According to a preschool report card, four-year-old Roy Sekoff had “a wonderful sense of humor which is enjoyed by all—including his teacher!”

And his first-grade teacher noted, “Roy enjoys creative writing and should be encouraged to do so more often.” Despite these clear signals, he then spent much of the ensuing three decades in existential turmoil, struggling to figure out what he should be doing with his life.

After a long succession of failed endeavors, the universe decided to take pity on him (and, more accurately, his long-suffering wife) and gifted him with a lengthy run as the founding editor of the Huffington Post and president and co-creator of HuffPost Live. Finally, after seventeen years of dancing to the rhythms of the 24/7 news cycle, he decided to fulfill that preschool prophesy and write a funny book, Lacks Self-Control.