Deeply moving, heart wrenching, and inspiring, Raymond J. Barry offers readers insights into what it takes to survive a violent upbringing, to excel in sports, to be swept away by theater, and to barely earn a living while trying to make it as an artist and an actor for 20 years; before finally garnering significant recognition beginning in the 1980s, in such films as Year of the Dragon, Born on the Fourth of July, Dead Man Walking, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Made in Chinatown and on television series including X-Files, The 100, Gotham and Justified.

“Self-doubt was often the fountainhead of numerous mishaps along the way,” Barry confesses. “Pride was a large factor in my refusal to surrender, like a rhino charging a truck again and again, not realizing the truck is made of impenetrable steel. Becoming an actor involves ‘free will’ to choose a profession and fully embrace the struggle that lies ahead; all the profession’s hazards, its entire package of part time jobs, numerous fail-ures, fear, self-doubt along with moments of absolute joy, blended with sporadic and finally consistent success.”

The essays in this collection were written over decades. They offer a feeling of unfolding without a plot, but the plot of course is the life of Raymond J. Barry, and this memoir reads like the pages of his private diary.

Never A Viable Alternative is more than the memoir of an award-winning actor. Here, Barry digs deep into the human condition and provides us all with a “Master Class” on what it takes to be a successful working actor and a solid human being.