Geddy Lee’s Memoir, “My Effin’ Life,” Out Now

At long last, Geddy Lee’s new memoir is available. My Effin’ Life is out now in hardcover, audiobook, Kindle, and audio CD versions with the audio versions including two previously unheard demo songs that the Rush bassist wrote for his 2000 solo album My Favorite Headache.

The book covers more than his time in Rush. In it, Lee gets into his family roots, the traumas of his life, his hobbies, and more. He began writing the book during the pandemic as a response to the world crisis and the loss of Rush drummer Neil Peart. In doing so, he got the chance to examine his life and become introspective.

Cleveland.com asked Lee if the process made him learn anything new or unexpected.

“Y’know, I always saw myself as this wallflower kind of a nerd, this quiet, shy kid that sort of backed into everything in his life,” he said. “And I discovered I was not that. I had to get out from under that black cloud of my father’s death and I pushed myself into music and became obsessed and scrimped and saved money to buy a new record and begged my mom to buy me a guitar. Where did that come from? And then I would sit in my room and try to learn every song I could and then go out and meet musicians and start bands and play shows. That’s not the behavior of a wallflower.”

In the same interview, he was asked about working together again with Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson.

“I’ve been hanging around with my BFF Alex quite a bit lately, and we’re talking about maybe we should try to bang some songs together and see if they’re any damn good, and maybe do some stuff on my own ‘cause that’s a different side of me,” he said. “I know (Lifeson) is keen to reconnect. About a year ago we did get together and he came over and we drank too much coffee and went down to the studio and…we had a wonderful jam. And of course, about three-quarters of the way through it, I was already Mr. Bossypants, trying to get him to try this note instead of that note, and he looked at me and said, ‘Nothing changes…’ (laughs) I think we’re both anxious to pick that up again, so…who knows?”

Lee is currently on a book tour to support My Effin’ Life, plus he has a new show called Geddy Lee Asks: Are Bass Players Human, Too? That will premiere December 5th on Paramount Plus.