We will meet on Thursday, November 30, via Zoom, todiscuss the nonfiction book, MyAdventures with God by Stephen Tobolowsky. The book is 353 pages long and was published in April, 2017. The only way to order the book from yourlibrary is through Link+: https://csul.iii.com/search~S0?/XMy+adventures+with+God&SORT=D/XMy+adventures+with+God&SORT=D&SUBKEY=My+adventures+with+God/1%2C98%2C98%2CB/frameset&FF=XMy+adventures+with+God&SORT=D&1%2C1%2C.Nine libraries have copies. It is available on Amazon as both a Kindle downloadand an audio version.
MyAdventures with God by Stephen Tobolowsky
From legendary character actor Stephen Tobolowsky—who currentlyappears on The Goldbergs, HBO’s Silicon Valley, andNorman Lear’s new One Day at a Time, author of TheDangerous Animals Club and The Tobolowsky Files podcast—MyAdventures with God is a funny, introspective collection about love,catastrophe, and triumph, all told through the lens of his evolvingrelationship with the mystery that is “God.”
As Tobolowsky explains, “It’s hard to believe in nothing. Even cats believe insuppertime. As much as we love certainty, we are often shaped by the invisible,the unexplainable—something we call faith. We are inclined to acknowledge theholy. Even if it is only a paper heart we find in an old suitcase.”
My Adventures with God is a series of short stories exploring theidea that most people’s lives seem to fit into the template of the OldTestament. We all have powerful creation myths: tales of our childhood andfamily, our first battles won and lost. It is our Genesis. Then, like in theBook of Exodus, we go into slavery. Rather than building pyramids,we lose ourselves in fear and ambition—in first loves, first jobs, too manydreams mixed with too much beer. We eventually become free, only to wander in thewilderness. At some point we stop and proclaim to the universe who we are. Thisis our Leviticus moment. We reconcile what we thought we would be with what wehave become. We often attempt a mid-course correction. Then, as in the Book ofNumbers, we are shaped by mortality as we bear the loss of family and friends.Finally, we retell our stories to our children hoping to make sense of thejourney, as Moses did in Deuteronomy.
Tobolowsky’s stories tell of a boy growing up in the wilds of Texas, findingand losing love, losing and finding himself—all told through the prism of theTorah and Talmud, mixed with insights from science, and refined through achild’s sense of wonder. My Adventures with God not onlyshines a light into the life of one of America’s most beloved actors, but alsoprovides a structure to evaluate our own lives and relationship with God.
From legendary character actor Stephen Tobolowsky—who currentlyappears on The Goldbergs, HBO’s Silicon Valley, andNorman Lear’s new One Day at a Time, author of TheDangerous Animals Club and The Tobolowsky Files podcast—MyAdventures with God is a funny, introspective collection about love,catastrophe, and triumph, all told through the lens of his evolvingrelationship with the mystery that is “God.”
AsTobolowsky explains, “It’s hard to believe in nothing. Even cats believe insuppertime. As much as we love certainty, we are often shaped by the invisible,the unexplainable—something we call faith. We are inclined to acknowledge theholy. Even if it is only a paper heart we find in an old suitcase.”
