A Hard Kick in the Nuts: What I’ve Learned from a Lifetime of Terrible Decisions

Renowned Jackass stuntman and comedian Glover outlines the secrets to a fulfilling life in this surprisingly introspective follow-up to his debut memoir Professional Idiot. Drawing on his personal experiences—including, but not limited to, death-defying stunts like hitting a ramp on a horse-pulled wakeboard, and making snow angels in flaming rocket fuel—Glover explores the creation of meaning in life and how to nourish it. Alongside the perilous feats of his past, Glover dives into more intimate anecdotes from his life, detailing his past relationships, poor financial investments, awkward romantic escapades, and, most notably, his winding—at times vicious—path into stand-up comedy, plus many more challenges. From reckoning with aging and learning the benefits of discipline to taking up Vedic meditation and finding joy in color-coded calendars, Glover uses the wisdom he’s gained from his freewheeling life to urge readers to embrace a “willingness to zig and zag” and to accept that occasional failures are part and parcel with finding happiness. While one might not expect to find wisdom in a hilarious tale about belly-flopping into a urine-filled kiddie pool, Glover is a veritable expert at learning “some valuable shit from [a] lifetime of terrible decisions.” Dick jokes aside, this is full of heart and hard-won insight. (Sept.)