What a ride…it’s true what they say about fact being stranger than fiction sometimes. Mikel’s story is heartbreaking, bizarre, and hopeful all rolled together.
Mikel (frontman for band, The Airborne Toxic Event) was born into an infamous Californian cult, which started as a drug rehabilitation center but turned violent and intense by the time he was born. The children were separated from their parents into a ‘school’ which was basically an orphanage. Mikel’s mother managed to get him and his brother out, but their free existence was one of poverty and abuse (both physical and emotional).
The book explores Mikel’s relationships, his sense of family and his own sense of self after such a tumultuous upbringing, and was truly moving while also being completely riveting. The writing is beautifully descriptive and poetic at times, without ever being over the top.
I predict this book will quickly be the topic of many a book club and find itself on the best-seller list before long. The audiobook is narrated by the author, who does a fantastic job. If you like memoirs…and even if you don’t, I recommend grabbing a copy of this one!
Mikel (frontman for band, The Airborne Toxic Event) was born into an infamous Californian cult, which started as a drug rehabilitation center but turned violent and intense by the time he was born. The children were separated from their parents into a ‘school’ which was basically an orphanage. Mikel’s mother managed to get him and his brother out, but their free existence was one of poverty and abuse (both physical and emotional).
The book explores Mikel’s relationships, his sense of family and his own sense of self after such a tumultuous upbringing, and was truly moving while also being completely riveting. The writing is beautifully descriptive and poetic at times, without ever being over the top.
I predict this book will quickly be the topic of many a book club and find itself on the best-seller list before long. The audiobook is narrated by the author, who does a fantastic job. If you like memoirs…and even if you don’t, I recommend grabbing a copy of this one!