and it caught the attention of the journalist who staged mock confrontations, which publicized it even more.  From there he went on to create and be a part of This Hour Has 22 Minutes and Made in Canada.  He tells of heading to the U.S. for Talking to Americans segments and was amazed at how much the Americans really don't know much about Canada.  It was interesting to read about his experiences with the members of our Armed Forces.  The book ends just before The Rick Mercer Report.

I liked the writing style.  It was honest and amusing at times ... I could "hear" Rick's voice in the writing.