Voice Lessons Lib/E: How a Couple of Ninja Turtles, Pinky and an Animaniac Saved My Life

by Rob Paulsen

Rob Paulsen is one of Hollywood’s busiest, most talented, and most passionate performers. If you don’t know him by name, you will know him by the many characters he has brought to life: Pinky from Pinky and the Brain, Yakko from Animaniacs, the tough but loveable Raphael from the original animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and many more.

So you can imagine how terrifying it must have been when Rob was diagnosed with throat cancer, putting his entire livelihood in jeopardy and threatening to rob the world of all his loveable characters that filled our youths and adulthoods with humor and delight.

Voice Lessons tells the heartwarming and life-affirming story of Rob’s experience with an aggressive cancer treatment and recovery regimen, which luckily led to a full recovery. Rob quickly returned to doing what he loves most, but with a much deeper appreciation of what he came so close to losing. His new lease on life inspired him to rededicate himself to his fans, particularly the new friends he made along the way: hundreds of sick children and their families. Rob said it best himself: “I can not only continue to make a living, but make a difference, and I can’t wait to use that on the biggest scale that I can.”

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, Audiobook, Autobiography, Inspirational

Audio CD

Published October 8, 2019

Reviews

[MaskedSanity­ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had the pleasure of meeting many celebrities over the years and none have been as genuinely gracious, humble, and sincere as Rob Paulsen.
His book is a fun read. Even during the more serious topics covered in the book, he injects humor and brings the mood back to a good mood.
Having met him, I know that the utter joy that he describes in bringing smiles to people's faces is 100% true. That is abundantly clear in this book.
If you're a fan of Rob Paulsen's work, I highly recommend this book. Even if you're not so aware of him, I still recommend it. There's valuable lessons that we can all learn contained in his story.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never take the time to write reviews because Taste is subjective and I don’t want my opinions to prevent people from reading books they might otherwise enjoy. I really believe in giving everything a change regardless of what others think.
That said, if you grew up in the early 90s watching cartoons like Tiny Toons and Animaniacs you need to read this book. And provides a little insight into the life of the man who helped make our childhoods awesome.
Also, full disclaimer: we all know Rob’s cancer story has a happy ending, but it still doesn’t make it any less emotional and scary.

[Catherine Horton · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an inspiring book. I was interested in reading Voice Lessons because I am a fan of Rob Paulsen. He is a very good-hearted and talented voice actor, and voices some of my favorite cartoon characters ever (from Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain).

I thought this was a very neat book. Paulsen writes with honesty and illustrates the struggles he had when going through cancer. He is optimistic but also leans a lot about himself, and believes that laughter and joy benefit others most in life. Paulsen writes about his involvement in voicing animated characters, and I find it awesome that he still remains friends with the people who worked alongside him during all those years.

I cannot imagine what Paulsen went through when he had the cancer. I applaud him for being brave and optimistic amid hard times.

I recommended this book for those who are a fan of Paulsen and/or animation.

4/5

[Marc Morrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have met with and interviewed Rob Paulsen many times, and I have seen him prior to, during and after his throat cancer treatments. Through it all, he has been the most gracious, unbelievably positive human being many of us have ever known. This book shares his whole life through the perspective of Rob's triumphs (and there have been many), but particularly through the way he has dealt with the cancer, and how it has affected him. Rob is a shining beacon of light in an often dark world, so reading this book left me with warm vibes all over. Of course, reading the pages doesn't nearly compare to listening to the audiobook version, with narration from Rob himself, where you get the real meaning behind how he feels, and you get to hear all his voice characters in full bloom. This book is something I can go back to again and again, and I will always be inspired by it, just like Rob will always be happy to sing Yakko's World. SNARF!

[Clay Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good information on the industry and on cancer remedy told in an engaging manner.

