I watched Happy Days when I was a kid and loved the show. This book is like a backstage pass to the life of Henry Winkler, the guy we all know as the Fonz from "Happy Days." He's way more than just a leather jacket-wearing, thumbs-up-giving dude.

I highly recommend listening to the audio version, narrated by Henry himself. I really had no idea what he did career-wise after Happy Days so this was all new to me. He's a dyslexia advocate and a children's book author. I enjoyed the name dropping and him talking about his friendships with Ron Howard and other stars.

It was interesting to hear his journey from his abusive childhood to finally getting himself into therapy and the impact it made on his life and marriage.

It does jump all over the place at times. I really enjoyed the more personal stories about the dogs and his children and the guest appearances by Stacy as she narrates her own point of view. I finished this being totally impressed with how tenacious he is!

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC (audio) version of this book.

"Being Henry: The Fonz... and Beyond," narrated and written by the iconic Henry Winkler himself, is a candid and touching memoir that takes readers on a journey through his life in and out of the spotlight.

Growing up with Winkler as the beloved Fonz, it's fascinating to see him break free from the shadow of that iconic character. His honest portrayal of battling imposter syndrome despite portraying a confident character like the Fonz is both relatable and eye-opening.

The book provides an insightful look into the complexities of celebrity life in Los Angeles, contrasting starkly with Winkler's traumatic childhood and personal struggles. It's heartwarming to witness his transformation and newfound happiness, particularly through his role in "Barry" and the support of a great therapist.

I extend my special thanks to Macmillan Audio for providing the advanced listener copy of this audiobook via the NetGalley app. "Being Henry" is an interesting read that showcases the resilience and growth of a beloved Hollywood legend.

amazing, funny, sweet and great insight on show business. I highly recommend. Full review on Instagram

I've always been a fan of Henry's, but I've never watched he'd Happy Days. I know Henry from the other things and always respected his work. Knew he was a good family man and was out of trouble. A few years back I saw him in a show called Better Late Than Never and became a huge fan of his comedy. He is hilarious and not afraid to look silly. I wanted to read this book to see of that guy was the guy writing the book and I'm happy to say, it was. Henry read the book along with his adorable bride, Stacy. It was a fun ride, great tales and no mention of my favorite TV show, but I had a blast anyway. I'd rank this a must for Happy Days fans, but anyone can enjoy Henry's sweetness.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the arc! This was such a great insight into the American treasure that is Henry Winkler. Winkler was and is still a household name. I loved this one!

I love a good memoir and this one was great! I knew very little about Henry Winkler. I recently loved him on the TV show, Barry, but I am too young to have watched Happy Days growing up. It was so interesting hearing about his journey in Hollywood and also his family life. His stories were heartwarming and funny. The audiobook read by the author was excellent!

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for letting me listen to an advanced copy of the audiobook!

I wasn’t a fan of The Fonz but I loved this book.

Mr. Winkler has written a book that feels genuine. Oddly this audiobook gives you the feeling that he’s just sitting there talking with you, it makes you feel that you could be getting to know or understand him.

I just laughed (days after finishing this celebrity memoir) and thought … beware Henry of stalker fans. Yes, still laughing as it occurred to me that he’s probably quite familiar with stalker fans, being The Fonz!

Well he tells the tale of a young boy who never felt like he fit in with the cool kids to an adult who still feels like he doesn’t always fit in. I think a lot of fans probably relate to this so he’s endeared himself to the reader.

A heartfelt story that clearly shows mistakes he feels he’s made and how he looks back maybe not with regret but with an implied apology and awareness. He seems to appreciate learning from his life experiences and not everyone learns from mistakes.

Do I feel like he has a genuine joy de vie? I don’t think that was the intent of the book but I feel he’s getting comfortable with the notoriety that he’s earned through a life well lived.

The book covers a lot of his time as a celebrity and times he felt were challenging. He fondly relates stories involving Ron Howard that make you feel that this younger man might have taught him a thing or two.

Some of his fanboy interactions with other celebrities are self deprecating and you can relate to that awkward moment when you meet someone famous. He seems to understand what it’s like being the fan geeking out.

He’s been married a long time and his wife joins him for a chapter. Just want to hug them both. A book well worth owning & listening to. Great narration!

Thank you NetGalley & Macmillan Audio! I LOVE a good memoir narrated by the author. Simply Fabulous!

What can I say about Fonzie??? I grew up with this guy. I loved listening to Henry narrate. I enjoyed the stories he told.

Such a good book! It was like sitting down with a friend and listening to him tell stories of his life from childhood until now. The Happy Days years and when he talked about the children's books he wrote were some of my favorite parts of the book. He narrates the majority of the book but a few times his wife narrates and adds details from her insight into certain situations.

4.5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

Henry Winkler is a Hollywood legend with famed roles in Arrested Development, Barry and of course as the iconic Fonz on Happy Day's. He really invites the readers to get to know the deep and poignant man behind the TV persona. To be very clear this is the story of Henry Winkler not Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli, and this genius actor has struggled his entire career to make the distinction. He opens up about his childhood with strict immigrant parents, his learning disorder that has followed him his whole life, and his gripping insecurities that trouble most artists. He shares the love of his family, wife, kids and grandkids in a very open way. He included his wife's perspective in their story having her write a few chapters and she even jumps in to read her parts on the audio recording, which I loved. I have always enjoyed his work but after this honest, laugh out loud, heart warming memoir I love him all the more.

