Customer Reviews

I'm Not High: (But I've Got a Lot of Crazy Stories about Life as a Goat Boy, a Dad, and a Spiritual Warrior)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you're like me, you've probably read a few of your favorite people's biographies, and probably found them lackluster. You feel you might as well have just read their wikipedia page, and when they do get to dish on something new, they are constantly kissing other people's asses. "Working with so and so was so wonderful, I have nothing else to say." Alright then.

And nothing is worse than you can tell it wasn't actually written by the person in question, rather by someone else as relayed to them.

Breuer's book is nothing like those wastes of trees. It's honest (stories about him almost being aborted and cleaning up after his father are right from the get-go,) funny, and incredibly well written.

Have you ever read the Harry Potter novels, where despite their length, they are so well crafted that the words almost read themselves and the pages fly by? The same is with Breuer's book: it's like you've sat down with him and are hearing the stories from his mouth.

Forget all you know about books written by comedians or celebrities. This is a damn good read.


P.S. I don't work for the publisher, by the way, and don't personally know Breuer. My 5 stars is honest. I've heard him on Opie and Anthony over the years, and found his story telling to be amazing. Definitely youtube clips of him if you're still on the fence. Anything involving Pizza Man.

Just a great read. Jim is a great story teller with a lot of funny and serious tales about his life. Jim proves to be a true family man despite hanging out with big stars such as Lars from Metallica and Dave Chappelle. Breuer also reminisces about one of the most memorable skits in SNL history where Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro make an appearance. Jim brings his stories to life while on air on The Howard Stern Show and Opie and Anthony on Sirius/XM which is where I discovered the genius of Jim Breuer

I have been a fan of Jim Breuer since his SNL days. I am a SiriusXM subscriber as well. I always laugh hysterically when he is interviewed by Howard Stern. I have always thought Jim was funny, but after reading his book I now know he not only funny but a great person. Jims seems to be the everyday guy grateful for his success and appreciative of everything he has in life. When I was reading the chapter when he was in LA doing a pilot I was actually rooting for him and felt as though I was going through the struggle with him. You can't help but become emotionally invested in this book. I am glad I bought and I have recommended to several people. You will not regret purchasing this book.

As somebody mentioned above, I too am often tempted to pick up memoirs written by my favorite comedians, actors, and/or musicians. Aside from a select few, most of them...well...suck. They are poorly written, loosely conceptualized, and often times feel rushed to completion. With that said, Jim Breuer's seems to break the mold.

I must say that I have not yet finished the book. In fact, I haven't even finished half of it. But it's been such a refreshing experience for me that I just had to tell somebody. It's made me laugh, it's made me cry (not literally, but you know what I mean), and it's made me think. Jim is such a great story teller, and more importantly, he's got interesting stories to tell. His take on the whole "spirituality vs. religion" idea is quite poignant and his reminiscing of old childhood memories is done with an almost aspergers like level of detail.

I want to end this review so I can get back to reading, but let me just tell you it's a surprisingly well written book (no co-author to my knowledge) with a sharp wit, powerful message, and a level of honesty and self realization most of us could only dream of one day achieving. I would proudly display this book along side authors like David Sedaris, Chuck Klosterman, and Augusten Burroughs. I'm not saying he's as good a writer as those guys, but he's made a valiant effort here.

Oh, one last thing. This book is funny - both chuckle to yourself funny, and even laugh out loud funny at times - without using the common "setup/punchline" technique most comedians often resort to when attempting to translate their stand up routines to paper.

I really enjoyed this book, but I bought the audio version that Jim Breuer narrarated himself. I can't imagine READING this book. So much of this book would easily get lost on the printed page because of his impressions and emotions. To be completely honest I don't think he was reading the book, he may have used it as an outline but he NEVER seemed to be reading. He sounded like he was just telling stories and I was completely hooked from start to finish. I loved hearing his impressions and the stories from SNL(the Rudy Giuliani story stood out for me), and his homelife. I you like Jimmy you need to LISTEN to this book don't bother with a paperback.

Jim Breuer is always a hilarious guest on The Howard Stern show, but you don't have to be a listener to appreciate this book.

The stories are sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, and all very entertaining. Listening to Jim as a guest over the years, he seemed to be a great human being as well as a great comedian and I only liked him more after reading his book. He's spiritual without being obnoxious, funny without being mean, and gives alot of juicy insights into Saturday Night Live and an overall view of life as a struggling - and ultimately successful - comedian.

Fun, easy, interesting read that I highly recommend. Best of luck, Jim!

