Have you seen That 70s show, Disney TV children's show Handy Manny or NCIS?

Activist and actor Wilmer Valderrama spotlights his journey from Venezuela to Hollywood. Valderrama was Fez in That 70s Show, now he’s Special Agent Nick Torres on NCIS. Offers an unique perspective on America through the eyes of
an immigrant. He narrates the audiobook himself. The physical book was released in both English and Spanish. Valderrama’s story is heartwarming, impactful and inspiring. He lived in Venezuela until he was 13 years old. Wilmer faced numerous challenges that had to be overcomed. He talks about struggles with English as a second language, rise to fame, his family and giving back to his community. The book deeply moved me. One of the best nonfiction audiobooks of 2024. Thank you Wilmer for sharing your story and your activism.


#wilmervalderrama #immigrantsmakeamericagreat #immigrantswelcome

Thank you to Netgalley, Wilmer Valderrama, and the publisher for the ARC of An American Story.

This book was ok. I liked the beginning when he was focused on his family, his struggles with learning english, and how his career started. It is nice he is close to his two younger sisters and his parents. After the beginning it kind of meandered and I couldn't tell when things were going on until he got onto NCIS. I also understand he is an actor but how did he go from being so poor to taking a long hiatus and taking lots of trips. How was he managing his money?

The parts where he was involved in the USO did not hold my interest and i skimmed over them but kudos to Wilmer for being involved with the USO and so many other charities.

I also did not like the chapter titled Luck., He says he doesn't like when people say he is lucky but then goes on about his faith. To me, the two are intertwined and gratitude is luck. He is lucky for so many reasons, which is no way diminishes any of his hard work. For him to have a whole chapter about not liking when people tell him he is lucky was kind of icky.

This book is so fake. I expected real raw experience and what you get is a fake happy story of how amazing his life was. What was it really like on sets? What were some failures you had in Hollywood. How did you feel when your friend was arrested for his crimes? Why did you date girls who were 12 years younger than you? Instead you get the Disneyland version of his life.

I really enjoyed his story. It had so much feeling in it, I am glad I got to know the guy behind fez as I will always remember him by. Its nice to see how he got to this point in his life

Wilmer Valderrama delivers a heartfelt and emotional journey through life and show business in An American Story from That 70s Show to NCIS, Wilmer shows us his journey and how it has made him who he is today.

I got this book not expecting much, but after I got into it, I learned a lot about immigrants and what they go through to get to America. This really is the land of opportunity.

Harper Select provided an early galley for review.

I have always found Valderrama to be a likeable celebrity, from his very first role to those that came later afterwards for the past two and half decades. That likeability factor was enough to draw me to this memoir to learn more about his life story.

Though born in America, his is very much an immigrant story which he conveys in a very relatable and approachable manner. Despite the barriers of language, he and his family worked hard to fit in when they returned and to do whatever they could to make ends meet. It is from that need that Wilmer's drive to become an actor emerged.

Having grown up in the same small town as one of That 70's Show co-creators - Mark Brazill (he being just three years older than me), I was very interested in hearing about the audition process and Wilmer's time on the show. I was also pleased that he touched upon a few details regarding the follow-up That 90's Show from a few years ago. In between, he ran through many projects on which he worked (many with which I was not familiar).

Fans will definitely be interested in reading his story.