When I Was Your Age: Life Lessons, Funny Stories & Questionable Parenting Advice from a Professional Clown
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2023-12-22 07:22:36
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Kenan Thompson
- ISBN：B0CG2XZ9XN
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
When I Was Your Age is a hilarious， heartwarming and surprising ode to growing up， getting older and wiser， and luck， life， and learning from the school of hard knocks， from SNL's longest-serving actor， Kenan Thompson Kenan Thompson is Saturday Night Live's longest-ever-serving cast member and a star of such pioneering sketches as "Black Jeopardy" and is hugely beloved thanks to a tidal wave of nostalgic fans who grew up on early 2000s classics All That， Good Burger， and Kenan & Kel on Nickelodeon。 He's also a dad （to two girls） in his mid-40s living in suburbia， and whose universal， relatable， family-friendly humor has created unbelievable appeal and engagement from fans from middle America to coastal elites。 Becoming a dad sucked the cool right out of him--and he's OK with that！ When I Was Your Age is packed with hilarious yet poignant essays that are aimed to offer any reader valuable advice on parenting， focusing on positivity， and having fun in life。 Kids， new parents， fellow fathers， budding comics， and aunties who want to pinch his cheeks， can all learn from his biggest mistakes and most triumphant victories。 There's something for everybody here！
Reviews
Tori
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I loved learning more about this comedy legend！
Allie Lawrence
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So good！ I enjoyed learning more about Kenan’s life， and he was so humble about all his accomplishments too。 Highly recommend the audiobook — his voice is very soothing。
Wheeler Richardson
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Listen to the audiobook！ Kenan’s delivery is impeccable - made me laugh out loud many times。
Barb
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I had my first encounter with Kenan Thompson when my daughter discovered Nickelodeon in the mid-nineties。 We both enjoyed All That and I remember being so impressed with the cast， their comedic timing and physicality in the sketches was like SNL for kids。 My daughter and I continued to follow Kenan’s career as he went on to do more。 His performances were always a highlight for us， and we were both delighted when he eventually appeared on SNL as a regular cast member。 His longevity with SNL only I had my first encounter with Kenan Thompson when my daughter discovered Nickelodeon in the mid-nineties。 We both enjoyed All That and I remember being so impressed with the cast， their comedic timing and physicality in the sketches was like SNL for kids。 My daughter and I continued to follow Kenan’s career as he went on to do more。 His performances were always a highlight for us， and we were both delighted when he eventually appeared on SNL as a regular cast member。 His longevity with SNL only underscores what a talented comedic actor he is。Kenan always came across to me as a smart， kind individual in interviews and in appearances on awards shows。 This book definitely highlights those traits， and it was so interesting to learn about his life and how hard he worked to have the career that he does。 It was heartbreaking to know that he had a such a deep betrayal by someone he trusted， but the way he handled it at such a young age and stage in his career only proves to me what a kind and generous individual he really is。 To forgive someone who has betrayed you and wish them only the best takes a depth of character that not many people possess。In his own voice Kenan talks about his career， his family and his two daughters with hope， affection， and self-deprecating humor。 My daughter and I listened to the book together on a road trip and we both felt that hearing it in Kenan’s distinctive voice and style made it even better。 I wish all good things for Kenan and his little Angel Babies。 。。。more
Carrie Esler
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4。45I toggled between a 4 - 5 because I just love Kenan so much。 （But ultimately autobiographies can't stack up to a good Fredrick Backman novel！）I'm glad I picked up the audiobook so I could hear him narrate his stories。 I love his comedy， his persona， his stories， his honesty on how tough weight and bankruptcy was， his adoration of his girls， his protection of why his marriage broke up， and his love of his cast members。 Just overall someone who is doing his best every day in a unique situation 4。45I toggled between a 4 - 5 because I just love Kenan so much。 （But ultimately autobiographies can't stack up to a good Fredrick Backman novel！）I'm glad I picked up the audiobook so I could hear him narrate his stories。 I love his comedy， his persona， his stories， his honesty on how tough weight and bankruptcy was， his adoration of his girls， his protection of why his marriage broke up， and his love of his cast members。 Just overall someone who is doing his best every day in a unique situation compared to the rest of us。 Can we be friends？！ 。。。more
Rhonda
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an easy read Kenan feels like an old friend。 I grew up watching him on Nickelodeon and then SNL。 He tells his story in a light hearted fun way that makes it clear is family is his priority and he loves being a girl dad。 He is one of the most laid back comedians of his time but one of the funniest and this book helps punctuate that
Dennis Hogan
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Finished When I Was Your Age: Life Lessons， Funny Stories & Questionable Parenting Advice from a Professional Clown by Kenan Thompson， the recently released memoir by the longest serving SNL cast member。 I’m probably the only one in America Unaware of Kenan’s child acting career。 I enjoyed his story of perfecting his craft as an actor and funny manned the trajectory of his career。
