Craig Ferguson – författare

The comedian and former late-night host discusses his life, career, struggles with drugs & alcohol, and his love of the United States in this memoir.In American on Purpose, Craig Ferguson delivers a moving and achingly funny memoir of living the American dream as he journeys from the mean streets of Glasgow, Scotland, to the comedic promised land of Hollywood. Along the way he stumbles through several attempts to make his mark—as a punk rock musician, a construction worker, a bouncer, and, tragically, a modern dancer.To numb the pain of failure, Ferguson found comfort in drugs and alcohol, addictions that eventually led to an aborted suicide attempt. (He forgot to do it when someone offered him a glass of sherry.) But his story has a happy ending: success on the hit sitcom The Drew Carey Show, and later as the host of CBS’s Late Late Show. By far Ferguson’s greatest triumph was his decision to become a U.S. citizen, a milestone he achieved in early 2008.In American on Purpose, Craig Ferguson talks a red, white, and blue streak about everything our Founding Fathers feared.“Ferguson admirably avoids wisecracks and instead goes for something like wisdom. . . . If “American on Purpose” is, in part, a memoir about Ferguson’s alcoholism and his triumph over it, it is also an account of an addiction he’s unlikely to kick: his obsession with America.” —New York Times

In "American on Purpose", Craig Ferguson delivers a moving and achingly funny memoir of living the American dream as he journeys from the mean streets of Glasgow, Scotland, to the entertainment capital of the world. Along the way he stumbled through several attempts to make his mark - as a punk rock musician, a modern dancer, a bouncer, a construction worker and a stand-up comedian. To numb the pain of failure, Ferguson found comfort in drugs and alcohol, addictions that eventually led to an aborted suicide attempt. (He forgot to do it when someone offered him a beer.) But his story has a happy ending: in 1993, the washed up Ferguson washed up in the United States - which, from the age of seven, he had always seen as a beacon of goodness and possibility. Finally sober, Ferguson landed a breakthrough role on the hit sitcom "The Drew Carey Show", a success that eventually led to his current starring role as the host of CBS' "The Late Late Show". By far Ferguson's greatest triumph was his decision to become a U.S. citizen, a milestone he achieved in early 2008, just before his command performance.

From the comedian, actor, and former host of The Late Late Show comes an irreverent, lyrical memoir in essays featuring his signature wit.  Craig Ferguson has defied the odds his entire life. He has failed when he should have succeeded and succeeded when he should have failed. The fact that he is neither dead nor in a locked facility (at the time of printing) is something of a miracle in itself. In Craig’s candid and revealing memoir, readers will get a look into the mind and recollections of the unique and twisted Scottish American who became a national hero for pioneering the world’s first TV robot skeleton sidekick and reviving two dudes in a horse suit dancing as a form of entertainment.    In the book, there are some stories that are too graphic for television, too politically incorrect for social media, or too meditative for a stand-up comedy performance. Craig discusses his deep love for his native Scotland, examines his profound psychic change brought on by fatherhood, and looks at aging and mortality with a perspective that he was incapable of as a younger man. Each story is strung together in a colorful tapestry that ultimately reveals a complicated man who has learned to process and even enjoy the unusual trajectory of his life.