k_mccomas's review against another edition
3.0
All politics aside, I felt like the first half of the book was the author trying to make himself relatable to everyone, saying things like that he grew up in a "staunchly middle class home" (somewhat different than my middle class upbringing). The last half of the book seemed much more honest and heartwrenching. This family has definitely seen more than its share of tragedy.
snwdngo's review against another edition
3.0
This isn't what I wanted it to be, I wanted to feel that I better understood Hunter Biden. Maybe now I know there is nothing to understand but a truly selfish human being.
broprahwinfree222's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
feliciasrose's review against another edition
I just got bored and wasn't sure it was worth it to continue in order to just hear more about his addiction. I didn't really care about his work. I cared about his life and any semblance of reflection he had about it. The start detailing his relationship with his brother was beautiful.
elainenotbenes's review against another edition
4.0
I devoured this beautifully written memoir in a day. At the core of his message of love, acceptance, and perseverance is Hunter’s brother, Beau, who died far too young yet made an impact as deep as a moon crater. And then there’s his father, our current President, who went through hell to help him, and did so without judgment. Biden never, ever gave up on his son. Regardless of how you feel about Biden, know that his family is his biggest achievement and his devotion to them is unbreakable, especially for Hunter.
I guarantee you will find a connection to Biden’s life as you read this memoir. Whether it’s his middle class childhood, the grief at losing his mother and infant sister in a traumatic car accident, his determination to make it on his own without the help of his father, becoming a father himself, his failed relationships, or his whirlwind romance to his now wife. It’s life. And it’s messy, confusing, awesome, and complex. He’s far from perfect, but we all are. While the stories may be different, the feelings are the same.
No one has put Hunter Biden through more pain and heartache than Hunter Biden. Even with all the attention from political opponents, his biggest enemy will always be himself. Biden’s account of his addiction to alcohol and crack cocaine is not for the faint of heart. Because my God, does our boy have a tolerance to somehow survive week-long binges. Often without sleep. Or food. There were several points when I asked myself how he was still alive or not in prison. And I say this as someone who has found people dead following an overdose, or put people in prison. Despite living an affluent lifestyle, none of that matters when your addiction leads you to the seedy, unforgiving underbelly, which it did for him and will for anyone who goes down that path. And if you are thinking of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, a movie I hate, you aren’t far off from what Biden’s life was like. Unlike other memoirs I’ve read on drug addiction, this really gets into the nitty gritty of crack cocaine use. How insidious it is. How chaotic it makes life, as you stay awake for days straight. The time, money, and self-respect wasted looking for that next high. The wash, rinse, and repeat lifestyle that both confuses, exhausts, and aggravates the ones you love. And through it all, Biden shows that regardless of support, money, or the completion of the most expensive treatment programs, staying sober is hard and takes work. And it shouldn’t be ridiculed. Recovery and openness about our struggles should be encouraged so that it can be prevented in others, and serve as a reminder that all is not lost. It’s not like Biden doesn’t feel ashamed. Because it is clear he does. Why put salt on the wound?
I’m glad Biden wrote this memoir, one that needs to be told more. Our country is drunk and drugged to excess, and denying that would be to deny reality. This book is obviously not for kids. I wouldn’t even recommend teenagers read it because it has many graphic stories surrounding explicit drug use that wouldn’t be appropriate, or safe for a teen to listen to.
Warning: This memoir could possibly trigger you if you are currently struggling or in recovery. So, take breaks if you need to stop and remember the beautiful things. After all, you can’t truly appreciate all the world’s beauty unless you’ve witnessed the ugly.
I guarantee you will find a connection to Biden’s life as you read this memoir. Whether it’s his middle class childhood, the grief at losing his mother and infant sister in a traumatic car accident, his determination to make it on his own without the help of his father, becoming a father himself, his failed relationships, or his whirlwind romance to his now wife. It’s life. And it’s messy, confusing, awesome, and complex. He’s far from perfect, but we all are. While the stories may be different, the feelings are the same.
No one has put Hunter Biden through more pain and heartache than Hunter Biden. Even with all the attention from political opponents, his biggest enemy will always be himself. Biden’s account of his addiction to alcohol and crack cocaine is not for the faint of heart. Because my God, does our boy have a tolerance to somehow survive week-long binges. Often without sleep. Or food. There were several points when I asked myself how he was still alive or not in prison. And I say this as someone who has found people dead following an overdose, or put people in prison. Despite living an affluent lifestyle, none of that matters when your addiction leads you to the seedy, unforgiving underbelly, which it did for him and will for anyone who goes down that path. And if you are thinking of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, a movie I hate, you aren’t far off from what Biden’s life was like. Unlike other memoirs I’ve read on drug addiction, this really gets into the nitty gritty of crack cocaine use. How insidious it is. How chaotic it makes life, as you stay awake for days straight. The time, money, and self-respect wasted looking for that next high. The wash, rinse, and repeat lifestyle that both confuses, exhausts, and aggravates the ones you love. And through it all, Biden shows that regardless of support, money, or the completion of the most expensive treatment programs, staying sober is hard and takes work. And it shouldn’t be ridiculed. Recovery and openness about our struggles should be encouraged so that it can be prevented in others, and serve as a reminder that all is not lost. It’s not like Biden doesn’t feel ashamed. Because it is clear he does. Why put salt on the wound?
