Rookie: My Public, Private, and Secret Life

by Joshua Bassett

A love letter to the rookie in all of Singer-actor Joshua Bassett's fearless memoir in verse about surviving the darkest moments of fame, addiction, and mental health struggles—and finding hope on the other side.

"We're all figuring it out as we go along. Even the 'pros.'"

This brutally honest collection reveals what it's like to have your most private moments become public—what really happens when you give a broken teenager the world at his fingertips, then watch him nearly lose everything.

"This is, to date, my most vulnerable and terrifying piece of work."

From the depths of addiction and suicidal ideation to the hard-won lessons of recovery, Bassett shares his journey with raw vulnerability and courage. Along the way, he discovers that even in our darkest moments, we can choose to keep moving forward.

"The only way out of fear is to face it again and again until it loses its grip."

More than a memoir, Rookie is a movement celebrating the sacred space between who we've been and who we're becoming. A hopeful roadmap and practical wisdom for anyone learning that your worst moments don't define you, even when the whole world is watching.

"I keep waiting for the sea to settle when I need to learn how to surf."

For anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider, struggled with self-doubt, or wondered if things can get better, this book is for you.

 

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Biography

240 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 5, 2026

Reviews

[lauren ౨ৎ (in a slump) · Rating 5 out of 5]

joshua bassett deserves an apology from the whole world😭🫂 you really never know what a person is going through behind closed doors / behind the scenes. he really let us into his life and also offered the reader some advice and life lessons that he learned through his experiences- so it also offers some self help in this.

very good read, but don’t go in expecting some literary masterpiece tell-all! also don’t read if you’re expecting him to name drop about a certain situation.



°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ — preread:

as a person who used to be the #1 joshua bassett defender, i am so curious and excited to read his book. the good, the bad, the ugly- im ready to know what went on behind the scenes the past couple of years in his life 😅🫂

[Abby Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

The chapter where he comes to know Jesus? I literally wept.

So honest and raw and intimate. I think this book portrays the path to Christ and the struggles even after finding him really well. I really appreciated him talking about how hard it is to grapple with past sins once you become a believer. He never admits to having all of the answers, but continually points back to the one who does. You can tell how much Jesus changed this man’s life!!

[That One Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I sat and read this in one sitting. Not because I loved it and couldn’t put it down, but I think because the substance was at some points so shallow, I flew through it quickly. It may sound harsh to say, but a good chunk of this memoir reads like a fortune cookie. Basic advice given from a place that never feels all that deep.

Joshua claims this is his most vulnerable art of his life, and yes, there are some things he discusses in the book that are deeply personal like sexual abuse, addiction and depression. Yet, each topic always has a sort of surface level approach to it. Bassett never really gets all that deep into the trenches with anything here. I didn’t leave this memoir feeling like I knew him any better at all. The most I can say is that I know he found God, and much like many people who do, has used that to stop seeking out healing and joy within, instead allowing faith to sort of blanket cure all.
He dos talk about deep things, but without a deep connection to it. When he discusses his depression, I’m left as a reader asking, why is he depressed? Help me understand you more, otherwise, why do I need to be reading this? For your advice on life? Is this a self help book, or a memoir? It’s sort of failing at both.

There are so many moments in here where Bassett will mention in passing things from his life, and then quickly move on without insight, explanation, or nuance. How is that vulnerable? What is the point of the memoir?
One example of this, Bassett eludes to his strained relationship with his mom, even recalls a time where she proclaims to her friends he’s a liar. Here, are two instances where we could potentially feel the vulnerability as Basset explains why he and his mother have a strained relationship and why she has to announce he’s a liar. Instead, he goes on to give the reader more advice we could find anywhere and offers no further insight into either. I don’t know what he’s lied about and why he and his mother have a poor relationship.

I suppose anyone can be as forthcoming as they want in a memoir. It’s their story to tell. Why market it as being vulnerable though, if what it really is, is a way to try and preach to your reader about life, and love and faith, from what appears to be all put into the bucket that God is the answer to all life’s pain. Find God, and you’ll be okay, and you won’t have to do any more work on yourself or search any deeper into what is happening in your life.

This review is harsh, and maybe it’s just that the memoir is not for me. Bassett shows us a glimpse into his private life, but the glimpse is deluged with preachy and flowery advice, it reads more like a pamphlet I’d get handed to me at a bible table in a mall than an actual, deeply vulnerable memoir. A let down for me….but take it with a grain of salt, as maybe I’m blinded my total lack of faith in the God he’s so focused on in here.

