ROOKIE

An actor and singer-songwriter’s account of wrestling with his demons.

Early in his book, Bassett writes, “through stories, philosophy and poetry, / i’ll take you behind the curtain / of my public, private and secret life.…if you’re up for the ride, / i guarantee you will walk away stretched, challenged, and / transformed— / or at least you’ll have fun along the way.” “Fun” is a bit of a stretch: Bassett’s memoir-in-verse/self-help guide is a harrowing account of his “heart failure, complex PTSD, betrayal, / near-death addictions, abuse, and suicide attempts to name a few.” The book begins with the actor recounting his near-death experience at age of 20, and things get bleaker from there: He writes about living through sexual abuse, an alcohol-abuse problem, and a struggle with disordered eating—all with an admirable candor. The problem is that his writing just isn’t very strong: The line breaks seem arbitrary, as if inserted to fit a particular aesthetic, and his frequent use of italics for no apparent reason is distracting. The book is filled with aphorisms that don’t quite hit: “heart = he + art / art is only valuable / when it comes from the heart,” he writes at one point, and then later, “grateful + attitude = gratitude.” He credits Christianity with saving him from himself and is defensive on the subject: “[manifesting, crystals, witches, psychics, ayahuasca, are all cool / but the second Jesus is mentioned, i’m crazy.]” Interspersed throughout are quotes from Nelson Mandela, James Clear, Steve Jobs, and Bo Burnham. Bassett was clearly motivated by a need to help others like himself, so if the book, despite its weaknesses, ends up in the hands of a young person who needs it, that’s a win.

A well-intentioned but often awkward memoir.