[Dawn Byars · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. This was a great book about a guy I literally knew nothing about when I started and absolutely adored when I finished. I stumbled upon this book when I was searching for Ninja Turtle books for my son. I read that he was a voice actor from Animaniacs and was intrigued to know more about the man being the voice. What a story! I love that he highlighted the light in the midst of his pain, but also admitted that it's ok to not be the sunshine yourself all the time. One of his voice lessons, "You can't be perfect all the time, and the best you can give is enough," resonated strongly with me.

[Christina Boulard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve just finished this book, and I have so many feelings.
This book is a wonderful, tragic, hilarious, heartbreaking, uplifting, heroic story.
I’m very, very lucky (and grateful) to have met and spent a bit of time with Rob. This book is a huge peek into his amazing life.
Rob’s has had some huge highs, and some devastating lows, and this book puts the reader through the ringer. As tough as is it for us to read, Rob, his friends and his family go through literal hell.
Rob gets up close and personal with his journey, and of course, having watched my mother suffer through the same journey (her cancer was identical to Rob’s, but in her lung), it was a very difficult read for me. As I was reading his description of his chemo and radiation and their effects on him, I remembered getting tweets and messages from Rob about my mom and her journey. And I realized that as he was going through his cancer treatments, he was thinking of ME and my mom and her journey. That tells you a LOT about the kind of guy Rob is.
Lee Paulsen raised a helluva son, folx. And this book really proves that.
Rob is one of the most kind, caring, genuine people I’ve ever met. The world is a better place because he’s in it...and thank god he’s still in it.
Whether you’re a fan of TMNT, Pinky, Yakko, cartoons in general, or Rob himself, you’ll love this book.
Thank you for writing it, Rob, and for sharing your journey with the world. Expect a huge hug, and possibly a container of high-fat cottage cheese, when next we meet.
In closing, buy this amazing book.

[Nick Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rob Paulsen is the voice of so many childhoods... and if you thought you couldn't like him more after meeting him at a convention, you haven't read this book.

[Kimberly Camfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

The audiobook was exceptional!

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been a fan of Rob Paulsen for the majority of my life. I absolutely loved this book. I listened to the Audible version (there wasn't an option to selection that version at the time I posted this review) which was narrated by Mr. Paulsen himself. To hear him tell his story made it feel like he was sitting next to me and talking directly to me. His story is amazing and he's an inspiration to many, myself included. I've had the honor of meeting him twice and both times, he made me feel like I was the most important person in the room and that HE was the one honored to meet ME. He talks in his book how important his fans are to him, and I can tell you that is 100% true. I recently lost a friend to cancer and to hear him talk about what he went through with the diagnosis and the treatments brought me to tears. I actually cried several times while listening. I recommend having tissues handing when you read/listen to this book. Even if you aren't a fan, I recommend this book.

[Suidpunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Isn't it the greatest when you cash your check, and you know you're buying cat food or gasoline, or whatever, with money you earned, making people happy? - Rob Paulsen

Thanks to the gentle, rather reassuring and tender voice of a juvenile Akela (a modest role from Jungle Cubs) and of course Throttle from the Biker Mice, I've searched for an interview on YouTube. And found the AfterBuzzTV one (with the above mentioned quote), discovered the book, and bought it on November 16 on Google Play, finishing it on November 17, 2020.

Why did I buy this book? Because the above quote not only shattered my utilitarian perspective about the arts, plays, theatre, acting, etc., I also wanted to get inside the head of a real ESFP (and yes, he ticks all the boxes) as well.
Hello there, I'm an INTJ, at your service.

I tried to read the autobiography like an academic text, specifically about voice acting and dubbing (in context of the bigger picture worldwide). So I added a few annotations for myself as I read along.

Living on this side, south of the equator and in DVD Region 2 Zone, South Africa usually import their disks from Italy. And because of that, we are rather spoiled, but yet sadly oblivious, to the dubbing culture of European countries. And that is how I became interested. Every DVD-case is a box full of surprises, a wild card: what's it going to be this time? English and Russian? English and Italian? Polish? Czech? German? French? Spanish? Dutch? Danish? Norwegian? Swedish? Icelandic?

