The A-list comedian tells the story of his unlikely path to success while struggling with severe dyslexia.
When Phil Hanley entered first grade, he realized something that would forever set him apart from his peers: he couldn’t read. His teachers were ill-equipped to assist him and wrote him off as a hopeless case. Phil slipped through the school's cracks, year by year falling farther and farther behind his friends, only passing to each next grade because of his mother’s interventions. Finally, he was diagnosed with dyslexia, a learning disability that would shape the rest of his life.
In Spellbound, Phil Hanley shares his experience living with debilitating dyslexia. Unable to pursue college or a traditional job, Phil was thrust into a life to be defined by unconventional twists. He moved to Europe and became a successful runway model, a job that suitably kept him away from pens and paper. In search of fulfillment that couldn’t be found posing for a Docker’s ad, Phil retreated home to Vancouver where, desperate to manage the mental health issues connected to living with dyslexia, he turned to an all-consuming obsession with Transcendental Meditation. Finally, he found himself on a stage with a microphone, a spotlight, and five minutes of jokes. Stand-up became the first pursuit that the more Phil put into it, the more he got out, and something that he compellingly argues, saved his life. Spellbound is a story of humor and also of struggle and heartbreak, of constantly living in a world that sees things differently than you, and of triumph over adversity.
Phil shows us that dyslexia can be a huge challenge, but having it does not spell certain condemnation (nor can he). Just the opposite: dyslexia has been more than a blessing in his life–it’s been his north star.

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Phil Hanley’s comedy career began at open mics in Vancouver, Canada. It then went on to include his own Comedy Central special, “The Half Hour,” and performances on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson. He has been showcased at every major comedy festival and clips from his improvisational crowd work often go viral, garnering hundreds of millions of views. When he’s not touring North America, he can be seen regularly at The Comedy Cellar in New York City.

“Phil Hanley is the hilarious and authentic voice we all need right now.”
—Amy Schumer, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo
“Phil Hanley’s Spellbound tackles dyslexia in a style full of both humor and hope. Read this book!”
—Aziz Ansari, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Modern Romance
“Brilliant, funny, poignant, raw, honest, and full of heart, Phil Hanley’s Spellbound is the voice of a movement. He shares wisdom about what it's like to be dyslexic, but most importantly, he sets the record straight on what is right with the dyslexic mind and how we can all find our path and voice in the world.”
—David Flink, Founder of Eye to Eye and CNN Hero