By Megan Thomas
A confession which, after reading the book, I feel rather guilty about: When I watched Oppenheimer last year, I had to physically stop myself yelling, “Why is Josh from Drake & Josh in charge of the red button!?” (IYKYK) To me, that’s who Josh Peck was – one half of Drake & Josh. As his memoir confirms, this is not a unique sentiment.
This book is not, however, simply a tool to wash the Nickelodeon watermark from his public persona, even if it served as that in part for me. It also isn’t only about his weight, which formed a significant part of that persona. Peck has had a fascinating life on and off camera, and his experience is so tethered to his childhood spent on stage that it is also fair to consider this a parable of the stereotypical child star. Except that nothing about Peck’s experiences are stereotypical.
From his disordered eating as a child which led to obesity, to his alcohol and drug addiction in his adulthood which ended in AA and recovery, Peck has been through so much and Happy People Are Annoying is filled with so many life lessons. Importantly, it shows that these sorts of stories don’t all need to end the same way. His resilience is inspiring.
Of course, difficult life aside, there is still plenty of goofball humour which is what I so adored about Drake & Josh growing up. Peck is hilarious, and as such his narration in the audiobook was exactly the feel-good element I was after when I selected his memoir (clearly, I didn’t read the blurb, but I’m happy about that in retrospect).
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