When the animation leaves the studios in the USA, the buck doesn't stop at the American borders, naturellement. The story continues. The countries importing and redubbing it have "carte blanche"; studios abroad can rewrite the dialogue, and change the voices as it pleases them, etc. Although Hollywood sets the standard, Europe can deviate at will.

Sometimes, there are slight improvements from the original, as seen in Episode 1 from Biker Mice from Mars. Charley, just rescued from the oversized mouse trap, fell into the arms of Vinnie on his bike.

Vinnie: Gotcha, Sweetheart. Have I got style, or what?
Charley: What you've got is bad breath. You've (been) eaten onions again, huh?
Vinnie: The story of my life - no appreciation.

The last part was translated in this way (German), adding a different feel to it:

Vinnie: "Das hat man davon, wenn man ritterlich ist: Undankbarkeit."
[That's what you get for being/acting knightly/chivalrous: ungratefulness.]

To me, the dialogue fits the frame rather nicely (and cultural-historically in Germany). The problem with the German dubbing was, however, the number of indistinguishable voices. With the original, you have the deep Modo, the soft-spoken Throttle, followed by the radical and higher pitched Vinnie, all of them better known as the "practically posthumous pests" by Limburger. And of course, there is only one Dr. Karbunkle in this universe.

But one parallel with Europe do occur in the autobio, which I would like to point out:

The film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came out in 1990, while we were at the peak of our run with the cartoon. The cartoon clearly inspired the look and vibe of the movie, at least partially, the Turtles cracking wise as they emerged from the New York sewers to take on the Foot Clan and save the skin of reporter April O'Neil.

"What the hell," one of my Turtle cast mates said. "I thought they would use us."

We weren't angry so much as surprised, and I think a little hurt. Maybe hurt is too strong a word. We were disappointed.

In the Netherlands, the exact same happened to the Dutch actress, Christa Lips, dubbing for Ash from Pokémon (straight from the Japanese language). After 10 years (13/14 seasons) of dubbing, she was replaced without ceremony. And, just like in the United States, for some reason or another, as stated above with TMNT, there was no need to match the Dutch voice in the Pokémon movie with the television series.

It might be just business, as Paulsen puts it elsewhere. But when it happened with the Canadian "PAW Patrol" in Germany, when a whole cast was changed in Season 2 basically overnight (not for the better, I can assure you), reviews at Amazon.de show that parents and their children were very, very upset (more precise: on the warpath!). Actually quite sad; for me the old German dub used to be better than the Dutch one. Some parents even thought the new German dubbing on Amazon Prime was piracy. And an upset audience means bad business for advertising, etc. etc.

Let me tell you someting, after I have this chat with you, I'm going to audition for the voice of a talking ice cream cone. In show business, it means the work to get work never stops.

Theoretically, in Europe, anyone can walk in and fart in front of the microphone, €3 or €8, €10+ per take. It's an odd job, anyways. But in reality, you hear the same limited number of voices over and over again. And in the most unusual places.

A South African dialect is a very hard one for me to do. I listen to it, I try to do the best I can when I hear it, but it's strange, because if you're not careful, you start speaking in an Australian accent, which is different but sort of similar, too.

For me, Swedish, French (perhaps Italian too), Russian and UK-English are mostly spoken (or formed) from the front part of the mouth. Standard Dutch squarely from the middle mouth. Standard German from the back. The 'South African dialect' probably comes from the base of the neck; and that's deep throat.

But don't throttle yourself about it.


