Rainn Wilson: From The Office to The Bassoon King

For Office fans expecting a comedic comeback from Dwight Schrute, this might not be the book for them. Sure, the forward to Rainn Wilson’s memoir The Bassoon King: My Life in Art, Faith, and Idiocy is written by the former paper salesman and at least two chapters are dedicated to Wilson’s time with the NBC series, but this book digs deeper into the actor’s ongoing quest for spirituality and acceptance, leading the readers through his lifelong journey of self-discovery.

Here are five things we learned from Wilson in his new memoir.

He had a pretty unconventional childhood

When Wilson was two, his mother cheated on his father and left. His father subsequently entered a rebound marriage and moved the family to Nicaragua for a brief period of time, where Wilson grew up with a pet sloth, dog and his neighbour’s pet monkey. The family eventually returned to America, where Wilson went on to emerge himself in playing the bassoon in school band and escaping into weekend-long games of Dungeons & Dragons with friends.

“One of the seminal moments of the book for me was when I asked my dad and stepmom when they knew they didn’t love each other,” Wilson reveals, adding the answer was a year into their 15-year marriage. “A light bulb went off. I grew up in a household without love in it. They didn’t abuse me, but it was at the same time it was not a healthy way to grow up. That’s kind of the one ingredient you want.”

He grew up with the Baha’i faith

The religion, which basically subscribes to the idea that all religions are valid, was one that Wilson’s dad practiced at home. It took a long time for Wilson to finally accept his own faith, following heavy bouts with cocaine and alcohol growing up.

“I was a lost soul in those days, which is easy to do if you’re only pursuing selfish pursuits,” Wilson says. “I just wanted career and myself, status and success. All of my focus was on living this Bohemian lifestyle I talk about. It’s a recipe for getting into a lot of trouble with drugs and alcohol. It was my spiritual journey that helped me out of that.”