How well do we know people? Likely, not well. Our society contains a multitude of contrary or viewpoints. Even those of us with what some would consider as similar viewpoints are different when examined closely. To say we know someone definitively is something that, in my opinion, is a daunting task that borders on the impossible. Like most challenges, that hasn’t stopped people from attempting the impossible any way.
One of the more commercial ways that we often see people try to understand people is through biographies. To see someone triumph through their personal struggles, to learn that they can be as flawed or as damaged as yourself, can be a comfort. Even if that comfort is fleeting, to obtain some kind of understanding, to gain a minimal amount of empathy for something that a person has gone through is ultimately invaluable.
While about a fictional character, David A. Goodman’s Autobiography of Jean-Luc Picard gave me a better understanding about a man who had been in my life for years, but one I had never properly took the time to understand. Picard was never my favorite captain from the Star Trek franchise when I was young. Kirk’s (and William Shatner’s) legacy always loomed large in my mind, largely because the Original Series was what my Dad grew up with and that’s how he introduced me to Star Trek. In comparison to Kirk, Picard always struck me as a bit stuck up, someone who was removed from his crew. Kirk always felt like he was inherently more personable. Kirk was someone one would want to hang out with, whom you’d trust almost immediately. Picard was never someone who seemed warm, but was always clinical and precise, only letting his guard down in his solitude (which isn’t reflected in Patrick Stewart, who seems like the world’s most delightful person).
The autobiography gives readers the context on Picard’s pre-Enterprise life. One of the things that struck me most about Jean-Luc’s youth is how much he had to deal with legacy. The Picards had a substantial presence in the wine industry, with each generation making substantial commitment to it, in Picard’s lifetime his father and brother. Learning about Jean-Luc’s heated relationship with his brother reminded me so much of my own relationship with my brother and how it has had its peaks and valleys over the years, eventually coming to a place of understanding now that we’ve both had a chance to live and grow.
Picard’s family life gives way to his Starfleet career. This comes after Picard’s dogged determination to get into Starfleet Academy but failing because he realizes that he was letting his pride fool him into believing that he had all the answers. As someone who had to repeat my first year of law school, because I thought I could force my way to success, having this in common with Picard was astounding. What’s even more astounding from my perspective was how long it takes Picard to reign his hubris in. This isn’t to imply that I have a better grasp on my own hubris but Picard swings back and forth throughout his Academy from sensible to quite reckless. It takes a knife to the heart and an artificial heart to get him to control his hubristic and reckless tendencies and focus them toward positive acts. This pendulum act is something I think that we all deal with; our pride comes and goes and interferes with our better judgment until we get it tamed.
Picard’s Starfleet career is filled with the typical adventures that define Star Trek. While there is a period of a younger pre-captain service depicted, Picard’s tenure as First Officer and later Captain of the U.S.S. Stargazer covers the bulk of the autobiography. As someone who was only aware of this as a detail from the show, it was nice to see Picard make mistakes, learn habits and tricks, and develop relationships that would carry onto how he would captain the U.S.S. Enterprise. Ultimately, this era falls flat for me because it is set in the path that the show set out, which minimizes the stakes, but only by so much.
The autobiography does cover the events of Star Trek: The Next Generation and its subsequent films but in a minimal fashion. This autobiography is such a deep cut fan item, it is likely that Goodman expects his readers to be very familiar with the events of Picard’s time on the Enterprise. I understand this, even though I wish for more. What is valuable about what we do get is a glimpse into Picard’s mental state and how much the things he experiences impact him. Arguably, the show and the films are the best way to experience what happens to Picard, as Patrick Stewart’s performances can provide viewers with the same understanding as of Picard as they would get in reading this autobiography. What is appreciated the depiction of Picard’s ambassador career following his resignation from Starfleet. This is something that neither the show or movies address, and only has been reference in materials designed to promote the 2009 Star Trek movie. While it ends with tragedy, and the implosion of Picard’s political career, to get even just a snippet of a Star Trek that isn’t fixated on recreating the Original Series is very welcome.
The autobiography ends on a happy note, with Picard tending his ancestral vineyard, married to Dr. Beverly Crusher, his “will they won’t they” object of romance in the show, who now captains the Enterprise. The existence of Star Trek: Picard somewhat cancels out this happy ending, as its implies that Picard lives alone on his vineyard and in shame of how his Starfleet and political career ended. It makes one wonder if this book will be updated to account for the fact that Picard’s story has yet to truly end.
To know Jean-Luc Picard, you truly need the show and the movies. Anyone would agree that the source material for any adaptation is going to give you a better understanding of what the actors and writers intended these characters to be. But with this autobiography, my understanding and appreciation of Picard has deepened immensely. Picard, in my mind, acts like Star Trek’s Superman; he’s like us, but on a much grander scale. He has friends who don’t fully get him at times, he has bosses who get frustrated with him, he has obstacles that get in the way of what his job requires. He suffers tragedy and loss, and while those events came close to breaking him, he found a way to overcome.
One of Picard’s most famous lines from the show is that “it is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness; that is life.” Like Picard, we can only take what our choices and mistakes give us. To truly know someone, in my estimation, it takes accepting people for the sum of what they become from these choices and mistakes. Maybe if we found a way to do that, then we’ll have a future worth dreaming about again.