It was like Henry was just sitting down in my living room telling me stories! He is an awesome storyteller! I learned so much about him! What a great book!

Oy Henry what a treat this book was! So interesting to hear about his life with a difficult family and how he survived his rough childhood. From his dyslexia to his relationships with his co-stars on Happy Days to his even to this day self doubt about his own talents and worthiness - just so darn good! Appreciated the humor and honestly and I left feeling like this world has good people in it like Henry! Read this!

@macmillan.audio thank you SO much for providing me this audiobook for review. When I saw this I immediately thought oh wow, there’s a face that I know and want to hear about, and when I saw that he himself was narrating, I was surprised because, like many, I didn’t realize that he was a voice actor also! MAC: please engage him in more voice acting of some fiction here please!! Hearing his voice tell his own story, just made me feel all warm inside. What a charming, humble, sweet, introspective, talented gentleman!!! #henrywinkler you are a HERO! Of course I grew up like many of my generation watching him every week nite as #Fonzie on #happydays ! I loved hearing him talk about his rough time growing up with his German Jewish parents who were extremely tough on him, to hear him tell it, mean even, from his perspective. They called him “dumb dog” in German because he had the learning disability of #dyslexia which when he was a kid, I suppose, was not well known… could you imagine being an actor who has to read lines and memorize them when you have Dyslexia??? No wonder he became so great at #improv !! Not only did he become a wonderful actor, but also a producer, director, writer of children’s books, as well as a great husband and father! One of his funny self- effacing jokes, “when I’m sent directions, I always say, ‘I LOOK like an adult, but I’m a four year old that can drive so the directions had BETTER be very precise….”there’s a blue pebble on the sidewalk and 11 ft later, you make a right.’” (If only ALL MENN but I digress)
His wife Stacey also speaks on his audiobook about the transformation in his confidence that came about thru therapy. He was always fearful of, “being small potatoes - being unseen, unheard, a has been or used to be” but that will never happen!
Of the many thoughts that struck me throughout his audio: that therapy can be productive, that attitude means everything, that you can continue self-improving even past what others see as your “prime”, that you can learn even with a strikingly difficult learning disability (with help and understanding) and that you CAN make the most of what you’ve been given; and most of all: to be grateful!

Absolutely loved this. Especially since Henry narrates it himself. It's amazing that he turned out to be such a spectacular human being in spite of his parents. Highly recommend.

I am so grateful that I was given the opportunity to listen to this wonderful wonderful audiobook. I adored every moment of his story. It was honest, funny, sweet, soul baring, and emotional. I grew up when watching Happy Days was appointment television (before VCR’s) and have been a big fan ever since. The breadth of his work, the kindness of his soul, the love he shows for his family, his honestly about…everything is a testament to exactly who he is and why he is known as the kindest man in Hollywood. I loved that his wife, Stacey Winkler read some of it as well.

One of my absolute joys as a reader is listening to an self-narrated audiobook of a memoir. Whether it’s someone I’m familiar with or, as in this case, a lesser known person to me, it is a privilege to get to peek inside the lives of others and hear their stories and lessons learned.

Henry Winkler is so much fun to listen to. He tells a great story, and his rise to fame and all the obstacles he faced, even after his success in Happy Days, was fascinating to listen to. I’ll never not be in awe that ordinary people with extraordinary talents find their way to the spotlight. I do feel like his story got slightly repetitive toward the end and I wish there had been more varied insights sprinkled throughout, but this is a must-listen-to memoir! I’m inspired to go back and watch some of the creations he’s been a part of!

I really enjoyed this memoir! It was interesting and I learned a lot about Henry that I didn’t know. My one critique would be that it hops around a bit much in regards to timeline but I feel like it’s difficult to keep things in 100% chronological order. Henry seems like a wonderfully kind human being.

I’m planning to update this review after I have some time to gather my thoughts more.

This audio was great. This is only my third memoir. And I think Henry did a great job! I really enjoy when the author and actor narrates their own story. I feel like you need a fantastic job across, but also keeping it lighthearted. I overall really enjoyed it. And would recommend it to others.

I didn’t know a lot about Henry before reading this book; I just knew I liked some of his work. After reading this book I definitely like him more. This is a relatable and charming autobiography. I enjoyed listening to Henry tell his own story and loved learning about his acting writing and everyday life. I highly recommend listing to this audiobook!

Thank you NetGalley & Macmillan audio for the arc of this audiobook.

To television fans of a certain generation, Henry Winkler will always be associated with Fonzie - the charismatic, motorcycle-riding, cool guy he played in the sitcom 'Happy Days.' Winkler has also been called the nicest man in Hollywood, and this memoir supports that impression.

