Waiting for Nerdrotic: From Prison to YouTube

by Gary Buechler

Gary Buechler—Nerdrotic to his legions of YouTube subscribers —built a breakout online personality with his opinionated takes on pop culture. But before becoming Nerdrotic, he was just Gary: a guy who used to sleep beneath a bush in front of a Long John Silver’s in San Diego.

In Waiting for Nerdrotic, a hybrid written and graphic memoir, Buechler chronicles his transformation from underdog, addict and petty criminal to game-changing YouTube star.

Featuring illustrated spreads, Waiting for Nerdrotic walks readers through Buechler’s journey from Betty Ford Clinic to Folsom prison to comic shop owner—battling abusive teachers, psychopathic cellmates and bureaucratic gatekeepers along the way.

By turns comical and harrowing, Buechler's extraordinary story offers powerful insights on childhood trauma, family dysfunction, modern media and addiction. For anyone who feels close to rock bottom, Waiting for Nerdrotic is a rallying cry on how to find a second chance.

Genres: Nonfiction

266 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 10, 2025

Reviews

[Tay DePetris · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Every time we complain about something external, we’re giving up our power in our own life. We’re saying that we want someone else to make decisions for us…”

This, along with many other life lessons I’m going to be taking away from this book.

I laughed, I felt inspired, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Way to go Gary

[Thomas Or Felicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unbelievable story of addiction, comic books, and recovery

I'm a fan of Buechler's YouTube channel and was very excited to read his autobiography. It's a tough, hard look at the life of an addict who was able to turn his life around with lots of help.

[Gareth Otton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Addiction as a topic is one that I often shy away from reading about. There is a level of self-destruction inherent in stories of addiction that makes me uncomfortable (no doubt because I am a little too prone to self-destructive habits myself). So, normally, this is not the sort of book I would pick up, and I only did so this time because I am a fan of the author.

I have followed Gary from Nerdrotic for a number of years now, both on his channel and on many of the other channels he frequents, even catching many guest appearances on podcasts I might not normally watch. The reason for this is that over the years, I have found Gary to be someone I greatly admire. He is authentic, honest, open, and incredibly loyal to the people he cares about. He seemingly never misses an opportunity to support a friend, to give credit and free promotion to other creators, and to give his time to his followers online. This admiration led to curiosity about his past, which is why I picked up this book... and I'm really glad I did.

As expected, this is an open and honest accounting of his life before YouTube, focusing on the topics that most of us would rather hide than write a book about. What I didn't expect was just how well written this book was.

I don't mean that as an insult, implying that I didn't think Gary could write a book, but rather as a genuine compliment from someone who reads hundreds of books a year. I guess it comes from a lifetime of consuming stories in all forms, but Gary has a grasp of story structure that many authors (especially first-time authors) simply don't. The pacing is on point, the writing style is easy to read and engaging, and the emotionally impactful moments land exactly as planned. There might be some minor improvement needed in the line editing towards the second half of the book, as maybe some of the chapters there weren't quite as tightly written as the first half of the story, but that's really nitpicking more than anything substantive to hold against this book.

The content of this book is genuinely engaging as well. This isn't a case of a small bit of story being stretched out over too many pages to cash in on some YouTube fame. Gary has genuinely lived a fascinating life, and if anything, you get the impression from reading this that what you are getting is just the tip of the iceberg. The anecdotes are genuinely worthy of being included in a book like this.

Over all of that, though, maybe the biggest praise that I can give this book is that it never buries the lead. This is a story about addiction, and it never forgets that. Every anecdote from the beginning to the end is curated to support that message. Whether talking about substance abuse directly, speaking of the consequences directly, exploring the consequences indirectly, or exploring some topics of his sober life to set up the stakes for what he might lose should he relapse again, there is not a wasted paragraph in this book that is not in service to the story being told. This leads to a book that is never confused about what it is supposed to be, never feels slow or boring, and one that I couldn't put down.

Overall, this was an excellent read beyond just what I got from it as a fan of the author. There's a fascinating insight into the life of an addict, a cautionary tale about the consequences of substance abuse, and some important lessons about the path to recovery. But most importantly to me, there is an inspiring story of how, no matter how low life gets, with some hard work and dedication, you can always climb back out on the other side and go on to bigger and better things. With our world the way it is right now, and personally with my life the way it is right now, this was the kind of story I needed to read at the start of 2026.

It's an easy 5-stars from me for this one.

[Denise L · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an engaging and authentic look at the journey to recovery. Gary, who is nothing if not authentic, lays out the steps that led him to addiction and the long, difficult, rewarding, and life-changing return to sobriety, that allowed him to again be a loving husband and father, and a successful podcaster that has connected people all over the world by their love for all things pop culture. And he knows his $hit!

Even with the holidays, travel, and time constraints, I finished this book in less than a week. If time would have permitted, I probably would have finished it in one sitting.

If you love movies; if you love books; if you love comics and graphic novels; if you love great TV shows; if you're a child of the 70's, 80's, or 90's and fondly remember the "good ole days"; to the present day debacle that is the entertainment industry...Gary is the You-Tuber that can connect all those dots and introduce you to The Fellowship...A community that loves to debate and exchange opinions and $hit-talk. Nerdrotic, and the rest of the Fellowship, are what you've been looking for....
Give them a follow.

[Benjamin Pierce · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're expecting a book about comic books and Youtube you're going to be disappointed, but what you do get here is an incredible story about one man's adversity through major life missteps, recovery & the wisdom that comes with that, and some fascinating chapters about life in prison (Folsom no less). I love a good comeback story and I wish Gary and his family a lifetime of happiness, peace, and prosperity.

Overall great writing that kept me turning pages -- I'd love to see Gary write more books down the road, maybe some pop culture and nerdom now that the heavy stuff is out of the way.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I expected that this would cover much of his rise as a commentator and on YouTube, but it was actually about his dealing with addiction and I strongly advise that anyone who is battling addiction or even knows someone who is should read this book.

[Jinn Chong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book that chronicles all of the stories he has told over the course of his YouTube career. This just gives a timeline of the events which many he has shared before and fleshed it out in more detail.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing turnaround for Buechler.

And his wife Melissa is a friggin' saint.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciated the way the author connects ideas without forcing them together.