Interesting heritage

What I find most intriguing is the quick assimilation in the American society. For me, it's merely a linguistic curiosity. When my grandparents (paternal lineage) emigrated to South Africa from Rotterdam in the 1950s, my grandfather had a sister emigrating to the USA a few years later. Correspondence followed after the Red Cross Society tracked down my grandaunt - in Venice, Florida (she used to live in New Jersey, but hated the winters). The correspondence was still in Dutch, although the sister sprinkled it with a few Americanisms. When she died, her daughter excused herself from using Dutch, because she wasn't fluent in it anymore (she couldn't write it anymore) and, as a family, they hardly had any use for it in the United States: "Wij praaten altijd Engels hier". The grandson only knew American English.

With the Paulsen family, we find a slightly different pattern. Grandfather Paulsen, although Danish, feared for his life during World War I, and, just like many German immigrants back then, they felt no other choice than to assimilate:

"He was always careful not to say too much because his Danish sounded like German, and he was afraid of getting the shit beat out of him".

I've read that during this era, in some US States the use of German was prohibited on the streets, in schools, over the telephone and at gatherings. If a minister even dared to preach in German, his house would be painted yellow by night, and the offenders would go unprosecuted. This was about after 1917. Tarring and feathering (and sometimes violent behaviour) by the mob became the new blood sport. But most of all: the "anti-German" feeling became "anti-foreign" in general. And for that very reason, for some time, no other tongue than English was allowed in most schools ("Tuiste in eie taal", J.C. Steyn, 1981, p. 53).


It was a wonderful read.
Thanks for sharing.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love having an author read their book to me, especially one who makes his living using his voice and making people laugh. A lovely book. A good life. I hope Paulsen is still healthy and cancer free.
Unecessary swearing and I wish he realised it should have been Faith not Fate but still inspiring. Very enjoyable.

[KJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew about Rob Paulsen from his works and from hearing his name around the animation space ( I even saved this audiobook to my wishlist ages ago without much thought than "Oh hey, I know that guy. Maybe I'll check it out") and then I discovered his podcast Talkin Toons.

Hearing a snippet from one of his podcast episodes made me want to listen to the whole episode, which had me laughing and smiling the whole way through, so naturally, I wanted to check out some more. Going through the catalogue, picking out epusodes I wanted to listen to with VA's, I recognised I had an absolute blast, and I was addicted! And as I listened more and more, it wasn't just their stories I was so intrigued by, it was also Paul himself, he was such a genuine humble souning guy who was truly appreciative of where he was in life and that kind of energy is electric and powerful. Immediately, I went back to my wishlist on Audible and found out it was part of the subscription... once I was done with my episodes of the podcast I dove into this book like a fish to water... and finished it basically in one day.

There's no real other way to get the full range of emotions other than the wonderful audiobook. It made me laugh, it made me cry and Paul is such a genuine human being that makes me glad to have "spent time with him" so to speak, because his insite on the world and with the people he works with or meets once is just so kinetic and awe-inspiring. I loved the podcast because it felt like friends having fun and I loved this book because despite it all, at the end of the day, he's just a guy doing what he loves and he's greatful for everyday that he can do it. It doesn't get any realer than that.

[Pastel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book wasn’t exactly what I’d expected as a longtime fan of Paulsen’s (an even longer time, even, before I knew his name and face). If you’re looking for a book full of stories specifically about being a voice actor and all the wacky hijinks they got up to behind the scenes, this isn’t that. What it is, though, is a remarkable story of a caring, funny, and unbelievably optimistic man surviving an incredibly ironic form of cancer. And I loved every word and every page.

Paulsen lays bare all the highs and lows of both show business and cancer with grace, humor, and a tone of writing that feels like you’re watching him give a TED Talk (in a good way! Also, his TED Talk is amazing) but simultaneously like he’s speaking directly to you individually and being a mentor. That’s a talent voice actors have: they’re speaking alone in a room to millions of people, yet somehow it always feels like they’re only speaking to you. I’m getting off topic, but I adore this man and this book. It’s especially a must-read if you work frequently with cancer patients like I do, or if you act or perform, which I also do. Or if you’re a fan of TMNT, Animaniacs, or Pinky and the Brain. Which I also am. Basically, read this book.

