In Gad we trust A tell-some

The dissolution of his parent's marriage indirectly led Josh Gad toward a career in entertainment. He wanted to turn his mom's tears into smiles and laughter. While the author's father was absent during his formative years, Gad's mother was in his corner, championing his burgeoning talent as he enrolled in a youth theater program and honed his craft through high school. Gad overcame setbacks, whether a poor performance in forensics or a college rejection, and got his first big break with a role in the musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Movie roles soon followed. His breakout performance in The Book of Mormon illustrated his depth and range, and his voicing of Olaf the Snowman in Frozen made him a Disney icon, but the versatile performer shows no signs of slowing down. Gad recounts his life so far with heart, humor, and self-deprecation, providing fascinating anecdotes from his work on stage and in television and film. His memoir will evoke smiles, laughter, and tears and is a more-than-rewarding read.

Book of Mormon and Frozen actor Gad (PictureFace Lizzy) makes his adult debut with a funny, if occasionally brash, memoir-in-essays. In cheeky, conversational prose, Gad threads reflections on his acting career with reminiscences about his Florida childhood, his parents' divorce, his complicated feelings about his Jewish heritage, and his transformative experiences with marriage and fatherhood. Punctuating the proceedings are chapters by Ron Howard and Mel Brooks, as well as goofy proverbs, or "Gadisms" ("Dreams can become reality and reality can become dreams... unless your dreams are about being bitten by a bat. That's a sign of bad luck and/or rabies"). All the playful self-aggrandizement (Gad freely admits that his "favorite subject" is "me!") can grate--readers won't struggle to understand why Gad's friends and acquaintances have chastised him for his arrogance--but he tempers the bluster with real vulnerability, especially in wrenching sections on his body image issues and struggles with sex and alcohol. Through it all, Gad's toughness and insistence on seeing adversity as "a friend instead of an enemy" makes it easy to root for him. Readers who know Gad for his clownish stage and screen antics will find surprising depth here. Photos. Agent: Anthony Mattero, CAA. (Jan.)