Alex Trebek

“The Answer Is: Reflections on My Life,” July 2020

What it covers: Sadly, 2020 will also be known as the year that many of our most beloved public figures passed away. Alex Trebek was one such figure. After he announced his Stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis in 2019, his memoir, “The Answer Is: Reflections on My Life,” was released in July of 2020, just months before he eventually succumbed to the disease in November . Trebek’s memoir is bittersweet due to the circumstances of its release. The book charts his life and decadeslong career, which took off in 1984 when he took over as the host of “Jeopardy!”

Best reasons to read: The book is filled with anecdotes and musings ranging from his thoughts on Will Ferrell’s “Saturday Night Live” impersonation of him (Trebek loved it, by the way, although his favorite impersonation of himself goes to Eugene Levy from “SCTV”) to his thoughts on living with cancer. Each chapter is titled as an answer to a question, structured the same way as “Jeopardy!” For instance, in the chapter “What Is Toughness?,” Trebek explains his definition of the word: “Interestingly, the longer I’ve lived with the cancer, the more my definition of ‘toughness’ has changed. I used to think not crying meant you were tough. Now I think crying means you’re tough. It means you’re strong enough to be honest and vulnerable. It means you’re not pretending.” Trebek’s book serves as a lasting reminder of his legacy.