When I Was Your Age: Life Lessons, Funny Stories & Questionable Parenting Advice From a Professional Clown

by Kenan Thompson

When I Was Your Age is a hilarious, heartwarming and surprising ode to growing up, getting older and wiser, and luck, life, and learning from the school of hard knocks, from SNL's longest-serving actor, Kenan Thompson Kenan Thompson is Saturday Night Live's longest-ever-serving cast member and a star of such pioneering sketches as "Black Jeopardy" and is hugely beloved thanks to a tidal wave of nostalgic fans who grew up on early 2000s classics All That, Good Burger, and Kenan & Kel on Nickelodeon. He's also a dad (to two girls) in his mid-40s living in suburbia, and whose universal, relatable, family-friendly humor has created unbelievable appeal and engagement from fans from middle America to coastal elites. Becoming a dad sucked the cool right out of him--and he's OK with that! When I Was Your Age is packed with hilarious yet poignant essays that are aimed to offer any reader valuable advice on parenting, focusing on positivity, and having fun in life. Kids, new parents, fellow fathers, budding comics, and aunties who want to pinch his cheeks, can all learn from his biggest mistakes and most triumphant victories. There's something for everybody here!

Genres: Audiobook, Memoir, Nonfiction, Humor, Biography, Comedy, Autobiography

1 pages, Audio CD

First published December 5, 2023

Reviews

[sully]

did not expect kenan thompson to reference astrology so much

[Scottsdale Public Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I Was Your Age: Life Lessons, Funny Stories & Questionable Parenting Advice from a Professional Clown is a great memoir in which Kenan Thompson shares lots of "behind the scenes" tidbits, as well as his perspective on what he's learned through it all. Fans of Saturday Night Live will enjoy his candid take on how the show functions and his relationships (collegial) with various cast members. Overall, the book reads like a sweet love-letter to Kenan's two young daughters, Georgia and Gianna, and you can really tell how much Kenan loves being a dad. This memoir is best experienced as the audiobook, read by Kenan Thompson. You'll get some bonus impressions that just won't convey in the written text. Plus, Kenan's voice is so warm and friendly, it is a joy to listen to. - Diana F.

[Michele Brentano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious, thoughtful, and genuine. I’ve grown up with Kenan in that I watched him every Friday night on All That, drank orange soda because of Kenan & Kel, and went to see Good Burger opening weekend. We both graduated to SNL about the same time and, 20 years later, he is still bringing me joy. His book is for any SNL fan even if you didn’t spend his childhood years with him. Or really for anyone who appreciates the hard work of a humble, insightful human in the entertainment business. He has put in the work, has had some incredible life experiences (both heartbreaking and heartwarming) and is genuinely grateful for all of it.

*edited to add that I listened to the audio version. Based on other criticisms of the writing, I think audio is the way to go. Hearing it read as it was intended to be heard makes a difference.

[Mariah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The exactly safe, middling, book I expected from someone who is currently still plugged into the Hollywood machine and interested in playing the game.

His insights are minimal, his backstory is pretty standard, and he has no interesting scandals to explore or industry secrets he's willing to share. Rather than spend time reading this whole book, you'd be better off just skimming his Wikipedia page.

In short, it's an easy money memoir that barely seeks to pretend otherwise.

[Charlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating an autobiography can be difficult. Someone’s origin story is authentic to them, so who are we to review it as good or bad or give a one star or five stars. So, I am reviewing this on the writing or in this case the audiobook and the format.

The audiobook was a good listen. It was read by the author, Keenan Thompson. As I was listening, there were many moments when I could see his face, smiling in one of his characters on SNL, such as Steve Harvey in Black Jeopardy, or in Good Burger, as Dexter Reed, but I continued, onward, giving it a chance.

I didn’t find the story jumped all over the place. It wasn’t chronological, but it was easy to follow.

I enjoyed learning about his roots, his family, and how he began in acting. Also, how he became a cast member on All That. It was nice to hear the background and how friendships were forged with the cast. Also, his rise and fall, losing his money, and the quick and respectful way he addressed his divorce, a subject he didn’t have to discuss. I also loved the reconciliation between him and Kel. That was sweet.

