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The Chris Farley Show: A Biography in Three Acts |
Author: Tom Farley
Published: 2008-05-06 |
List price: $26.95
Our price: $17.79
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As of: December 01st, 2008 04:16:18 PM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 A wonderful book about a brilliant and troubled addict
This book should be read by each and every fan of Saturday Night Live, as well as those interested in addictive behavior among celebrities. I can't recommend this one strongly enough. Having read the 300+ pages in one afternoon, I am moved by the awe inspiring talent of Chris Farley as well as the demons within him.
At his best, on some of the SNL sketches as well as in the classic "Tommy Boy", Farley was a comic genius. At his worst, he was just another addict who died of his disease. He was a complex guy who battled the same stuff that millions of Americans deal with: alcoholism. and food and drug addictions.
The sad fate that befell Farley has happened to many millions upon millions of Americans far less talented and famous than him. But hopefully his tragic tale will help one or two folks realize that they can be killed by their addictions at a young age. If you are reading this review and are an addict, know that you can die from this stuff forty years too young, just like a famous comedian like the incomparable Chris Farley.
Be well.
Farley Made Me Think About...
REVIEW NOTE: I don't typically review the details of the book, just how it impacts me. I figure if my life isn't impacted by a book, why did I read it. Here is my review of that impact.
I read The Chris Farley Show with a slight expectation that I would learn some application of Romans 6:1-23, but I had no idea the extent of the lessons. The book is split into 3 "Acts". Each of these acts led me to sections of Scripture and taught me...basically, where you can easily make mistakes if you live without God. I want to break that down and hope that it will lead you to Scripture and to a better understanding of your battle with sin.
Lessons from Farley in 3 Acts:
1. Sin can never be ignored
2. Solving sin with the world is scary
3. We are all Slaves
Act 1: Sin Can Never Be Ignored
Chris Farley was raised in an Irish Catholic home that had lots of money & lots of alcohol. Chris Farley's early years were wrapped up with stories about how he got out of trouble with humor or how he was enabled in his drinking, because "the whole family was drinking from age 16". By the time he hit 2nd city he was regularly drinking himself stupid every night. People were interviewed to say that the drinking had become a problem, but no one confronted Chris on it. They all kind of expected someone else to. I was blown away that people recognize a problem in their "friend's" life and yet, don't have the guts to confront him. It took Chris almost falling 15 floors out of a plate glass window to have his friends tell him in was a problem. And even then, they didn't do it right away.
I read this and then turned to Scripture (Gal 6:1 & James 5:19). We are commanded to restore / bring him back / confront a brother in sin. It does not limit who does this or the extent of the sin. Chris fell down a slippery path and he had no one that got in his life. I am so convicted. I so often find myself biting my tongue or swallowing my words because I either think that it's not my place or I don't want to offend the other. I wonder if Chris had been confronted sooner (which he responded to and then fought the rest of his life), he would've had a better chance.
I want to take a break right now and note. I know from what both Chris and those around him said, there is no indication that he was a believer. I know that I am imposing expectations of a believer on both Chris and those around him. There should never be the expectation of a life changed by Christ on non-believers. The whole point of this blog post is to note that non-believers are trapped in a life that can only be solved with the grace of Christ. However, I think we can learn how Christ teaches us to interact with people when we look at the lost and see the destruction of someone without Christ. That is my point with these notes.
Act 2: Joys of the World are Scary
Chris Farley is speaking to a group at a rehab center. He is early on in the second act of his life and 2 years of sobriety away from a huge fall that will eventually kill him. However, he makes a statement that will stay with me for years to come.
Sobriety's not waking up in a horrible apartment with everything broken in it. I have a nice apartment now that's all taken care of. I make my bed every day. I do the things that I did in treatment. I have a very healthy fear of getting high, and I have to take it serious, man. Because if I don't, I'm gonna use, and I cannot use again. I hate that stuff. God, I hate it. I hate being a slave to that stuff.
Chris knew his relationship to drugs, he knew where it led and he used every trick in the book to beat it. However, even at the peak of his sobriety, he is talking about his willpower beating the addiction. Also, look at his motivation. This is the key, he talks about living a life here on earth that he can be proud of. This 2nd act I think was the scariest act, because by everyone's standards he had won. He had fought the beast and although he was constantly fighting it, he had control. There were girlfriends that would say that they couldn't imagine the Chris from the stories, but he was still lurking.
Chris goes on to tell a story:
The ninety-day mark was a real kicker for me, again. I remember it was on St. Patrick's Day. I like to have an icy cold Guinness on St. Patrick's day. I'm Irish! I have to drink, right? And I remember pacing back and forth in the rain outside a bar, crying. I was so scared, and I was just crying and crying and praying to God to help me. Then I stopped. I remembered that I don't have to drink. I called the halfway house, went to a meeting and I did what I had to do.
When I fight sin, I often look at the sin. I use what the world would say are great tools to combat it. I avoid situations that enable me. I avoid meditating on 'not sinning'. I do everything I should to stop sinning.
Are those the 12 steps programs that keep me a slave to the sin, but cover up my relationship with it? Am I motivating myself with benefits of this world, rather than a love for and desire to serve Christ? Chris was and the 3rd act shows us that.
Act 3: We are all Slaves
There is a quote in the third act that I think is quite interesting. It shows that he had opportunities to accept Christ (even within a Catholic setting), but didn't believe the Gospel. Here is a quote about Chris' faith from one of his Priests.
The old view of spirituality was that life was like climbing a mountain. You have to fight onward and upward, climbing with your spiritual crampons until you reach the top -- and that's perfection. You pass the trial and you pass the test and you get so many gold stars in your copybook. Then you come before the heavenly throne for judgment...
But that kind of faith can only get a person so far. Your spiritual life isn't like climbing a mountain, waiting to find God at the top. It's a journey, full of highs and lows, and God is there with you every step of the way.
He went on to say about Chris:
Chris didn't feel that he was worthy of God's love. He felt he had to prove himself. Well, you're never going to get very far with that kind of belief...I really tried to work with him on, adjusting to this different type of faith, but he never really moved from one to another.
Chris' life ended in a trashed hotel room. He was left lying on the floor by a prostitute that stole his watch as he gasped for air and said "Don't leave me". He was never seen alive after that moment. He had just completed a 4 day bender that would eventually show multiple hard drugs in his system. Although he fought the addictions, at the end the battle became too much and for all intents and purposes, he gave up on the fight.
Sin is real. Yeah, maybe your drug of choice isn't a drug, but it is real and without Christ you are a slave to it. Don't allow yourself to give up on the fight when you are stuck without the tools to win it. Read Romans 6:1-23 and be glad that He has given us a solution to such a grave problem.
I could not put the book down, it was excellent.
As a true Farley fan I could not put the book down. It had parts that were funny, recalling specific skits, movie parts, and characters. It also includes a lot of real stuff that is tragic but true. I have passed it around to all my friends to read, its def entertaining and a story that is sad but true.
Fabulously enlightening and sad
I am a huge fan of Chris Farley, yet was young while he was at the height of his career. Thus, I never realized what was happening and so it blind-sided me when I heard of his death. This book was so amazing and I feel like I know a lot more about this great person. He fought so many demons and was unable to overcome them. I am now educated, enlightened, and heart-broken for this lost soul. So, for anyone who may like Chris, this book is such a must-read.
Simply Amazing
What a freat in-depth look at one of the most beloved comedic actors of all time. Even if you were not a fan of his, Chris Farley's struggles and triumphs will touch you.
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