Ron Howard shares what scared him most about writing his memoir

It wasn't that time Opie accidentally killed that bird!

June 26, 2024, 1:24PM By MeTV Staff

The Everett Collection

Most of us will probably never be famous enough to publish a best-selling memoir. While our biographies might not ever hit the bookshelves, everybody has something worth sharing. You never know what you might learn from listening to the lives of those around you. Somebody you pass every day might have some profound wisdom if only you'd tune in.

That act of sharing can be so useful, as well. While it might not warrant a literary agent, writing memories down is a great way to find out what's important to you. Reflection is important. It's how we process what happened to us. Sometimes, we might not have the perspective necessary to learn from an experience in its immediate wake. However, with the benefit of time passing, looking back on our tribulations in contemplation is a great way to move forward with the right life lessons.

On the eve of their shared memoir's publication, Ron and Clint Howard spoke with Entertainment Weekly about the process of writing their lives. The journalist probed the Hollywood brothers about which stories were scariest or hardest to include.

"There were a few things that were sort of difficult to revisit," said elder brother Ron.

"Some of the unsettled feelings that I had around Happy Days were things that I talked about a little bit. But I've never delved into it in the way that I did in the book. I also recognize how emotional it was then and how vitally important it was to me then. Yet now putting it into perspective, I recognize that it was just part of my growth. It was an aspect of the real world that was good and healthy for me to face because it ultimately motivated me to go ahead and pursue my big dream, which was to be a filmmaker. But revisiting that, I found uncomfortable."

While readers might be most interested in the behind-the-scenes drama, a family arc stood out to Ron as well hard to write, but healthy to include.

"Also admitting that as Clint got older and began experimenting with drugs and alcohol and having some struggles there that I could recognize that I had made some poor choices in terms of recognizing what my brother needed from me and what my parents needed to hear from me that I had fallen short on or misjudged. It was painful to put that into writing, but important."

Ron and Clint Howard's The Boys is available wherever books are sold!