I also wanted to address the few reviewers that wrote about Keenan Thompson’s mentioning of Bill Cosby in the book. They appeared to be appalled and outraged that he did such a thing. A few must have missed that Keenan Thompson stated that he will never negate Cosby’s sexual assault conviction. However, he states that he worked with Cosby on the Fat Albert movie, and he can’t dismiss that he was raised on The Cosby Show and is grateful for the impact he had on his life. This is true for a lot of black people, including myself. The Cosby Show was groundbreaking. It remains a great show for many black people, as it is the first time seeing a black family portrayed positively on television, with a physician father and a lawyer mother, not struggling like on Good Times or What’s Happening. Also, the Cosby spin-off, A Different World, with its fictional HBCU, showed black people that college was attainable. Once again, it is unfortunate and a horrible crime Bill Cosby was convicted of committing, however The Cosby Show and A Different World will always stand as having an huge impact on the lives of many black people, including myself. That can’t and never will be erased.

Lastly, another reviewer also stated that he didn’t speak about SNL enough. That reviewer must not have read the book. Actually, Keenan Thompson goes in great and lengthy detail about SNL. I enjoyed learning of how he was cast on the show, his move to New York, and how he struggled in the first few seasons to get a sketch on air. Also, how he had so many mentors on the show along the way. I loved the part where he named dropped. Telling of all the wonderful cast members, both present and former, as well as guest.

All in all this was a solid autobiography/memoir.

[Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A behind the scenes look at how KT became the longest star player on SNL. Behind the scenes brushes with big name celebrities and a bit about his 2 adorable young daughters. A fast fun read.

Oh, I came up with a better title for his book: Kenan Reacts.

[Karina Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not particularly meaningful, felt like surface information. I feel Kenan could’ve dug deeper. The writing was also bland, transitions and editing were weak.

[Allena · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was great! Kenan did an amazing job with the narration and I thought he wrote an enjoyable book. It was fun to hear the behind the scenes SNL stories and about his childhood career. He was humble and funny and very relatable. Highly recommend!

[Diana Flores · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great memoir with "behind the scenes" info as well as what Kenan has learned through it all. His love for his family really shines through.

Audiobook read by author

Full review posted under Scottsdale Public Library: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Kim Bongiorno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kenan and I are about the same age, and I’ve always found him to be reliably talented and interesting. This peek into his life and thoughts, his path to successes and the people around him was made all the funnier and relatable by listening to him tell it in his familiar, charismatic voice.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Parenting is like 50% mind games, and 50% Amazon orders.”

A fun and easy listen to pick back up with my SNL reads. Found it interesting how much he shared about his perspective on the Bible and his experience growing up in church.

[Brittany McCann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having grown up with Goodburger and All That, it was a nice trip down memory lane to hear Kenan's POV from that time period.

I don't watch tv like I used to, but I have seen occasional sketches of his work on SNL today.

It's awesome that Kenan is a girl dad, but other than brushing over the weird beef with Kel, he didn't really let us into his life much.

I did expect more humor, but it was worth reading for nostalgic value.

3.5 Stars rounded up.

[Lucca Ángel]

I listened to the audiobook, and loved it! Kenan’s narration is pretty awesome, and adds a lot of life to this very sweet and inspiring memoir :) and he throws in some totally great impressions! Listening along almost felt like getting to sit and hang out with your favorite uncle for the day, just sitting back and listening to old, nostalgic stories, getting kindhearted and sincere life advice, and feeling a whole lotta love.

I really admired how open he was about his experiences with body image issues, financial struggles, self-doubt, and his life/career as the “token fat black guy”. He doesn’t shy away from topics many others would avoid, and I really respect that! He’s had some struggles and been through some tough times, experiencing loss, heartbreak, and injustice, but always manages to land on his feet, surviving to tell the tale. And I’m so grateful he did, because I really feel that I gleaned some great advice from this book!

Many actors could just sit back, brag, and name-drop for 200+ pages, tie it all up by saying “im so famous, isn’t that just the coolest?”, and wait for the money to roll in. And while I don’t doubt that the paycheck was certainly incentive for Kenan (he has two kids to put through college, after all) he really sat down and took the time to make something his daughters could one day read in the future, and be proud of. How wonderful is that!

