Joyful Recollections of Trauma

Comedian and The League actor Scheer’s debut memoir-in-essays has all the thrills and pitfalls of an improv comedy set. After his parents divorced when he was seven, Scheer grew up on 1980s Long Island with his mother and abusive stepfather, who once choked him during a tense game of Monopoly. Seeking an escape from his volatile home life, Scheer made short films and cultivated a hunger to perform in front of an audience. In high school, he landed a spot with the New York City–based comedy troupe Chicago City Limits, and became fascinated by long-form improv after watching Amy Poehler perform with the Upright Citizens Brigade, a group he eventually also joined. He dots the narrative’s main arcs— about his career in comedy and courtship of fellow comedian June Diane Raphael, whom he eventually married—with amusing celebrity anecdotes, including the gruff dismissal he received from Alan Alda when he sought an autograph as a child (“No, kid. I bet you don’t even know who I am”). At another point, Scheer recounts the platonic lunch date he went on with a “beautiful young woman” while working accounts payable at a branding firm, whom he later learned was Britney Spears. While the results are a bit scattershot—Scheer’s funny, but there’s a lot of froth—they go down easy. This should satisfy comedy fans. Agents: David Kuhn and Nate Muscato, Aevitas Creative Management. (May)