For a man who’s spent his life telling other people’s stories (and doing a damn good job of it), I’m glad he finally got to tell his own.

[Amy Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been waiting in agony for a few years for this to come out,ever since Rob hinted he was writing a book on his podcast. I LOVED IT!! I loved every single sentence. I only wish it was five times as long.
Rob Paulsen is my hero and inspiration and I was lucky enough to meet him this spring. His book covers his whole life in only 199 pages. So you get to know every dream, triumph, mistake,struggle, miracle and experience in between. How he got his amazing career and met all his amazing friends. His battle with throat cancer, which I cried through most of reading, and his recovery to health and back to doing what he loves.
His joyous, positive outlook is iconic,Rob Paulsen just shines with kindness and love and respect for everyone. You can feel it in his writing,when you listen to his podcast and when you meet him...he just seems to glow, he's such an angelic person and that's a major reason why I look up to him so much.
His book is written exactly how he talks,so it's funny,easy and conversational,I read it all in his voice. I just wish it was longer! Some people might think it's a book on how to be a voice actor, it's not, it's a very inspiring biography. But reading his story can give you clues and hints on voice acting throughout.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I attended a convention several years ago at which Rob was a guest, and now I'm kicking myself for not standing in the autograph line-- and I hate standing in autograph lines. I think he was there for a promoted TMNT reunion, but as it happens, Maurice Lamarche was also at the convention, making for a much more important event: a Pinky and the Brain reunion. Narf!

I had no idea that a reboot of Animaniacs was in the works-- with the original voice actors-- and that's about the best entertainment world news I've heard in the last 10 years. That show represents for me the rebirth of quality writing in animation aimed at kids, after a few decades of unrelenting drek in the seventies and eighties.

I suppose it's possible for anyone to portray themselves as a genuinely nice person in a memoir, but if Rob is faking it, he's doing a fantastic job. I appreciated the behind-the-scenes details of the work of a voice actor, and his candor of the hellish process of treatment for his recent battle with throat cancer.

It's nice to know that he's actually having as much fun bringing two-dimensional characters to life as his viewers are watching the results.

It's Yakko's World-- we're just living in it.

[Jed Sorokin-Altmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bugs flew into my eyes while reading this book—not just because Rob Paulsen was such a key voice of my childhood, although the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Animaniacs, and Pinky and the Brain(1) certainly were huge pop culture influences on me—but also because I‘ve met Rob Paulsen at DC’s Awesome Con (twice!), and he (and Maurice LaMarche and Jess Harnell) are just the nicest celebrities you could possibly imagine. The kindness and humility that flow in the pages of this book, and if you listen to his podcast or TEDxDetroit talk, aren’t an act. He really is as lovely a person as his stage persona comes across, and it was heartbreaking to read about him going through such a difficult and painful experience. I’m so glad that he came through it okay, and that he still is able to perform he craft he so clearly loves. I highly recommend this book to cartoon fans (especially if you grew up in the 90s), and I am super excited to see new episodes of Animaniacs—hopefully they are still coming out this year. Narf!!!

(1) Yeah, yeah, I know they were part of Animaniacs, but they also had their own standalone show too!

[MattBarnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a fan of Cartoons like I am. THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU. You won't get many detailed looks into the history of how cartoons are made, this is a wonderful story of a person landing in a world they never even thought about and excelling in it. It's not perfect but, the subject matter for me pulled me along. It also taught me a lot about some of the treatment and situation of dealing with cancer.

That being said.
I have a Similar feeling to the Steve-O Auto-Biography. Hear me out. Both are incredibly interesting but written by someone who doesn't write professionally (Says the guy reviewing a book, who also doesn't know how to write). I don't mean that in a super harsh way, I sped through this book, it was incredibly entertaining. But the focus was either giving me examples of how good Rob had been, I know he's a good man, you can tell that. But its like a friend continuesly trying to how great they are, the book also doesn't let me think in terms of what I feel about a person or a situation, it tries to come up with a conclusion itself.


