Radical Love: Learning to Accept Yourself and Others

Chuck Bartowski wrote a book! Okay, not really, the actor who played Chuck Bartowski wrote a book, Zachary Levi. Let me back up, I started watching Chuck when it first came on TV all the way back in 2007. I enjoyed it, and it think I made it through most or all of the first season. Then, like happens with a lot of things, life distracted me and I kind of forgot about this show. Skip forward 15 years and I have rediscovered this show and started working my way through all five seasons (I’m mid-way through season 4 right now, so no spoilers please). Anyways, I love the show. It’s kind of stupid and silly and totally unrealistic and sometimes kind of dumb (just like me!) but it has charm and heart and I love the characters and they all have such amazing chemistry with each other that I enjoy the show immensely. As I was watching it I was enjoying the performance of the main Character, Chuck, and started wondering what he had been up to, and then I made the realization in my head that he was the same actor who played Shazam!, which is a great movie if you haven’t seen it. So that’s cool, now I realized that I was becoming kind of a fan of this guy so I looked around a bit and realized he wrote a book about… mental health? What the heck? What does this comedic (and sometimes dramatic) actor know about mental health? So I ordered it off Amazon. I finished it yesterday. It’s a quick read, but it’s excellent. It’s basically his story of his struggles with mental health and how his past trauma effected his life, his work and his relationships to the point of having crippling depression and an episode so severe he had to check himself into a facility for a month to get help. It’s fascinating, but I found it totally relatable. His desire to make people laugh and entertain them was because of his total desire to create the love in his life that he was so desperately lacking. I was actually surprised at how much I felt I had in common with him and his journey. I liked how he approached his analysis and his issues of mental health. Going through my divorce was not easy for me mentally. I did the counseling thing, the antidepressants thing (Lexapro) and I still struggle with issues and trauma from going through that process, the largest issue probably being that it was self inflicted pain that was totally avoidable had I made better decisions. I have a lot of the same negative talk that Mr. Levi discusses, “I’m worthless, not good enough, I’m stupid” etc. people can tend to get stuck in these negative feedback loops and then spiral downward into dark places. It’s such an honest and open account (and funny in parts) that I really felt connected to the author. He does speak to how religion played a part in his journey, probably the part I least connected with, but he doesn’t do it in a “preachy way”, he simply says “this is what I did, this is what worked for me, this is what helped me, this is what I believe. It might not be what works for you”. I like that softer approach much better. He also pointed out that our mental health is somthing that needs attention and maintenance every day. Just like you must brush your teeth every day, you need to take care and do preventative self care on your mental health. Also, as I am currently in fanboy status with Mr Levi, I watched “American Underdog” last night. Fantastic movie. It’s the Kurt Warner Biopic and not only is the story moving but Levi does an excellent job portraying Warner (who has such an amazing story). I am very much looking forward to Shazam! 2! I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in mental health or who has their own personal struggles. It’s not perfect, but it is an honest and open account and it may help people to know that a lot of people suffer just like they do. 10 out of 10 ⭐️ Zachary Levi

Good to know even well know movie and TV stars have same issues. Zachary Levi's book was emotional and something that I can relate too but also made me look at myself and love myself to do something that makes me happy. Changed my life.

Great book. amazon storage and delivery as per usual is garbage. the front cover came ripped. not sure how an amazon packer can see something like that and decide "yea that looks good, i'm going to pack it"

Great book, written very well. Funny at times, but emotional and serious most of the time. Zachary covers a lot, depression, self medication, generational trauma, issues that many people will relate to. But he also writes about getting help, healing and coming to terms with mental issues, and this part of the book is very sweet. I couldn't put it down and I read it in two afternoons! I definitely recommend it.

Of a disarming honesty and depth of mind that I honestly did not expect. As a person (me) who fears the judgment of others, he is truly my hero. Heartfelt thanks to Zachary Levi, and thank you for the Audiobook!! Hearing the story from the Author was "Awesome"!!