Melanie Dunne
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This was such an enjoyable audiobook。 Kenan is just a great guy。 It’s as if I could hear his dimples in his narration。
Jen
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I really enjoyed this audiobook。 While he writes quite a bit about his rise and experience in the entertainment industry， he shares plenty of stories about his upbringing， relationships， and family; as well as perspective and wisdom on troubled relationships and other moments than can be challenging。 Throughout ， he comes across a genuinely good person。
Karina Winkelman
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Not particularly meaningful， felt like surface information。 I feel Kenan could’ve dug deeper。 The writing was also bland， transitions and editing were weak。
Brooke
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This book was very entertaining。 I didn’t like that。 It jumped around so much， and I wish it was more chronological， but it was still very entertaining。 He doesn’t talk about Saturday night live as much as you’d want him to， but it was still really good！
Mediaman
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Take the subtitle seriously to this disappointing and somewhat racist book: what's contained within is "questionable" and written by a clown。 From the first sentence Thompson comes across like an egotistical jerk who tries so hard to represent his "community" that he fills the pages with distorted incorrect information and woke opinions。 He's simply wrong about many of his perspectives but insists on pushing a black agenda that makes it sound like this rich guy who has been famous for 30 years （ Take the subtitle seriously to this disappointing and somewhat racist book: what's contained within is "questionable" and written by a clown。 From the first sentence Thompson comes across like an egotistical jerk who tries so hard to represent his "community" that he fills the pages with distorted incorrect information and woke opinions。 He's simply wrong about many of his perspectives but insists on pushing a black agenda that makes it sound like this rich guy who has been famous for 30 years （since age 14） can barely survive due to his skin color。 Give me a break--I wish we all had his minor troubles， and the fact is many people of all colors have had it much worse that this guy who was an elitist from childhood。 And get this--the low point in his life comes when his accountant steals a million dollars from him。 Kenan Thompson had rich people problems， not skin color problems。Just the first few pages alone should upset anyone interested in true equality or representation。 He incorrectly capitalizes the b in black （which is the grammatically incorrect way of rebelling today in America） while doesn't capitalize white。 He claims he was "one of the rare， at one time token， black cast members of SNL，" when in truth about 14% of the cast over the years has been black。 That's a little under their percentage in the population but they certainly were not token or unseen from the very first season。 Later in the book he calls SNL， "One of the infamously whitest shows ever。" A total falsehood and propaganda。 I can think of hundreds of shows that had zero minority regulars during the years SNL has been on the air， such as Seinfeld。 Meanwhile the late-night NBC variety show had over the years some of the greatest black comedians as regulars。 Even when Thompson started Tracy Morgan was there so what was the author complaining about？！ This is pure bigotry and bias on Thompson's part， misrepresenting the truth in order to play to the "community。"He has the audacity to ignore the fact that his first show All That had stacked the cast with minorities--over 50% black and Hispanic as well as over 50% women。 Funny how when non-Hispanic white males are underrepresented that no one talks about fairness or equity。 The fact is that from the start in 1994 he had it made and really has nothing to complain about in terms of treatment。But complain he does because he feels the need to point out skin color on almost every page。 "I liked white people，" he writes in the first chapter， "I went to private school for a hot minute and it had a lot of white folks。" Try substituting black for white and see if a pale-skinned celebrity could get away with that racist statement。He doesn't like all white people--he specifically goes after Donald Trump and calls him a bunch of bad names; at the same time a number of Thompson's black entertainment heroes get a total pass for being horrible humans because they did so many positive things for the "culture" （we're talking about you Bill Cosby）。 Kenan， who is pretty rude to those around him， should not be pointing out Trump's flaws while praising known sex offenders and drug abusers he worked with。I was at All That in 1995 and spent the day watching the group go through a new script。 Kenan was standoffish and not friendly。 Kel was hyper and goofy。 I walked away knowing that Thompson was probably shy but he was coming across as thinking he was above others， and in the book he acknowledges that the cast thought the same about him。Flip through the boring chapters on church （he no longer believes）， race， and way too many on his little kids （that he allows to watch totally inappropriate movies）， but fact check everything because he makes outlandish claims。 "My generation predates cable TV。" HUH？ He was born in 1978。 Cable started in 1948， HBO began in 1972， then TBS in 1976， CBN （which became Freeform） in 1977， and ESPN began the year after he was born as did a bunch of other networks before Kenan turned two years old。 "Back then we only had three network channels--ABC， CBS， and NBC--and that was it。" Totally 100% not true。 His family may not have subscribed to cable but almost 20% of the country did at the time。 The coauthor should have done some basic fact checking and research， but the real problem here is Thompson's know-it-all attitude that is not only wrong about facts but incorrect impressions that he misrepresents as reflecting an entire a generation or community。Yes， there are details of shows and some stories here， but insecure Thompson tries to lord it above us that he's a professional actor and has been since childhood。 Watch him on SNL， his one-note performances have little beyond caricature in them and his range is narrow。 I'm not saying he's not funny at times， but when you read this book you realize when he was your age he already thought of himself as above everyone else while spewing politically correct opinions that don't match his reality。 。。。more