Overall, this is a funny, heartfelt, and eye-opening memoir about a nerdy old dad and his many, many adventures. It’s a total love letter to his friends, family, and many fans. <3

[Kelly • Kell of a Read]

I love me some Kenan Thompson! This man has been on our TVs and movie screens my entire life so like many millennials, I grew up with the guy. My brother and I watched The Mighty Ducks religiously as kids and one thing we always agreed on (and we never agreed on anything!!!) is the fact that while the original movie was better, D2 was more fun because of Kenan.

Kenan is such an incredibly talented individual. His family friendly comedy was a staple of my childhood and while I don’t tune into SNL regularly, whenever I do watch I know Kenan will steal the show and have me lol-ing. Sometimes I just search “snl clips kenan” on YouTube when I’m having a bad day (Airport Sushi is a guaranteed mood booster). I was thrilled to hear he was writing a book and excited to learn more about his life.

WHEN I WAS YOUR AGE was such a fun memoir! Kenan shares stories from his thirty year career and in between countless dad jokes, he tells readers what he’s learned as a father to two young girls.

The book is obviously hilarious but I also really appreciated his honest commentary on race, religion, body acceptance, and growing up in the limelight. At the end of the day, Kenan is just a good guy and it was refreshing to read about a child star who has stayed so grounded.

Was this the best memoir I’ve ever read? No. (Viola Davis and Simu Liu share that title, thanks for asking). I don’t necessarily think it’s an immediate must-read but if you like Kenan (and honestly, who doesn’t?) it’s a good book to request from the library.

🎧the audiobook is 1000% necessary. Seriously, don’t try to read this without Kenan’s hilarious narration. The occasional celebrity impressions alone are worth an audible credit.

[Brandi Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️s—I really enjoyed listening to this memoir! Growing up, I watched every episode of All That and Kenan & Kel and this book was full of nostalgia. I loved learning about how Kenan grew up, what went down with him and Kel (and their reconciliation), and what his rise to comic stardom was like. Because I don’t watch SNL, I wasn’t as familiar with his adult career, so I enjoyed hearing more about that as well. There were tons of fun stories and interesting tidbits and the experience was elevated by his narration! There is adult language, but not too much. It’s not a linear memoir, so there was some repetition, but not enough to make it feel repetitive as a whole. Totally recommend—especially if you were a 90s Nick fan like me!

[Lauryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I kept going back and forth between 4 and 5 ⭐️ but ultimately this was a fun, heartwarming story of a guy who grew up before our eyes with a little behind the scenes fun stuff thrown in. He is remarkably normal for the life he’s lived, and you can tell he’s obsessed with his daughters. Very sweet, quick read and great one to listen to (on 1.5x!).

[samantha sprott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny, lighthearted book about the things that helped Thompson get to where he is. I love his positive vibes and his honesty that life wasn’t always easy but he found the way to overcome struggles. The way he talks about his daughters is so heartwarming and his stories about SNL were hilarious especially for a huge SNL fan! Would highly recommend on audio!

[Rachel-RN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kenan Thompson is a joy on SNL and one of my favorite cast members. This was so enjoyable and I liked hearing about things for his perspective. He talks about everything; growing up and growing up as a Black kid, racism as a child and adult, his daughters, and all that he has accomplished. He is very relatable.

[Joe Kessler · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining if disjointed memoir from the lifelong sketch comic, currently enjoying an unprecedented third decade at Saturday Night Live. I'll repeat that: at 21 seasons on the show and counting, author Kenan Thompson has blown past the previous record of 14 years set by former cast member Darrell Hammond back in 2009, and despite saying in this book that he might finally be leaving soon himself, he apparently has no specific departure plan that he's ready to share just yet.

Given that degree of longevity on the program, this title is honestly a bit of a missed opportunity. Although the writer shares plenty of charming backstage anecdotes, there's no real effort here to critique it seriously or capture how the series has changed over the course of his tenure, in a long-term view that he'd be uniquely positioned to offer. He likewise doesn't really address the underlying question of why he's stayed on SNL all this time, while so many other talented performers have continued to come and go from its soundstage. An introspective exploration of that topic could have been particularly interesting and insightful, but the text instead steers smoothly around it.

