Will is Will Smith’s memoir, co-written with Mark Manson, and it covers more ground than the typical celebrity autobiography. The book moves chronologically through Smith’s childhood in West Philadelphia, his rise as the Fresh Prince, his transition into film, and the personal reckonings that came later in his career. But the thread running through it all is Smith’s relationship with his father, his compulsive need for external validation, and the gap between the person the public saw and the person he was privately.
Smith is more honest about his flaws than you’d expect. He writes about growing up with an abusive father and how that experience shaped his drive to be liked by everyone, which in turn shaped his career choices and his relationships. He covers the insecurity behind his relentless work ethic, the near-collapse of his marriage to Jada Pinkett Smith, and the ways he used success as a way to avoid dealing with deeper emotional problems.
The book is well-written, largely due to Manson’s involvement as co-writer. The storytelling is sharp and the pacing keeps you engaged. The early chapters about Smith’s childhood and early career in hip-hop are the most vivid, while some of the later Hollywood chapters can feel a bit uneven.
For founders and business-minded readers, the book has value beyond entertainment. Smith’s analysis of how he built his career, from studying box office patterns to reverse-engineering what made hit movies, reads like a case study in strategic career management. His reflections on how the pursuit of success can become its own trap, where you keep chasing bigger goals without ever stopping to ask why, are relevant to anyone on a similar treadmill.
The book was published before the 2022 Oscars incident, which colors how some readers receive it now. But taken on its own terms, it is a well-crafted memoir about ambition, identity, and the difference between winning and actually being okay.
