“These are memoirs of a kid born in New York City in 1925. His dad, George Senior, was a pianist, composer, and orchestra leader at Proctor''s Vaudeville Theatre, and his mother, Helen, played in a classic dance troupe. Hanky-panky ensued. They married, and I soon was the result...

I write like I talk. A long time ago I tried making ''talking and telling the truth'' one and the same. That isn''t just difficult; it means painfully reviewing things you''ve been led to believe since you were a child. That''s very hard to do. Like many, I have marched along adhering to conventions (sex, color, church, party, gang) without examination. There''s a wonderful, protective ''togetherness'' in that anonymity. You obey or are damned, less joined together than stuck together. You become an echo rather than a voice.

This book is about what happens when you stop fearing and think.

I like writing, but warmed-over BS is not on the menu. You are the most important thing in life. Every phrase in the book – awkward or not – is how I think and question everything. I wrote every word as if we were sitting together. I want you to think, too...” – George Kennedy, from the preface