I could have done with even more on every cartoon. But thats me.

[Shawn Robare · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew I was going to love this book. I had the chance to meet Mr. Paulsen at a convention a few years back with my wife (who is the biggest TMNT fan I know.) She’s not really starstruck often and got in line to get an autograph and when it was her turn Rob asked her her name and upon hearing his voice she crumbled into a pile of tears as she realized that she was meeting Raphael and had no idea how close to her heart that character is. Rob smiled, came out from behind the table, gave my wife a great big bear hug and whispered something into her ear that was just for them. It was amazing and it was super kind. I’ve met a lot of folks at conventions over the years and not many are that nice and compassionate.

Getting a chance to hear his life story in his voices, and to hear him relate his story about cancer hit me hard. I lost both my parents to cancer, my father to the same form Rob beat and to say I related as my parents’ caregiver is putting it mildly. So glad I picked this up.

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rob Paulsen was born in 1956 in Detroit, Michigan. He entered the entertainment industry in 1983, becoming a voice actor on the GI Joe cartoon. He had roles in so many movies and television shows that I remember as a kid. I loved Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain! I often watched Ninja Turtles, The Tick, Tiny Toon Adventures, and all kinds of Cartoon Network shows. His career was very nearly sidelined when he received a diagnosis of throat cancer, which he discusses in this book.

I loved hearing the stories behind some of my favorite animated characters. I appreciate the candor with which the throat cancer was discussed. I think throat cancer would be absolutely horrendous, but how devastating that would be to learn you have that when your voice is your livelihood. This book is currently available on Audible Plus, and was a pretty short listen. (I got behind on updates because of my dog.)

[Nyx · Rating 5 out of 5]

as a devoted animaniacs and pinky and the brain fan, and as someone who's planning to go into the volatile world of showbiz after college (i know, i know, not the smartest move) i was prepared for this to be an incredibly enjoyable read. it delivered. this is the heartwarming, funny, bittersweet story of a voice actor who shaped childhoods (and teenhoods and adulthoods too) told quite literally in a way only he can. i pretty much never listen to audiobooks normally for a variety of reasons, but this is the first time in my life that my experience was improved exponentially by having an audiobook copy. i just wanted to hear rob do his character voices, sue me. some slightly unpleasant dated stuff in here but it's kept to a minimum. a lovely experience overall. this probably hits more as someone who's a fan of rob's work or someone who wants to go into a similar field (or maybe someone who's gone through their own cancer journey?) but you know. i was that. so it did hit for me.

[Derek Farris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I met Rob Paulsen shortly after his cancer battle, and had the pleasure of having a 15-20 minute conversation with him. What I realized is that he may be one of the most down to earth, and most genuine human beings to exist. His book paints no picture different either. In fact, it feels more genuine.

Rob Paulsen is someone whose name you may not recognize, but you certainly know his voice. I’ve always admired voice actors, as they have to captivate a characters feelings in a way that most actors don’t. After meeting him, I certainly wanted to hear more of what he had to say. In this book, we get the story of how Rob came to be. Where he started, how he came to find his voice, and how he came to be a voice. He’s extremely real, witty, honest, and doesn’t hold back from his feelings.

I couldn’t put this book down. I read it all in one day.

