Summary of Reality Check by Mike Sorrentino and Andy Symonds: Making the Best of The Situation - How I Overcame Addiction, Loss, and Prison

By Justin Reese

DISCLAIMER

 

This book does not in any capacity mean to replace the original book but to serve as a vast summary of the original book.

Summary of Reality Check by Mike Sorrentino and Andy Symonds: Making the Best of The Situation - How I Overcame Addiction, Loss, and Prison

IN THIS SUMMARIZED BOOK, YOU WILL GET:

• Chapter astute outline of the main contents.
• Fast & simple understanding of the content analysis.
• Exceptionally summarized content that you may skip in the original book

 

Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino's memoir, "Reality Check: Making the Best of The Situation – How I Overcame Addiction, Loss, and Prison," offers a raw and uncensored account of his rise to stardom, fall, and renaissance. The book reveals everything from drug-fueled orgies to the dysfunctional family behind reality television. Sorrentino shares his darkest thoughts after trying heroin, going to prison, and grieving his wife's miscarriages. Despite his dark times, he never gave up and continues to inspire readers with his determination to get clean and sober. The memoir is a must-read for fans of Sorrentino's life and career.

• Language: English
• Publisher: jUSTIN REESE
• Release date: Dec 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215604854

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

The author recounts their Christmas Eve dinner, where they were surrounded by family and friends. The youngest son, The Situation, was suddenly world famous, rich, and the star of a major television show. However, their brother Marc reminded them to file a tax return. The author, high on prescription opiates, continued to bask in their fame and fame. The author's reality show Jersey Shore had become a cultural phenomenon, and Leonardo DiCaprio had praised them at a club.

President Obama mentioned The Situation during his speech, suggesting that he should be exempt from the tanning tax. GQ magazine estimated their earnings at five million dollars that year. The author had no idea how much it all added up to, but they had trusted businesspeople to handle the rest.

As a rookie celebrity grappling with the excesses of new wealth and public adoration, the author was hesitant to contact the tax man. Marc suggested they catch up with the IRS next year, which led to a single decision that would plague the author for years. The author's foolishness, years of intoxication, and lack of self-awareness cost them much but also taught them the importance of self-awareness and the lessons of dealing with the bad and the good.

The Situation, a sensation on reality television, was a sight to behold and a sensation. After Jersey Shore premiered, people wanted a piece of the show, and the creator, Mike Sorrentino, had his own ab cream, supplement line, cologne, iPhone app, vodka deal, and endorsement contracts with Reebok and vitaminwater.

At Viacom's New York City headquarters, the cast members were given contracts for season two of the number-one reality show on television. The executives presented them with a low-ball offer, but the cast members were hesitant to sign it. They felt like they were in control and knew they were in control.

The Situation, a breakout star of the show, was ready to voice their displeasure to the executives and their lowball offer. They were told that they would be replaced, but the producers agreed. The Situation was irreplaceable, and they knew it.

As they pressed down the elevator, the Situation recognized that this seat of power, the future of a generational show and brand, was in their hands. They called their manager, Mike Petolino, and asked for the involvement of lawyers, referring to their super-attorney, Dave Feldman. They knew they would get paid accordingly, as they had earned raises and presented a character impossible to recreate.

MEET THE SITUATION

In 1980, the author and her husband were excited to have their first child, but things didn't go as planned. Early on, they started bleeding and experiencing pains, which led to a doctor predicting a miscarriage. However, as the months went on, they became more optimistic about the pregnancy going to full term. On July 4, 1981, the author experienced a massive amount of blood on the kitchen floor, and she was hemorrhaging. The hospital placed her in a bed with her feet in the air and her head toward the ground to stop the bleeding. They scheduled an emergency C-section, and when she woke from general anesthesia, she was told her baby was in intensive care and had been born blue for lack of oxygen.

The author's placenta partially ripped, and doctors warned that if it had fully torn away, both her son and her would have died. After recovering from the trauma, the author named her baby Michael Paul, despite his known for being active and aggressive. Mike was a very good baby, and his personality changed over time. He was outgoing, assertive, and mischievous, and his behavior was often called into question by teachers and principals.

Despite his challenges, Mike was always energetic and carefree, willing to do anything just as long as told not to. Growing up in a stereotypical Italian family, the author grew up with food and family as the most important aspects of their life.

The author's family has a rich history of Italian roots, with one side coming from Naples and the other from Avellino. Their great-grandfather immigrated to America at the age of fifteen with only sixteen dollars in his pocket, but he raised eight children and became the proprietor of a thriving bakery on Henderson Avenue in Staten Island. Both sides of their mother's family were Sicilian, with her father being a black belt and her grandmother being a royal blooded baron.

The author's parents worked hard and raised four happy, healthy kids, starting the family on Staten Island before eventually relocating to the suburbs of New Jersey. They grew up close, with their siblings playing sports together and traveling for taekwondo competitions. The author's mother was a homemaker who always prepared an amazing spread, and Sundays were marked by Sunday Sauce, which the author believes is still the best cook she's ever encountered.

Food was an important value in the family, and the author teaches her son about the importance of family and eating together. Her father, Frank Sr., worked as an electrical engineer and may have had ties to a well-dramatized criminal organization. The Mafia lifestyle was part of their community, and the author's father was a man's man who never hesitated to let his fists fly.

The author's family lived in a white three-bedroom colonial in Sunset Hill, Staten Island, and attended P.S. 45. When they moved to Manalapan, New Jersey, they found it safe, clean, and a step up from Staten Island. They attended elementary, middle, and high school in Manalapan High School, graduating in 1999.

MIS-EDUCATION

The author describes their upbringing in Monmouth County, Massachusetts, where they were a class clown and a mischievous individual. They were popular in school but always in trouble, often being the center of attention rather than learning. They were known as the black sheep of