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Lit summer reading list: Memoirs by stoners

Published on June 16, 2023 by David Wylie

Photo: Adobe stock/the oz.

Are you looking for something to read or listen to during your lazy summer lulls?

I love listening to books on Audible, especially memoirs that are read by the author. It really gives you a more personal sense of their experience.

Here are three worthwhile books by stoners:

Spare

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex

At one point in his memoir, Spare, Prince Harry confesses to smoking a shopping bag full of weed in his teens.

He writes: “I believe that was also the night I smoked an entire shopping bag of weed. I don’t recommend it. Then again, it might have been another night. Hard to be precise when it comes to a shopping bag full of weed.”

Harry is definitely not your typical stoner. He describes scenes of smoking weed off and on throughout his life. He says cannabis really helped him.

Spare is an unprecedented peek behind the tall walls of the Royal Family, told by a true insider. It’s also peppered with Harry’s experiences with cannabis, mushrooms, and cocaine.

The book is beautifully ghostwritten by J. R. Moehringer.

It shows the deeply human side of a royal.

Just Say Yes: A Marijuana Memoir

Catherine Hiller

Perhaps the first ever in the ‘marijuana memoir’ category, Just Say Yes by Catherine Hiller is a funny and candid recollection of her life.

“Weed is the spine of this memoir, as drink is the centre of so many others,” she writes.

The book captures 50 years of American culture intermingled with Hiller’s own experiences, including picking up pot from shady black market dealers, partying at Burning Man, and being part of the film crew at Woodstock.

Like any good memoirist, she is nakedly honest, particularly about weed’s effect on her life—including marriage, motherhood, friendship, work, and sex.

(This book is not available as an audio book.)

Yearbook

Seth Rogen

This is one of the funniest books out there, like pee your pants funny.

Perennial stoner Seth Rogen shares a collection of personal essays, giving glimpses into his childhood, doing stand-up comedy at age 13, and his prolific Hollywood acting life.

The audiobook has a cast of over 80 voices, including cameos from his parents, Tommy Chong, and Billy Idol.

Rogen shares some truly wild memories, like being way too high on mushrooms in Amsterdam and tripping balls on LSD at Burning Man. He regularly pushes at the edges of his drug tolerance.

Rogen talks about his BC roots, growing up in Vancouver.

Of course, he discusses cannabis. “Weed is my sunglasses. Weed is my shoes. I’m not quite cut out for this world, but weed makes it OK.”

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If you’re looking for more reading material, check out last year’s Lit Summer Reading List, with non-fiction recommendation by Aly K. Benson.