I went to a party when I was twelve and didn't get back until I was 45 My early years weren't as dynamic or event-oriented as my later years, but in the opening chapters of this book I describe what I believe predisposed me to a life centered around drugs and alcohol. I also discuss my relationship with my parents and how they enabled me to continue on a self-destructive path. From junior high through high school, the story is all about my progression from weekend drinking forays to early stages of alcoholism and all the chaos of that age period. My five county jail sentences and one prison...

From grammar school through high school, teachers periodically made comments on my grade reports such as, "John is a capable student but he will not apply himself." They were right. I did just enough to get elevated to the next grade. My dad wouldn't let me quit. Because I was 17 during my entire senior year, I needed parental consent. Though I wasn't enthusiastic academically, my father still managed to instill a value for education that would surface in my life almost 30 years later. My lack of academic initiative was exacerbated by the ethos of the 1950s. Rock and Roll and James Dean was...