[abs · Rating 4 out of 5]

thank you netgalley for the audio e-arc!!!
i am a joshua bassett defender to my core, ever since hsmtmts. this was such a quick listen & the fact that he narrates it is even better.
i loved being about to hear his story and even when it got a little ‘godly’ at times, it was a bit refreshing to hear him work through everything & be in a better place.
call him crazy all you want, but my guy went through some rough times. even though i really don’t like when parents kinda force or worm their religion into their children at a young age or even say they are being, ‘rebellious’ when they are just being kids, i’m glad joshua was able to get away from it, have some time to himself and actually find his way in the world & what works and what doesn’t for him.
honestly, if i was him & the doctor told me my heart was failing & i was going to die then i got rapidly got better, i would take it as a sign from SOMETHING (god, universe, etc) that i belong here even if i didn’t believe it.

[Hayley Mazeika]

If you know me you know I adore Joshua, and I HATE giving a memoir anything but 5 stars… however. This read much more surface level “self help” than memoir, and the slight lean toward toxic positivity “Jesus is the answer!” fell a bit flat. But I am so so so glad he is doing well, and I will be first in line to read what he writes about his life in 15-20 years!

Until then, you can find me listening to “Smoke Slow” on repeat, because duh

[Emma Griffioen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was the typical celebrity memoir. He didn't even mention Drivers License by name lol!

[Hayley Andros · Rating 2 out of 5]

now that my frontal cortex is fully formed, i can say that yes, what he went through was terrible and no one should ever feel the pain that he did. BUT, it is very evident that he was not qualified to write this book. he literally starts off by saying he didn’t graduate high school and isn’t qualified to write this, so at least he was honest. but he contradicts himself so many times, and turns all of his stories into self help moments. it felt like he didn’t know whether he wanted to write a memoir or a self help book. and maybe it’s good for him that he found god or whatever, but the latter half turned into a sermon and it just wasn’t for me.

[Lacey Tilley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mmmmm, I really try not to judge anyone’s memoirs. But this was rough. It was like, “here’s a small snippet of
Something terrible that happened” followed by 7 quotes that came from Google about said topic -over and over and over again.

[Lilian Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh Josh🥺
I love him with all of my heart. I'm so glad I got to read this.
I'm so proud of him for being brave enough to write this and put it out there!
I was lucky enough to meet eyes, share smiles, and a high five with Joshua at his concert in Detroit in 2024💞
Read this book! Even if you don't know anything about Josh, I think you'd benefit from reading his story🤍
This was so quick and easy to read!
I usually don't rate non-fiction, but I HAD to give this a 5⭐️

[hayley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars- i listened to the audiobook on my study break out of curiosity bc i found out it was free on spotify premium uh. i won’t lie - i used to be a joshua fan at the start of hsmtmts but i have gradually fallen out of the fandom loop over the years due to personal reasons and our misalignment of views. for what it is worth, i am glad he has the courage to express his traumatic experiences in this outlet and i am glad that he managed to survive those incidents. however, i feel like i walked away from this audiobook the same person i was before this book. this is not to say a memoir should be life changing per se, because it is a personal experience. i also feel bad for giving people’s memoirs ratings because i am not trying to reduce someone’s trauma to mere ‘entertainment value’. however, i feel like this book tackles a lot of HEAVY topics which joshua kind of blazes over with Bible verses here and there instead of treating it with more care/caution that it feels a bit jarring and the advice for it disproportionate at times (like it is too generalised?😭). on top of that, this book is more like a collection of different journals? i wish it was more organised. i feel like i was able to understand his journey bc i had some prior knowledge of joshua’s background but for the general public - the placements of the message/ quotes/ his experiences are all over the place. hopefully this review doesn’t come across as rude i really tried being as respectful as possible but yeah unfortunately this was not it for me. this is not to say it won’t resonate more with other people though😭🙏🏻

[Maria Hood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yeah I’m gonna be talking about this for awhile

[Raja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zo trots op Joshua! Het was ook echt geweldig om dit inkijkje in z'n leven te hebben. Een echte strijder!

[Liam · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I was a 16 year old girl who goes to youth group every Sunday evening I would have enjoyed this more

[kaitlyn (taylor’s version) · Rating 3 out of 5]

as a day 1 joshua bassett defender, i love seeing an extra glimpse into his life and what he was going through, especially during hsmtmts. i loved him in that show and i had no idea how hard it was for him behind the scenes. there were a lot of self help components in here as well which i liked. some of the writing was not my favourite, but the point of this was to share his life, not to be the most expertly written piece of literature. overall i really liked the poetry format as well and the little drawings included too! can’t wait to see what he does next ❤️

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Josh, my friend and my brother in Christ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

All I have to say is that everyone should read this book. It’s truly heartbreaking and beautiful and so so powerful

[Artie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this for a two person book club between Liam and I. You know, Joshua Bassett is not really someone who you’d maybe expect to write a memoir this early in his life but after reading it I see why. I’m actually kind of shocked at how much he’s been through already. However, it stills reads like someone in their early twenties pontificating on life.

