The Answer Is…: Reflections on My Life

Unprecedented Look At A Man We All Came To See As An Uncle. For me, this book will always be tied up in so many emotions. I listened to it while driving home from my hometown, which is never easy to begin with, knowing that the next time I come back, it will be to say goodbye to the house I spent my teens and early 20s in - the house I truly became a man in. And I listened to Alex tell me about his life, with the assistance of Ken Jennings - the person who won the most Jeopardy games ever - for much of the book. Alex himself did the introduction and final chapter, as well as chapters about Ken and other mega winners and about his wife. And in the Audible form, with Alex reading the final chapter, some combination of himself and/ or the engineers actually allowed his cancer-ravaged voice to come through in much of this final section. Though the final paragraphs, with Alex saying goodbye, return to the “old” Alex - the Alex Trebek I daresay is known to billions. It was a bittersweet ending, knowing that his time was limited by the pancreatic cancer he had revealed nearly two years before I read this book on November 8, 2020. And therein lies the final reason this book will forever be tied into so many emotions for me. Within roughly an hour of finishing this book while just arriving in the far side of my (largest US city by land area outside of Alaska) town, I learned that Alex Trebek had passed away that very morning, quite possibly as I was listening to this very book. (Though less likely as I was listening to him actually say goodbye.)

Alex Trebek as a cultural icon is right up there with Mr. Rogers.

Alex Trebek, the human revealed in these pages, is the same as any of the rest of us, though perhaps with a much higher sense of decorum than many of us.

RIP Alex Trebek, and thank you for writing this truly excellent book. Very much recommended.

★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S THE ANSWER IS...:REFLECTIONS ON MY LIFE ABOUT?
Trebek starts off talking about why he wrote the book at this time, how it's not an exhaustive autobiography, and really too brief to be a memoir, instead, it's some sort of French term that I didn't catch—little vignettes about his life, some brief stories or impressions of a time/place, some are longer reflections about something.

He talks about his childhood, his parents, his education (including feuds with particular teachers—including a petty-sounding beef with a priest he in prep school that he hasn't totally gotten past), his early days in TV in Canada, moving to the US, and starting on Jeopardy!. He even talks a bit about the impressions that Eugene Levy and Will Ferrell did of him. Beyond that, Trebek discusses the charity works he does, his family, and, of course, his cancer.

He talks a little about American culture and the state of the nation right now (exacerbated by COVID-19), and gets a little more political than we're used to him being (more political than I think he's used to being). While I think if he got more detailed and in-depth with his analysis, I'd probably differ with him on the details—but he didn't, so I could only nod along with him. We need a few million more people saying what he said (and living the way he seems to).

You get a little bit of everything—some is lighthearted, some is heavier, a lot just comes across as a humble and grateful older man reminiscing. Which is exactly what this is.

A LITTLE ABOUT THE NARRATION
Ken Jennings was a great choice for narrator—it's hard to think of either of them without thinking of the other (well, since 2004, anyway). He sounds like a natural doing this and I'd enjoy listening to him narrate other audiobooks (he did the audiobook for his own, Planet Funny, and I bet it sounds pretty good).

But Trebek read a few chapters himself—the one about why he swears so often (it surprised me, too), the one talking about notable Jeopardy! contestants (like Jennings), the one about his wife (Trebek didn't like the idea of someone else talking about his wife that way), and the last chapter, where he discussed his cancer and coming to terms with his impending death. I understand why he couldn't do the entire book himself, but I'd have preferred it (nothing against Jennings—I'd have been content with Jennings doing the whole thing). But I'm so glad he did those chapters, you could hear the sincerity in his praise for Jennings, Eddie Timanus, Cindy Stowell, and others; his love for his wife; and the resolution and contemplation he'd put into his final days (hopefully there are many more of them).

I'm still tempted to grab a copy of the hardcover, just so I can see the pictures. But, I'm so glad I got to hear parts of this in Trebek's own voice.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUTTHE ANSWER IS...:REFLECTIONS ON MY LIFE?
You can argue that my evaluation of this book is all about sentiment, fanboy-ness, and is devoid of any sense of judging the skill of writing, the depth of insight, or anything like that. I won't disagree. Trebek's been a fixture in my life/consciousness for longer than I can really remember. Every time I've heard/seen an interview with him (which, admittedly, isn't often), I've been more and more impressed with him. I won't say he's a hero/role model or anything, but I admire the guy, respect his work ethic and attitude. I've got his Funko Pop figure in my cubicle at work. He's just...well, like a said, a fixture. So listening to stories about his life tapped into that sector of my subconscious that's been labeled “Alex Trebek” since I was a pre-teen and he started on Jeopardy!.

This book would've had to have been really bad for me not to love it. Thankfully, it wasn't.

And if you can hear him talk about his wife, his children, his cancer—and the effect that the cancer's having on his wife and children as he prepares for death without being moved? There's something wrong with ya. At that point, any thought I had about pretending to be objective and analytical went out the window.

My sole complaint is that it's four-and-a-half hours long. It's just not long enough. I get that he wasn't trying to be exhaustive—and I don't necessarily want that—but when you start to hear these quick stories about his growing up, his getting established in the business (either in Canada or the States), his friendships...and of course, Jeopardy!—you just want it to keep going for hours and hours. So I dinged it half a star (but it deserves all 5).

I loved this book, I laughed, I was surprised, I chuckled, I learned a little, I got choked up. Can't ask for much more.

Memoirs are best when read by the author. The voice especially when it's one so famous lends itself to the authenticity of the piece.

Ken took much of the narration duties from Alex due to his cancer but their connection being so close and well known to the public it felt natural. Further with Ken being called the host of Jeopardy! now it is a natural transition.

I wish we would have got more focus on his life prior to Jeopardy! but that's okay.

The ending of the book was powerful and hearing Alex say goodbye and to have a good life really got to me. These parasocial relationships are so odd because I've seen and heard him for hundreds of hours and he will never know I existed.