[Tera Slawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never really thought of the voices behind some of my favorite cartoon characters, of course I knew someone was giving them those voices but I did not think of their celebrity status until now. Like most kids growing up in the 90’s I loved the Animaniacs and my brothers generation worshiped the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. All shows that Rob Paulsen did voices for, along with many more.
I am so glad I picked up this book and got to learn about who Rob Paulsen is. He gives a glimpse into “The Business” and how it all works for voice actors. I loved that he shared that he still gets $1.85 residual checks whenever they play E.T. on TV. He shares his early life and how it all led him to the life and career he has now, and his battle with throat cancer. It's a very candid and personal account of what it's like to have to go through a serious illness, both physically and mental.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not having watched Pinky and the Brain growing up, I didn't know what to expect going into this memoir. Paulsen captured my interest and kept me engaged and eager to learn about his career and cancer diagnosis. He's genuine and appreciative of his fans. In this candid, heart-warming memoir, he briefly touches on his Michigan childhood but focuses on his career before turning to his throat cancer diagnosis when he turned 60. The irony of throat cancer in one who uses his voice for a career is not lost on Paulsen, as he recounts the debilitating effects of cancer treatment and confronts, with humor, his mortality and the possibility of losing these voices that have become part of him. This is a must-read for fans of Paulsen’s work and readers who enjoy medical memoirs.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm very familiar and fond of Rob Paulsen's voice over work as I've literally grown up with it, from Animaniacs and Jimmy Neutron as a young child, to his work in Danny Phantom and countless others, it's a name (and a voice) that many have grown to love and laugh along with. Reading Rob's story in his voice, and visualizing his personal ordeal with throat cancer, was very enlightening and encouraging. It's a fun read and made me feel good by its conclusion, as I know Rob is still working as hard as ever, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for him and his career. There is strong language sprinkled throughout the book, so fair warning for those who want to pick this book up to expect that.

[Momilani Awana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the great pleasure of finally watching Animaniacs Live a few weeks ago. When I found out Rob Paulsen wrote a book as well, I had to get it.

This book — and his personality — stands apart from other “celebrity” (he doesn’t use this word to describe himself) memoirs. At once honest, optimistic, and wholesome, it will make you feel better about … pretty much everything.

I guess the blurb sums up the book itself. It doesn’t sun up the way the book integrates the many characters Rob created. The story would not be the same without them. Beyond that, my life wouldn’t be the same without them. Someday I’ll endure the crowd at a Con somewhere and thank him for making my childhood tolerable. Until then, all I can do is recommend this lovely book.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely would recommend this book to anyone!

It was nostalgic to hear him talk about all the characters he voiced that made up part of my childhood. I really appreciated that while he may not be religious, he didn't make fun of Christianity or any other religion and talked about the Christian shows he was on with as much joy as he did the other shows.

This book made me laugh at times and tear up at others. I loved Rob Paulsen's positive outlook on life and everything he dealt with in trying to make it as an actor in Hollywood to finding out he had throat cancer after he had made a living with his voice.

Overall I highly recommend this book, especially the audiobook as he talks in the voices of his characters a lot.

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a lot of happy memories watching the Animaniacs when my kids were young. Recently, I was watching Svengoolie, the show which hosts classic horror and sci go movies. I happened to see Rob Paulsen as a guest on the show. He talked about his new book.

I was able to get an audio of this book which was great. It was read by the author and he does all the cartoon voices! The story was great too. It tells about how he got into voice acting. Then it tells about his battle with cancer. The lessons learned in this is you can't define yourself by what you do. You have to define yourself by who you are and how you treat people.

[Krista Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had this book on my shelf since release and struggled to pick it up to read. It may sound silly to say that a celebrity, one that does silly voices for a living, is one of my favorite people, but it's the truth. Reading his humble beginnings, rising to fame, struggling with down time and losses, and then being diagnosed with cancer and rising from it... it was heavy. But, because he's Rob Paulsen, it's all depicted in humor and heart. I'm not the first nor will I be the last to say he has voiced my childhood and brought me so much light in my darker times.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was amazing to hear about the experience of a fellow head & neck cancer survivor, especially someone else making a living using their mouth and voice. I had hoped to be a singer, and while I'm still singing for fun, I'm not able to make a career out of it with the damage radiation did to my mouth, throat, vocal chords, and neck. It is so inspiring to hear how Rob has overcome what can truly be described as hell on earth and continue doing the work he's loved for so many years.