My Best Friend is a Wookie: One Boy’s Journey to Find His Place in the Galaxy

Being a person on a lifelong journey with the fantastic I am always interested in the similar journeys of others. One day while following the book promotion of Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks by Ethan Gilsdorf I was pleased to hear of another writer who chronicled a similar journey. Tony Pacitti describes his story in the book My Best Friend is a Wookie: One Boy’s Journey to Find His Place in the Galaxy (Adams Media, 2010). The book is best summarized on its back cover:

So begins the real-life hero’s journey of Jedi Knight wannabe Tony Pacitti. In this hilarious coming-of-age memoir, our hapless hero sees Star Wars for the first time at the age of seven — and is never the same again. The epic film becomes little Tony’s moral compass, mentor, even psychologist, helping him battle the Evil Empire wherever he finds it. He uses the Force to navigate the perils and pitfalls of childhood — from the bullies who badger him at the bus stop to the beautiful girl who mocks Obi-Wan and breaks Tony’s heart. Then George Lucas releases The Phantom Menace, and a disappointed Tony turns to the Dark Side of adolescence, falling in with stoners and goths and nu-metalheads so lame even Jar Jar Binks would shun them. However, armed with the sense of human of Han Solo, the will power of Luke Skywalker, and the wise attitude of a [much younger] Yoda, Tony grows into a man worthy of riding shotgun with a Wookie.

I resonated strongly with Tony’s story. Earlier in life I too wrestled with feeling out of place during my adolescent years, and found solace through my exploration of the fantastic. Although my brother and a small handful of friends were able to understand this attraction, most of my peers did not, contributing further to feelings of isolation and being an outcast. Like Tony, Star Wars was an important part of my universe of the fantastic. But in Tony’s situation Star Wars becomes the primary frame of reference for some form of escapism, as well as a powerful myth and metaphor by which he could navigate the difficulties of childhood and especially adolescence.

The writing style is very entertaining, and it is difficult not to sympathize with this story, whether one identifies with the fantastic and geek culture or not. Even so, for me the book was somewhat uneven in terms of the place that Star Wars holds in the overall narrative. It is pivotal in the first few chapters, but when Tony enters adolescence it seems to move to the background, only to move back to a place of prominence as Tony gets older and makes a more concerted effort to reclaim Star Wars as something of a guiding force in his life. I did not find this book as engaging, and ultimately heartbreaking as Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks, but it is a good read, and a contribution to our understanding of geek culture and the significance of fantastic narratives to peoples lives. Purchase your copy of My Best Friend is a Wookie at the TheoFantastique Store.

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