As others have said, this one's absolutely harrowing.

Now, to me, it was also a difficult read, as the reader experiences literal oceans of alcohol being consumed virtually through to the final pages, with a monstrous side order of drug use, and I come from a long line of drug abusers and alcoholics. 

I'm not saying I was triggered, because I wasn't. I will say the constant, "I was crazy drunk, but I can drive fine" stuff kind of grated on me only because, well, we all know that that's simply not the case, right?

Regardless, that's a personal observation and has nothing to do with the actual story. So, let's talk the actual story, shall we?

Holy crap. Honestly, truly, if only half of what Bowyer writes is true and unexaggerated? Even if it's just half, this is still one of the craziest rides I've ever been on. The man's packed more mind-altered, unhinged, violent, illegal, heartrending insanity into forty-odd years than most families do over several generations. I kinda get where Bowyer's fiction bubbles up from now.

Two personal observations, one of which is simply likely can't be helped due to how things spun out, and the other is honestly just a product of Bowyer's pedal-to-the-metal writing style, but I'll mention them anyway.

The first is, toward the back half of the book, things did kind of get a touch repetitious, but as I said, I think that's how things spun out for the author. For a long period of time, while good things happened, he was experiencing an inexorable spiral down the drain. And that spiral often manifests in doing the same things, or experiencing the same pain, over and over. 

The second is, Bowyer doesn't strike me as a guy who does a lot of soul-searching of his past. He remembers it, he can shake his head at the craziness of it all, but he doesn't really dwell on it. There are times when I would have liked to see a bit more of the fallout mentally from some of the many things he's done (no spoilers, but the event at the hotel at the age of fourteen), or the losses he's incurred (wives, etc.).

But in the grand scheme of things, these are miniscule complaints.

So, bottom line, I won't say that I loved this book, because, quite frankly, it's an ugly story for much of the journey, but I will say I was obsessed with it and I could not look away. Simply could not.

And that's the mark of a damn fine author.