In its place, we're offered the nuts and bolts of Thompson's upbringing in Atlanta, his big break as a child actor on Nickelodeon's All That, subsequent TV and movie projects, and ultimately, the revered late-night institution at NBC. The amount of celebrity name-dropping is unavoidable / expected in a work like this, and it's neat to learn about the comedy touchstones that Kenan idolized and how they influenced his own approach to the business, not to mention the difficulties he faced as a short Black kid "on the rounder side of things" in an industry so focused on biased superficial beauty standards. We also hear some about his two daughters and his philosophies on parenting them -- inspired heavily by the peers he's lost to gun violence, drug abuse, and suicide -- as well as his complicated feelings on Bill Cosby, whose squeaky-clean comedic persona was so formative for the young man before all his horrendous sex crimes came to light. (And a weird focus on the zodiac, too. The author doesn't list the astrological sign of every single person he mentions, but he includes way more of them than you'd think and seems to genuinely believe they're indicative of people's behavioral patterns or something.)

Anyway. Not a bad read overall, but nothing too exceptional, either.

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[Samantha Glasser · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this more than I expected to. When I was a kid, I was always amped when I would stay the night and my cousin's house and we could watch All That (because she had cable and I didn't). a few years later I became a massive SNL fan, and my husband and I regularly watch it with our kids, and now the oldest is a big fan. Kenan has been a part of my life for most of my life, but as sometimes happens with constants, I never really thought about his experiences behind the scenes.

His protected upbringing and strong family life gave him the stability to succeed in an unstable profession. I relate to his fierce love for his children and his mindfulness of how he parents them and teaches them the lessons he wants to impart.

I was surprised at how good his impressions are while listening to the audiobook because he doesn't do many on SNL. He can do Bill Cosby and Steve Harvey but also Lorne Michaels and Tracy Morgan.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loveeedd this memoir! Kenan Thompson is a name I’ll know forever—I grew up watching him and his cast mates on Nickelodeon and now getting to see him on the occasional SNL clip I come across just makes me happy haha. I appreciate Kenan holding his boundaries and keeping things he wants to keep private private but still sharing with his audience a glimpse of what his life was/is like outside of the spotlight. He loves his daughters and he loves his job and that comes through so clearly in the writing. It made it so enjoyable to read because you can tell how genuine and happy he is.

[Alysia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teenage me is so happy. It's hard to realize that he had a life outside of Nickelodeon. I loved him in all that and Kenan & Kel. That was my show. I loved this book even though I don't agree with his religious beliefs.

I didn't care for good burger however I would love to see part two.

90s baby here. We need more shows like that.

[Joslyn Orgill · Rating 2 out of 5]

Continuing my tour of memoirs written by SNL cast members… this one fell flat for me. I love Kenan on SNL, but you can tell from this book that he’s an actor primarily and not a writer. There were too many life details that I didn’t really need to know, like his beef with Kel and how he loves going to clubs. It was honestly boring for a while until the very end when he talks about SNL.

I also tried to read this months ago and couldn’t bring myself to finish it because it was pretty boring.

[Elizabeth Jorgensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just couldn't get into this book. Maybe it's because I'm not a huge Keenan fan. Maybe because much of the book is parenting advice (and I'm not a parent). Maybe it's that this book was surface level. Either way, it was okay.

[Kathryn McDaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful, laugh out loud, listen! I’ve always appreciated Kenan & his approach to humor but this book elevated my respect for him. He is FUNNY but also well educated, learned, & from what I believe, a good person. It’s important to listen to stories like his!!!

[Matt Woodward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook, read by the author. 3.5 stars.

Kenan is one of the first comedians I remember watching as a kid and he’s been in a similar role ever since. He tells stories of Nickelodeon, SNL, and his personal life in this solid memoir.

[Kaitlyn Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to this on audio and it was great!

[Joy Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed listening to this!

[Blythe]

Fantastic. Can’t recommend the audio version highly enough!!

[Ash · Rating 3 out of 5]

A curious amount of astrological signs mentioned. lol