Buying this book, I thought I get an inside look the crazy stoned guy from Half-Baked, but I was wrong and was pleasantly surprised. Although there are many hijinks when he was living the SNL days, overall, Bruer is a family guy who is very spiritual and shares tells of karma and fate - loves heavy metal, Star Wars and everything else anyone who grew up in the 80s was in to.

Its not all comedy but when its serious, it gets heavy and really makes you think about yourself and your own family. This is a guy who was tempted by the scary fate of many SNL cast members, yet pulled through and turned out to be a faithful husband and loving father.

Many times you'll find yourself laughing hysterically, like when he talks about his dad, but you will also look forward to the chapters of a more senstive nature. His relationships with many successful comedians and stars today is honest and direct. He'll leave you wanting more and from hearing him on his Sirius show and Howard Stern, he certainly has more to offer.

This is such a hard book to review. I think I was expecting it to be filled with humor and it was not. It was really just Jim Breuer telling you stories about his life. They were fairly interesting, but not necessarily entertaining. He seems like a nice guy, but these are the kind of stories that I would find interesting if they were coming from a close friend, not from someone I've never met. The other thing that got old fast was how many times he was "smoking hot", how many times he "totally smoked a room", how many times "the crowd roared", how many times he "killed it", "nailed it", was "awesome".

Loved this book and think it has something for everyone. Give it a try! Best message I've heard in a long time. Thank you Jim!

"I'm Not High" by Jim Breuer is probably one of the best memoir/autobiographical books I have read in a long time. It is funny, sad, humorous, poignant, and thought provoking. It is a read-it-in-one-day type of book.

Now some of you might not remember or know who Jim Breuer is... he is best known for being "Brian" in the cult classic stoner comedy "Half Baked" and also know for his "Goat Boy" and "The Joe Pesci Show" on SNL. If that still doesn't ring a bell - look him up on youtube after you get done reading this post. He is really funny.

The subtitle of his book is "(But I've Got a Lot of Crazy Stories about Life as a Goat Boy, a Dad, and a Spiritual Warrior)." And that my friends peaked my interest... what comedian has the balls to say that he is a "Spiritual Warrior"? - that and I had seen his latest standup special on Comedy Central about year ago and it was great - funny straight on "high-larious" as Ross Perot would say - I remember watching it with my Dad and laughing.

Our journey with Jim starts out in Vegas where he had just "crushed" his set and he ends up talking to this Security Guard about Christ, God, life, truth, and writing. A cleaning lady stole/took all the writing he did on a plane and in the room the night before and he and the Hotel management had to go hunt for it and the cleaning lady returned most of it. It was a great way to jump in. It really set the stage for the rest of the book.

The Themes of Comedy, Family, Friends, and God run fluidly throughout this book and not always in that order. We learn he was nearly aborted and his mother refused to do so. We also learn that his mother's first husband died in WWII and that when his mother and her family went to the funeral her husband's family and Catholic Priest didn't even acknowledge his mother or their son (Jim's older brother Eddie). This event affected Jim and his family and their outlook on the Church for years to come. We learn how he started to catch the acting/comedy bug very young. How he got on to SNL and the creation of some of his most popular characters - The Joe Pecsi Show and Goat Boy.

But, in the end, that is just the icing on the cake; the book is about sooo much more. We learn about his friend Kristen. Then we see Steve Harvey, Bill Cosby, and many others speak truth and wisdom into his life. We watch how God protects his marriage from his cheating, as he prays to God to protect him from cheating, and how God answers that prayer. Even as he is getting to the point of saying screw it, I am going to go have some fun, his wife shows up at the club and he doesn't go through with it. In the end he gets fired from a TV show - which in the end he sees as a blessing.

We see glimpses of the dangers of fame from his life as he doesn't listen to what he feels God is telling him and he signs a bad contract. And we also witness through his eyes the tremendous talent that was Chris Farley and the downward slope of his life with drugs, women, and enablers. He even gets this feeling in his gut to call Chris days before Chris' death. He swears and admonishes us to never ignore the feeling to call someone and talk because that might be the last time we are able to.

Then Jim tells us about helping take care of a nephew, the struggles in his marriage, and caring for his elderly Dad (the airplane crap story is both hilarious and sad at the same time - I kinda felt bad laughing as I read it).

Through it all, you see and he sees how God has guided and led him and at points it seems he is a heck of a lot closer to God than a lot of Christians. He might not be born again (yet) and might not read the Bible, or know all 10 commandments but a lot of Christians could learn a lot from him and this book.

This is by far one of the funniest and most poignant books I have read in a very long time. If you are looking for a book to tickle your funny bone, and help you reminisce, and even challenge you as a man, a father, a husband, a brother, a friend, a son, a Goat Boy, or even as a "Spiritual Warrior", this book is for you.

From Third Option Men