PERFORMING ARTS

It Never Ends: A Memoir with Nice Memories!

by Tom Scharpling
Abrams. Jul. 2021. 288p. ISBN 9781419747922. $27. MEMOIR
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Scharpling acknowledges that he’s not a household name, but readers who can’t place the name may still have encountered his work. While he’s most notably the longtime host of the radio/webcast series The Best Show with Tom Scharpling, he also wrote for Monk during its entire eight-season run and appeared in sketches on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. He proves himself an able storyteller with his debut memoir, a collection of stories that include a summer spent in a Jersey Shore arcade and a bizarre Papa Roach promotional basketball game. He also offers a poignant account of his struggle with mental illness; he was institutionalized and underwent electroconvulsive therapy as a high school student.
VERDICT A radio deejay should be loud and opinionated, and Scharpling doesn’t disappoint. Though the book will appeal mostly to his fanbase (who will learn that Scharpling isn’t his real name), his stories are accessible to a wider audience. Be warned, though: He has little use for conservatives, Billy Joel, or the pizza in Toronto.
Reviewed by Terry Bosky, Madison, WI , Jun 18, 2021
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