Beautiful, catchy, poetic, mesmerizing and approachable
This is not so much a “memoir” as it is a semi-chronological collection of essays. The writing is fantastic: beautiful, catchy, poetic, mesmerizing and approachable all at once. This is book is so good you just HAVE TO Google the author multiple times throughout your read. I wanted to know more and more about his life AS I was reading about his life.
“Hollywood Park” is a book that brings you along with Mickell Jollett as he experiences childhood, teen years and adulthood.
Told in multiple parts, one part for each segment of his life, the book speaks in a third person memoir perspective, and the author uses the voice of his respective age for each segment. So, when he’s 5 years old, the writing is similar to how a five year old would tell a story (“and then and then and then”). This is what I loved most about this book, how it’s written. Always a good thing, right?
Based on the description, I expected to learn more about the cult in which Mikel and his brother were raised. I am cult-obsessed. I love reading and learning about cults and escapes from cults. The book begins with their escape from the cult, though, and the author was understandably too young to really recount the actual living experience, so there wasn’t much in the book about it. The cult, though, definitely informed a lot of who he became and who he endeavored not to become. It's an incredible story.
It was hard to read about Mickel and his brother. What a dysfunctional sibling relationship. Who beats up and bullies their own brother? My heart broke for young Mikel. I can’t even imagine this experience.
Coming from two parents with addictions myself, I strongly related to Mikel’s upbringing. It’s refreshing to see that other people have problems, big problems, and they’re not afraid to let it all out there for the world to see. Mikel is one of those people, and I thank him for writing this incredible story.
I fell in love with this heartbreaking and heartwarming book.
“Hollywood Park” is a book that brings you along with Mickell Jollett as he experiences childhood, teen years and adulthood.
Told in multiple parts, one part for each segment of his life, the book speaks in a third person memoir perspective, and the author uses the voice of his respective age for each segment. So, when he’s 5 years old, the writing is similar to how a five year old would tell a story (“and then and then and then”). This is what I loved most about this book, how it’s written. Always a good thing, right?
Based on the description, I expected to learn more about the cult in which Mikel and his brother were raised. I am cult-obsessed. I love reading and learning about cults and escapes from cults. The book begins with their escape from the cult, though, and the author was understandably too young to really recount the actual living experience, so there wasn’t much in the book about it. The cult, though, definitely informed a lot of who he became and who he endeavored not to become. It's an incredible story.
It was hard to read about Mickel and his brother. What a dysfunctional sibling relationship. Who beats up and bullies their own brother? My heart broke for young Mikel. I can’t even imagine this experience.
Coming from two parents with addictions myself, I strongly related to Mikel’s upbringing. It’s refreshing to see that other people have problems, big problems, and they’re not afraid to let it all out there for the world to see. Mikel is one of those people, and I thank him for writing this incredible story.
I fell in love with this heartbreaking and heartwarming book.