Winkler, born in New York City in 1945, didn't have it easy as a youngster. Winkler's parents, Ilsa and Harry, were Jewish German immigrants who expected their son to make them proud. Unfortunately, Henry was severely dyslexic and couldn't learn to read or do math. This led to constant criticism from Ilsa and Harry, who thought punishing Henry would make him do better in school. So Ilsa and Harry grounded Henry, forbid him to watch television, called him names, shamed him, sent him to summer school year after year, and more.....all to no avail.

Moreover, Harry wanted his son to take over the family lumber business, and sent Henry to be a summer apprentice at a lumber mill in Germany. However, from a young age, Henry only wanted to act. Winkler writes, "I can't remember not feeling an intense need to perform. I recall putting on my sister's muumuu bathrobe, applying some makeup, and popping out into my parents' parties with little dramatic presentations."

Despite being in the bottom three percent of students in the country, Winkler managed to get into Emerson College and then the Yale School of Drama. Afterwards, Henry was invited to join the Yale Repertory Theatre in 1970, which he found to be "so much fun; so exhilarating."

In time Winkler got an agent named Joan Scott and started getting television commercials for things like American Airlines, Sanka coffee, and Talon zippers. Henry's first 'big' role was Butchey Weinstein in the movie 'The Lords of Flatbush', which was about "four leather-jacketed guys who were more interested in making it with girls than rumbling with other gangs."

Winkler repeatedly notes that he's "very careful" with money, but in 1973 he took his entire savings of $1000 and flew to Los Angeles, to try his luck in Hollywood. Henry never even considered paying for lodging, but couch-surfed and phone-surfed, trying to get work. Winkler was even too frugal to get headshots, and carried his resumes in a brown paper grocery bag instead of a leather portfolio like other actors.

Nevertheless, Winkler began to get roles, starting with a guest shot on 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show', and then the part of Arthur Fonzarelli (Fonzie) on 'Happy Days. A good part of the book discusses 'Happy Days', including what happened when the Fonzie character became more popular than the Richie character, played by Ron Howard, who was supposed to be the star of the show.

Sadly, Winkler learned there's a downside to fame, because after playing Fonzie for eleven years Henry was SO typecast he had difficulty finding other acting roles, and had to work in other areas of show business for many years.

In 1976 Henry met Stacey Weitzman, the pretty, red-headed, single mother of a little boy named Jed.....and it was romance at first sight. The couple eventually wed, had two children called Zoe and Max, and have been married for 47 years. Winkler writes a good bit about his family, of whom he's very proud.

Winkler includes many personal anecdotes in the book. For example, Henry writes: "My love of gardening started with spider plants, all of them descendants of a single plant that Tante Anna (Aunt Anna) had smuggled out of Nazi Germany along with herself in, believe it or not, a coffin."

The Winkler family also loved dogs, and after some of their brood succumbed to old age, Henry observes, "Our home clearly needed some puppy energy, and Waffles, a Wheaten Terrier, came along to fill the bill, or so it seemed at first. Because Waffles, it turned out, had just one goal in life. To run around the pool at top speed. [Our son] Jed was ten, and he needed a dog he could interact with. Enter Tootsie Anna Marie, a beautiful black lab. When Jed and I played catch, and as Waffles zoomed around the pool in the background, Tootsie played outfield. If Jed or I missed a catch, she brought the ball right back to me and politely dropped it in my mitt."

Winkler also writes about himself and his wife Stacey working with challenged and troubled children; Stacey's battle with breast cancer; Henry's lifelong resentment of his parents; Henry and Stacey's son Max growing up to become a director; Henry and Stacey's daughter Zoe growing up to become a children's teacher; Henry's therapy; and much more.

Getting back to Winkler's career, after playing Fonzie, he produced 'McGyver' and other popular television shows; did voice acting in animated programs; took up directing; did some movies and plays; and eventually became a popular actor again in television shows like 'Arrested Development', 'Parks and Recreation', and 'Barry.'

Winkler also used his experience with dyslexia to write a series of children's novels with author Lin Oliver, about a boy named Hank Zipzer who has learning difficulties. Henry began giving talks across the country about his struggles and notes, "I've now given hundreds of these talks.... and it is wonderful to see what a positive force the Fonz has been in so many people's lives.....it is about us, all the people who have felt less than because of something wired in their brain from birth, something that was not their fault."

Winkler speaks well of most people he met during his long career, and his book is a 'who's who' of show business folks, including acting teachers, agents, managers, writers, publicists, directors, producers, actors, actresses, etc. It feels like Henry has met every well-known person in the western entertainment industry. Lamentably, a few Hollywood bigwigs were not very congenial, such as producer/director John Rich, and they get a mention as well.

Try as Winkler might, he'll never get away from being the Fonz. Henry writes, "People come up to me all the time. I hold their hands, I look them in the eye. They say, My father and I watched you. I can't believe I'm meeting you.....Oh my God. My daughter and I watched you.....Oh my God. My grandmother and I watched you.....Or they're filming you with their phone".....and so on. Quite a legacy.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Henry Winkler, and it was great to hear Henry's story in his own voice.

Thanks to Netgalley, Henry Winkler, and Macmillan Audio for a copy of the book.