Kimberly
，
While this book doesn’t divulge juicy gossip or epic trials and tribulations， it does show Kenan how I have always pictured him: as a stable， hard working comedic actor。 I grew up watching Kenan and know I will grow old watching Kenan。
Allen
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A behind the scenes look at how KT became the longest star player on SNL。 Behind the scenes brushes with big name celebrities and a bit about his 2 adorable young daughters。 A fast fun read。Oh， I came up with a better title for his book: Kenan Reacts。
Leslie
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3+
Lauryl
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I kept going back and forth between 4 and 5 ⭐️ but ultimately this was a fun， heartwarming story of a guy who grew up before our eyes with a little behind the scenes fun stuff thrown in。 He is remarkably normal for the life he’s lived， and you can tell he’s obsessed with his daughters。 Very sweet， quick read and great one to listen to （on 1。5x！）。
Allena
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This was great！ Kenan did an amazing job with the narration and I thought he wrote an enjoyable book。 It was fun to hear the behind the scenes SNL stories and about his childhood career。 He was humble and funny and very relatable。 Highly recommend！
Martin Maenza
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I have been a fan of Kenan's since his early days on Nickelodeon shows， which I watched with my son when he was a kid。 From that early age， you could tell he had the gift of comedy and to make people laugh。 Whenever he comes into a sketch on SNL， the smile already starts to form on my face。 I know I am about to be entertained。His story jumps around a bit， mostly fitting topics into neat chapters。 It is like sitting down with someone who has some stories to tell。 That means it isn't all chronolog I have been a fan of Kenan's since his early days on Nickelodeon shows， which I watched with my son when he was a kid。 From that early age， you could tell he had the gift of comedy and to make people laugh。 Whenever he comes into a sketch on SNL， the smile already starts to form on my face。 I know I am about to be entertained。His story jumps around a bit， mostly fitting topics into neat chapters。 It is like sitting down with someone who has some stories to tell。 That means it isn't all chronological， but it works。 I definitely learned a lot about his life which I had not known （the whole goal for an autobiography after all）。 Kenan's approach is very positive and even-tempered。 Even when discussing more sensitive topics， he still does it in a controlled， measured way。With two decades on SNL， I would have loved some more chapters about that。 What we got seemed to just skim a large surface。 。。。more
Ryan Bartlett
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3。75 stars
Leigh O
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I grew up watching Kenan on All That and Kenan and Kel and have watched him on SNL all these years later。 His book took a bit to get going but the second half was entertaining。
Joseph Robertson
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Great book on RESPONSIBILITY。
Sarah
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6/10
Toni
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Awww， a wonderful memoir of a down-to-earth but funny dude！！ I hope he continues to make us laugh and I can't wait to see what Kenan does next！HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION。 Awww， a wonderful memoir of a down-to-earth but funny dude！！ I hope he continues to make us laugh and I can't wait to see what Kenan does next！HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION。 。。。more
Chy
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I grew up watching Kenan first on All That and then later on Kenan & Kel and always thought he was hilarious。 I enjoyed reading about his career and his time not only on the above mentioned shows but also on SNL。
Caroline
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I don’t read celebrity news so basically I had my morning cry over Kenan talking about how he has repaired his friendship with Kel。
Jackie
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I loved this！ I grew up watching Kenan on Nickelodeon， and I loved hearing his story。 He seems like someone I'd want to be friends with， and I had no idea he'd been on SNL for 20 years。 My god， where has time gone？ How did we all get so old？！？！ I loved this！ I grew up watching Kenan on Nickelodeon， and I loved hearing his story。 He seems like someone I'd want to be friends with， and I had no idea he'd been on SNL for 20 years。 My god， where has time gone？ How did we all get so old？！？！ 。。。more
Kim Bongiorno
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Kenan and I are about the same age， and I’ve always found him to be reliably talented and interesting。 This peek into his life and thoughts， his path to successes and the people around him was made all the funnier and relatable by listening to him tell it in his familiar， charismatic voice。
Davi Kladakis
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