Worth The Hype

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Hollywood Park has been getting a lot of buzz, so much buzz that you may be asking yourself if it’s worth the hype. In short: yes.

Mikel Jollet, whom you may know as part of the alt rock band The Airborne Toxic Event, has written an honest, self-aware, captivating memoir of growing up and finding success despite unique challenges. When he was about 5, his family escaped Synanon, which was a dangerous cult. Even though the family escaped, there were emotional wounds left by the years in the cult, making life after the cult more difficult than anticipated.

The memoir starts out by detailing Mikel Jollet’s childhood, and is presented through the perspective of a child. As the Mikel ages, the perspective and insight increase accordingly. Jollet’s writing talent is on full display in Hollywood Park. It honestly blows me away. While reading the book, I may have found myself half hoping Jollet would retire from the rock star life and become a full time writer.

Hollywood Park is already drawing praise from The Oprah Magazine and Good Morning America. It has been compared to other highly-acclaimed memoirs like The Glass Castle and Educated. Let me assure you that this praise is 100% accurate. It is not merely hype. There should be no qualms when picking up a copy of what is sure to become one of 2020’s best publications.