Wisdom & Worries

The iconic Star Trek actor, known for playing Captain Kirk, and New York Times–bestselling author delivers a unique, moving memoir in poems and lyrics. 

You know him from his voyages on the Starship Enterprise, as veteran cop T. J. Hooker, and Boston Legal lawyer Denny Crane. He’s starred in his own one-man show on Broadway and has collaborated with Ben Folds, Brad Paisley, and others on his records. His spoken-word albums have been critically acclaimed, portions of which complement his latest reflections in Wisdom & Worries.

As he nears the century mark, William Shatner is still boldly exploring new frontiers, including his own inner universe. In the pages of Wisdom & Worries, he looks back on his childhood in Montreal, his acting career, his connection with nature and animals, and the loves of his life. In soulful, rhythmic verses, Shatner reflects on his journey to find his place and uncover meaning in the world. 

Shatner’s poems, set to music across five albums, span a life lived with passion and purpose, including “Clouds of Guilt,” his collaboration with Joe Jonas; “So Far from the Moon,” lamenting the breakup of his first marriage and a low point in his career; “The Lion on the Wall,” a nursery rhyme written for his grandchildren; and “So Fragile, So Blue,” the poignant impressions he experienced during his space flight on Blue Origin at the age of ninety-one.

Shatner’s latest works have been hailed as possessing “a surprising depth of feeling” (The Washington Post) and as “unexpectedly poignant . . . less performance, more reckoning” (The Guardian). Wisdom & Worries contains multitudes. Curiosity, regret, connection, loneliness, and gratitude tie together a portrait of a man with an unlimited capacity to appreciate every moment of the past and all those yet to come.