Grit, Spit, and Never Quit: A Marine’s Guide to Comedy and Life

Comedian, actor, and Marine Corps veteran Riggle debuts with a funny, fast-paced look at his military service and entertainment career. Growing up in Overland Park, Kans., in the 1970s and ’80s, Riggle was regularly bullied for his sensitivity. In high school, his confidence blossomed, and he began experimenting with improv comedy on his school’s radio station. He enlisted in the Marines after graduation, and by the end of the decade, he was doing sets at comedy clubs in New York City in between his deployments to Kosovo and Afghanistan. With his tongue planted firmly in his cheek (chapter titles include “Grave Hunting with Grammy” and “Terror, Sperm Banks, and Blessings”), Riggle touches on his family life, including his 20-year marriage and subsequent divorce; the establishment of his nonprofit, the Riggle Foundation, which offers support to veterans and first responders; and his stint as a correspondent on The Daily Show, a job Riggle landed in 2006 after what he was sure was a failed audition. Readers familiar with Riggle only through his acting work will be shocked by the breadth of his résumé, and those who’ve never heard of him will be charmed by this unconventional spin on the showbiz memoir. It’s a winner. Agents: Albert Lee and Byrd Leavell, UTA. (Nov.)