The Book

My Best Friend is a Wookiee: One Boy's Journey to Find His Place in the Galaxy

So begins Tony Pacitti’s own dorkily moving Jedi journey. In this hilarious and heartfelt memoir, Tony shows how Star Wars has served as a source of comfort, guidance, and wisdom in his life. From the first thunderous boom of John William’s score, seven-year-old Tony takes on Star Wars as his moral compass, his mentor, even his psychologist. Like his hero Luke Skywalker, Tony must then overcome Stormtrooper bullies, Lando turncoats, and Emperor Palpatine authority figures and embrace his own geekiness to grow into a man worthy of riding shotgun with Chewie.

With the sense of humor of Han Solo, the willpower of Luke Skywalker, and the wisdom of a (much younger) Yoda, Pacitti uses the Force to follow his heart, overcome obstacles, and live a life worthy of a Jedi knight.

Praise for My Best Friend is a Wookiee: A Memoir

“My Best Friend is a Wookiee is hilarious, tragic, touching, and most of all, honest. Tony Pacitti deserves a medal from Princess Leia and a hug from Chewbacca. I loved it.”
—Alec Sulkin, Writer, Executive Producer of Family Guy

“Set in a galaxy between John Hughes and Jedis, Pacitti weaves a funny, heartfelt tribute to teen angst and fandom.”
—David Nadelberg, Creator-Author, MORTIFIED

“Star Wars is to Pacitti what Winnie the Pooh (the book, not the cartoon) was to me.”
—Tony Millionaire, Cartoonist

"This book is for anyone who wished they could make the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs."
—Kristen Rutherford, Writer for Attack of the Show!

“I know I’m not the first person to ponder why Star Wars was such a touchstone in many people’s lives. But I think what George Lucas did in creating a ‘used universe’ was make the fantastic and unimaginable accessible and relatable.
What Tony Pacitti has done with this book is kind of the same thing. In recounting his personal life journey and love affair with this not-always-loved film series, I believe he has found a commonality that we can all relate to. He has made the geeky accessible. For whom among us has not felt like an outsider at one time or another, or known the bliss and pain of falling in and out of love, or of going down paths in our life we knew we should not have?
This book will speak to many more people than Tony may realize because like Star Wars, it is an experience that has been shared by millions.”
—Kevin Rubio, Writer/Director of TROOPS

“Tony Pacitti’s My Best Friend Is a Wookiee is a hyperdrive tour through Star Wars fandom that’s more fun than shooting womp rats in Beggar’s Canyon. But it’s also a comical, tender, no-punchespulled coming-of-age memoir. We see a painfully shy kid slowly trying out the Jedi-like powers of adulthood and using the transformative Force (and forces) of the Star Wars universe to get him there. A heartbreaking work of staggering geekiness.”
—Ethan Gilsdorf, Author of Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms

“Tony’s journey starts in the safe haven of a childhood with the secret knowledge that The Empire Strikes Back is the greatest movie of all time, to a middle-school experience with the Special Editions, learning about midi-chlorians in high school, and finally reacting to the love of new, younger fans as an adult. Through bitter tears and explosive accomplishments, Tony reconnects us all with our youth in an intimate and powerful way. He uses hilarious language that’s rich in nerd-minutiae with references firing off like Death Star quadturbo- laser-cannons. But just like the drama of a favorite fantasy story settling into its place of ultimate importance in our own lives, this story is real and at times painful. When it’s all said and done, we, the readers, find ourselves much like Chewbacca himself standing restrained next to the heartbroken who says, ‘I love you’ to a movie series. And, of course, the inevitable reply will come: ‘I know.’”
—Scott Hinze, Host, Co-Creator of Fanboy Radio

“My Best Friend Is a Wookiee is the candid story of Tony’s love affair with George Lucas’s space opera. The movies were escape and consolation for a bullied, lonely kid in a new neighborhood; they helped him find companionship with other fans, inspired his creativity, and gave him something to cling to during the turbulence of puberty and junior high.
Tony’s experiences aren’t sugarcoated. He shows us that realworld ‘rebels’ are often deadbeat stoners; that sticking to your own beliefs can make you a loner; and that normal teenagers are neither pure-hearted heroes nor dark-side villains. Bullies can become friends, and nice guys can break hearts. But Tony’s closing words carry a sense of generosity and the start of wisdom, and it’s clear that Star Wars helped him get there.”
—Will Brooker, Director of Research in Film and Television, Kingston University; Author of Using the Force: Creativity, Community and Star Wars Fans