Will Smith revealed Saturday that he would publish his first memoir, Will, this fall. The actor-rapper’s upcoming book, due out November 9th via Penguin Press, will tackle both Smith’s career as well as his own personal journey for inner happiness, self-knowledge and human connection.
“It’s easy to maneuver the material world once you have conquered your own mind,” Smith said in a statement. “I believe that. Once you’ve learned the terrain of your own mind, every experience, every emotion, every circumstance, whether positive or negative, simply propels you forward, to greater growth and greater experience. That is true will. To move forward in spite of anything. And to move forward in a way that brings others with you, rather than leave them behind.”
Will — available to preorder now via the actor’s website — was written by Smith with The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck author Mark Manson. Smith will also serve as narrator for the audiobook
“In Will, one of the most dynamic and globally-recognized entertainment forces of our time opens up fully about his life, tracing his learning curve to a place where outer success, inner happiness, and human connection are aligned. Along the way, Will tells the story in full of one of the most amazing rides through the worlds of music and film that anyone has ever had,” Penguin Press said of the memoir.
Will will chart Smith’s life from a “fearful child in a tense West Philadelphia home” to an entertainment heavyweight who first conquered hip-hop, then the sitcom world, then the box office.
“This memoir is the product of a profound journey of self-knowledge, a reckoning with all that your will can get you and all that it can leave behind,” the publishers added. “Will is the story of how one person mastered his own emotions, written in a way that can help everyone else do the same. Few of us will know the pressure of performing on the world’s biggest stages for the highest of stakes, but we can all understand that the fuel that works for one stage of our journey might have to be changed if we want to make it all the way home.”