I will say that the beginning of the book had me invested, I felt like he had some good insights. Then, once Bassett really leans into the whole “finding God” element of it…it lost me. I respect that for him, jesus is his peace but it still read like a story I’ve heard before. People undergo incredibly hard times and then find Christianity and act like it’s opened a third eye and they feel bad for everyone else. Idk 🤷‍♂️

Also while sad, kinda wild that drivers license gave him a literal heart attack. Stream drop dead by Olivia Rodrigo I guess (joking!).

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was sprinkles of interesting stories but wish there was more of a throughline between the revelations and how they affected Joshua. I could tell how freeing it was for Joshua to get his emotions out but wish I was connecting more most of the time.

[Olivia Wolfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love you so much Joshua Bassett. This was incredible. Even if you are not a Joshua fan you better read this! Absolutely moved to tears.

[Julia · Rating 1 out of 5]

this is what i’ll say (and I’ll try to be as nice as possible since i know he has gone through a lot of trauma): it is very obvious in listening to the audiobook of this that this book did not go through enough edits. it is very disjointed. I’d also be listening and he’d say something and I’d think “wow that was a great sentence!” and he’d immediately follow it up with saying the name of the person he was quoting…i think that a lot of this book also read like the experience of someone who joined a cult but he is not aware that he has joined a cult?? i feel very strange about it. something feels off.

[Mimi Tanner · Rating 5 out of 5]

My close and dear friend Joshua. Thank you to all the people I have known and loved who introduced me to him (Jaxon mostly) such an emotional read and I’m so thankful he shared every side of him with the world. He’s such a great example to all. Even if you don’t know him please read this

[Ana Karen Hinojosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yo siempre te apoye Joshua😭 tqm

[lauren]

yes, I read this in one sitting! as an OG joshua bassett fan, I enjoyed reading about his growth and what he has learned in his life thus far. this felt like a self-help book to me, as it offers a lot of advice for improving your life. I don’t know if this would be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you have ever been a fan of him or are interested in his story…pick this up!!! ❤️‍🩹

(I don’t rate memoirs btw)

[Katelyn MacGray · Rating 2 out of 5]

I went into this book with an open mind, but this was unbearable. This book had no narrative and opted for a “If you know you know” approach. In this book, the author talks about several near death experiences without laying any of the groundwork to describe how he got there. Unless you are a huge Joshua Bassett fan, you will be very confused by the chain of events.

[Lydia Maxwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting more depth from this. I think I would’ve enjoyed this more if I actually read it versus listening to the audiobook. However, I’m so glad to hear the growth that has occurred in Joshua’s life and the faith in Christ he found along the way!

[Samantha Hayden · Rating 1 out of 5]

WHY does every memoir become so fucking jesus-y. i dont care that you found god. i want to know what happened between you and olivia rodrigo

[Fabricio Molina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este libro me rompió y me reconstruyó al mismo tiempo.Me hizo recordar heridas propias, empatizar con dolores ajenos y reflexionar sobre la manera en que las personas sobreviven incluso cuando sienten que ya no pueden más. Lloré muchísimo leyéndolo, pero no desde la tristeza vacía, sino desde esa sensación tan rara y poderosa de sentirte entendido.

Admiro profundamente la forma en la que Joshua Bassett transformó una serie de eventos tan dolorosos y confusos en algo tan honesto, humano y hermoso. No todos tienen el valor de exponerse de esa manera, de hablar desde las partes más vulnerables de sí mismos sabiendo que el mundo entero puede juzgarte. Y aun así, lo hizo.

Más allá de la historia, lo que más me impactó fue la sensibilidad con la que transmite esperanza. Porque este libro no se siente como alguien pidiendo lástima; se siente como alguien extendiendo la mano y diciendo “sé lo que es sentirse perdido, pero aún así vale la pena seguir”.

Qué persona tan hermosa, sensible y valiente por haber compartido algo así con el mundo. De verdad creo que su testimonio va a acompañar y sanar a muchísimas personas, incluyéndome.

[Nada Fahmi · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 ⭐️

We truly never know what’s going on in other people’s lives. This is a plead for people to be nothing but kind to each other.

“I was so lonely for so long, I’d give anything to belong.”
“Love is worth living for.”

[Kaylee Harmon]

I don’t really believe in dnf’ing books so this is actually my first time ever doing it but wow this actually was the worst memoir I’ve ever read in my life + I truly cannot believe I spent US currency on it

[Kaitlyn Huff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This memoir is so raw and honest and beautiful. 10/10 recommend.

*check trigger warnings*

“There is so much life to live, endless love to give and receive, and oh so much joy to be found. You are loved. Your life is precious. Love is worth living for.”
“The Kingdom of Heaven is here now and we can experience God’s love right here, right now.”

“We all have a part to play in making our world a better place.”

Peace isn’t a philosophy, it’s a Person. Peace is Jesus. Jesus is peace.”

“I’ve only found true freedom when I bring my wounds to the feet of Jesus.”

“How you love will be your legacy”

[Hilâl · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars

"[chuckles] I am Caucasian after all."

Yes Joshua, yes you are.