I Am Brian Wilson

I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir

Author	Brian Wilson, Ben Greenman
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Autobiography, memoir
Published	Da Capo Press
Publication date	October 11, 2016
Pages	320
ISBN	978-0306823060

I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir is an upcoming autobiographic memoir of American songwriter-musician Brian Wilson, co-founder of the Beach Boys. It was written with author Ben Greenman and will be published by Da Capo Press on October 11, 2016. The book supersedes Wouldn't It Be Nice: My Own Story, Wilson's disowned autobiography published in 1991.

Background

The memoir was announced in April 2013, reported to be written with journalist Jason Fine, published by Coronet Books, and given a 2015 release date. While Wilson's website stated that he "will describe for the first time the epic highs and lows of his life", The Guardian noted that Wouldn't It Be Nice: My Own Story had covered many of the same topics mentioned by the site. However, the 1991 book is considered "controversial" in Wilson lore, and predates his solo resurgence of the 2000s. The project was met with skepticism by Van Dyke Parks, who was approached for questioning by Fine's assistant via Twitter, responding, "Doesn't sound 'auto' to me!"

In June 2015, Wilson reported: "One guy crapped out on me, so I’m doing it with somebody else. It has to be done." In February 2016, Wilson said that the book was about "three-quarters" finished and that it was being written with help from friend Ray Lawlor. He likened the writing process to therapy, saying: "There are a lot of memories that go along with my book. I have to take the good memories with the bad memories."