Just a Guy: Notes from a Blue Collar Life

Blue Collar Comedy star Bill Engvall is just a guy. He's been one his whole life. He can't help it; he was born that way. And that makes him an expert on the subject. For the record, here's the official definition of a guy: a person who doesn't think before he speaks. He can't. He's not that deep. Because a guy has only three basic needs: eating, sleeping, and sex. That's it. Just a Guy chronicles a lifetime in pursuit of those needs.

In this memoir, Bill Engvall takes you on the rollicking ride of his life, including his childhood in Texas and adolescence in Arizona (where he became a fixture in local emergency rooms, the result of massive amounts of non-thinking behavior while trying to impress girls or torture his sisters); following his dream as a stand-up comic and, gulp, singer; and his brief stint in children's theater while sharing the stage and the back of a van with the director's dog. You'll also hear about his bumbling and riotous courtship of, and then marriage to, Gail, the love of his life. And finally, Bill talks about fatherhood and remaining, to this day, a well-meaning but flawed parent.

Through it all, Bill gamely stumbles along, struggling to maintain a facade of confidence and control. Far from a superhero, Bill Engvall is an everyday Everyman, the poster boy for normal. The result is disarming, perceptive, wildly funny, and unexpectedly moving. Just a Guy will make you laugh out loud and tug at your heart.