The Los Angeles Diaries

A Memoir

De: James Brown

Narrado por: Charles Constant

Plagued by the suicides of both his siblings, heir to alcohol and drug abuse, divorce and economic ruin, James Brown lived a life clouded by addiction, broken promises and despair. In The Los Angeles Diaries, he reveals his struggle for survival, mining his past to present the inspiring story of his redemption. Beautifully written and limned with dark humor, these 12 deeply confessional, interconnected chapters address personal failure, heartbreak, the trials of writing for Hollywood, and the life-shattering events that finally convinced Brown that he must "change or die".

In "Snapshot", Brown is five years old and recalls the night his mother "sets fire to an apartment building down the street," an act that splinters the family, later leading to their destruction. In "The Facts", he is a young writer and professor "afraid to step out of the darkness" and confront his double life as an addict. In "Daisy", Brown purchases a Vietnamese potbellied pig for his wife to atone for his sins, only to find himself engaged in a furious battle of man versus beast - with the pig's bulk growing in direct proportion to the tensions in his marriage.

©2003, 2010 James Brown (P)2020 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

The Storytelling

Enjoyed author’s manner of telling his story about his struggles with alcohol and drugs. I thought he conveyed the struggle with such way that it engendered my compassion. Helped me better understand what addicts go through…

Depressing

I knew the content was sad but it also said triumphant - I didn’t feel it. Maybe I’m insensitive to addiction but this story did a lot to justify it. I was waiting for a feeling of redemption that never came