Making It So

Book cover featuring a close-up portrait of Patrick Stewart resting his chin on his hand, with the title “Making It So: A Memoir” and the text “Read by the Author.”

Patrick Stewart is best known for his roles as Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek shows and movies, and as Professor X in the X-Men movies. But he’s actually been an actor since his early teens and did stage productions for the first few decades of his career.

In this book, Sir Patrick tells his life’s story in his own words, from growing up in a poor family in West Yorkshire, to his discovery of his love for theater in his early teens, his time acting in local drama productions, then moving to the Royal Shakespeare Company, and finally making it big with his starring roles in iconic science fiction franchises.

The book starts pretty slow, and while I appreciated hearing about Stewart’s humble upbringing, it felt like a bit of a slog at times. By the time Patrick’s talent gets recognized by people around him, things start speeding up though - and the second half of the book is a rollercoaster ride of well-known names (to us now, not always to Patrick then), shows, and movies. A fine memoir, narrated by the venerable author himself.