The Answer is …: Reflections on My Life by Alex Trebek

    For years I did not watch Jeopardy!.  That’s because even in non-election times there were political commercials.  Political commercials during each and every episode.  It, along with some contestants, drove me crazy.  I decided not to watch for a while.  That while ended up being years. 

    Then Alex Trebek died.  In a year full of celebrity deaths, for me it was one of the saddest.  He was Jeopardy!.  Even though I did not watch the show, I still loved it.  I kept hoping Mr. Trebek would beat his cancer and continue on.  Sadly, he did not, ending Jeopardy! as we know it.

    When I found out when Mr. Trebek’s last episodes were going to be, I tuned in to watch.  Then the guest hosts were announced.  I watched one with Ken Jennings.  Possibly the first episode after Mr. Trebek’s last, and that was it.  Until Aaron Rodgers. 

    Now, I am not a football fan.  I do not watch football, unless you count European football.  With that, I will admit I watch far too much Premier League.  Still, despite not watching football myself, it is impossible to live in Wisconsin and not know who Aaron Rodgers is.  The quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, his face gets put all over the place.  He also seems to be a good man.  So, I decided to watch when he was the guest host.  He did a good job, and I think Mr. Trebek would have been proud.

    But watching Jeopardy! again is not the only way I have brought the show back into my life.  I also read Mr. Trebek’s book The Answer is … Reflections on My Life.  When I picked it up from the library, I wondered if reading it would make me sad.  Or maybe I would learn something about Mr. Trebek I didn’t really want to know.  Something that would have me see him in a different light.  A light I would not be happy with.

Questions & Answers/Artwork by Kate Dorsey

    Despite my concerns, I knew I had to read the book.  I wanted to know more about Mr. Trebek.  It was also the only way I was going to find answers to my questions.

    Those answers were not what I expected.  While there were sad parts I found while reading, I did not get sad to the point I had to stop reading.  And as I read the book, I did find myself looking at Mr. Trebek in a different light.  I now hold him in a higher esteem than I ever did before.                         

    Since Mr. Trebek wrote this book after his cancer diagnosis, it could have easily been dark and dreary.  It wasn’t at all.  Instead, it was light at fun.  Part of this may have been because this was not a tell-all, scrape up every skeleton in the closet type of book.  Not by far.

    The other reason this book may have been the way it was is because of Alex Trebek himself.  He seemed to be a man who could resolve conflict and remain friends with just about everyone.  This includes his ex-wife and his mother who moved away after separating from his father.  These are two people Mr. Trebek could have definitely had resentment towards for the rest of this life.  He didn’t.  Instead, Mr. Trebek had strong, healthy relationships with them, as he did with so many others.

    Now, this does not mean every event Mr. Trebek recounted was happy and jolly.  He did get into some unpleasant ones, such as his short stint in the Canadian military, and the schoolmate who got him into trouble for something he didn’t do.  While these were not pleasant events in his life, Mr. Trebek didn’t write about them with any bitterness.  He simply relayed what happened and his feelings about it.  And that was it.

    Many of the chapters were short, especially in the beginning.  Some were only one page, and each is about a specific topic.  Pictures were included throughout the book. 

    The chapters got longer as the story turned to more recent events, but nothing overwhelming.  Mr. Trebek spoke about how Jeopardy! was invented and how he became the host.  He talked about certain contestants who have remained with him (the story of Cindy Stowell who was dying from colon cancer while she was a contestant was particularly moving).  Mr. Trebek also got into which celebrity contestants were good enough to be regular contestants.  Michael McKean and Aaron Rodgers were two that stuck out to me in particular.  Michael McKean because I saw him play and completely agree he could be a regular contestant.  Aaron Rodgers I explained earlier.  Although I understand he played really well too.

    Mr. Trebek also went into what life is like behind the scenes of Jeopardy!.  What a day of taping is like.  How the contestants are interacted with.  There are five shows taped in a day.  With so many contestants and so many clues, that is a lot to fit into one day.

    Another thing Mr. Trebek wrote about was the charity work he did.  He didn’t do it to brag, but to emphasize how much the charity work meant to him.  He found his work in Africa especially meaningful.

    Mr. Trebek does get into politics bit, but nothing too deep.  He emphasized why he loves the United States (he was born and grew up in Canada).  Then he spoke about how people, especially politicians, need to get back to helping others.  How they should also think about the long-term.  Base decisions around that.  Not short-term thoughts and reactions that are so frequently done now.  These are all very simple concepts.  Simple, and ones that should be listened to.

    While Mr. Trebek did talk about his cancer, he didn’t have it take over the book.  He preferred to talk about his family.

    The ending is sad, especially knowing Mr. Trebek passed away not long after publication.  However, despite the sadness, I closed the book knowing Mr. Trebek celebrated his life.  He appreciated what he had been able to experience and accomplish.  He loved his family.

    The world is not the same without Alex Trebek.  I knew this before reading this book.  After reading it, I understand even more how much of a difference he made in the world.  And how much better the world is because Alex Trebek was a part of it.