review: running with monsters by bob forrest

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I picked up Running with Monsters after reading Last Night in the Viper Room which mentions Bob Forrest. Although Forrest maintains a bravado throughout the memoir that his band(s) was better than others that "made it" like Alice in Chains, I wasn't familiar with his music or his appearances on Celebrity Rehab; despite that, the memoir did make for an interesting read, especially considering his connections to the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the night River Phoenix died. Running with Monsters was a very focused memoir--if it didn't relate to the addiction narrative, it wasn't discussed. Even so, it was hard to see the trajectory from kid experimenting with drugs and alcohol to a heroin-addicted man. Forrest indicates he tried heroin simply because it seemed cool to do what some rock stars do. He glosses over events that likely played a role in his escalating drug use (a few years after his father's death, his mother moves away without him--a high school student). The memoir seemed honest though with Forrest admitting to his failings as a father, liaisons with underage girls, multiple failed rehab attempts, and violating the rules of his employer (a rehab facility) to date his now-wife.
4/5
Review copy from Amazon Vine.