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Born Standing Up is Steve Martin’s autobiography. His rise to fame is before my time because I knew him as a (comedic) movie star rather than standup comedian. This was a fun way to get to know him through his thoughts and jokes as well as his relationships.
Even though Steve Martin looks back at his comedy career with a certain fondness, the fame and anxiety he experienced at the time took a huge toll on him. It was an extremely isolating experience. I don’t know if it was the way he described it or because of my own experiences of feeling isolated at work, but I found it quite easy to empathize with him and put myself in his shoes as he’d be escorted out of buildings, walk down deserted hallways, and live in empty hotel rooms.
Another thing that struct me was his relationship with his father and how it changed over time. I believe that when people are dying, they don’t care about how much money they have nor their physical possessions. I think when people are dying they care about the relationships they had in life, and their regrets are more often than not about those relationships. If Steve could go back in time, he would do things differently with his father. Every time I read about important relationships that could have been, I am grateful that I put people over stuff. ⭐⭐⭐⭐