I’m glad Biden wrote this memoir, one that needs to be told more. Our country is drunk and drugged to excess, and denying that would be to deny reality. This book is obviously not for kids. I wouldn’t even recommend teenagers read it because it has many graphic stories surrounding explicit drug use that wouldn’t be appropriate, or safe for a teen to listen to.
Warning: This memoir could possibly trigger you if you are currently struggling or in recovery. So, take breaks if you need to stop and remember the beautiful things. After all, you can’t truly appreciate all the world’s beauty unless you’ve witnessed the ugly.
rick2's review against another edition
2.0
Interesting book.
Removed from context this is a well written, soul-searching memoir about overcoming addiction. There’s not some of the over arcing narrative that some of the better tomes of the genre have. Usually there’s a bit more of a landing. But the writing is crisp. It seems honest and emotionally vulnerable, if a bit blurry on actual details. There’s a little bit of addict porn, I’m in recovery myself and I always kind of get a little turned off when people start bragging about how bad it was. Being kicked out a five star hotels is amusing but I was homeless at one point so you know, that’s cool. And honestly it wasn’t that bad for me compared to some people I know. The whole thing turns into like a weird dick measuring contest. Always kind of bugs me.
I do think it is really interesting that despite the gulf in our upbringing, there really is a transcendent set of standard human experiences. All the worldly advantages can’t help you avoid pain. The loss of a loved one cracks a little bit of your soul away. And there may be a bit more of a runway when the bank account has extra digits, but misery is misery, addiction can level us all.
It does get a little more difficult to contextualize this book given the sort of dialogue of the deaf happening around the author. I don’t think you can separate the author from the story associated with him. Like while this dude is smoking crack in some hotel room in DC, his dad is the vice President, number two person in charge of the western world. And while he’s smoking crack in another hotel room (this time in LA), his dad is running for president. And I’m not sure if that’s my failing, that it seems just surreal in a sort of absurdist way. maybe it’s too easy to mythologize people who you see on TV. Maybe they are just crackheads like everyone else. But there’s a deliberate lack of talking to any sort of larger context. Like dude your crack smoking was probably a national security issue. Nothing?
And I know it’s not the authors job to speak intelligently to the whole ecosystem and all of American politics. But it does impact him and it does influence his life in a significant way. I found myself looking for something a little bit more in that capacity. And again I’m not sure if that’s my failing. I expect something more from a memoir like this, I want something more from a memoir like this. But maybe the ultimate message is just like “man it’s just dudes all the way down.”
As such, the respect for the hardships the Biden family has endured has significantly increased. The guy might be president but holy shit Joe cannot catch a break. Car crashes, cancer, addiction. I’m not sure soap operas fit this much into a single season.
It’s a decent book. Without the name recognition of the author I probably wouldn’t have picked it up. That said, pretty decent. Better than the other presidents son‘s memoir
Removed from context this is a well written, soul-searching memoir about overcoming addiction. There’s not some of the over arcing narrative that some of the better tomes of the genre have. Usually there’s a bit more of a landing. But the writing is crisp. It seems honest and emotionally vulnerable, if a bit blurry on actual details. There’s a little bit of addict porn, I’m in recovery myself and I always kind of get a little turned off when people start bragging about how bad it was. Being kicked out a five star hotels is amusing but I was homeless at one point so you know, that’s cool. And honestly it wasn’t that bad for me compared to some people I know. The whole thing turns into like a weird dick measuring contest. Always kind of bugs me.
I do think it is really interesting that despite the gulf in our upbringing, there really is a transcendent set of standard human experiences. All the worldly advantages can’t help you avoid pain. The loss of a loved one cracks a little bit of your soul away. And there may be a bit more of a runway when the bank account has extra digits, but misery is misery, addiction can level us all.
It does get a little more difficult to contextualize this book given the sort of dialogue of the deaf happening around the author. I don’t think you can separate the author from the story associated with him. Like while this dude is smoking crack in some hotel room in DC, his dad is the vice President, number two person in charge of the western world. And while he’s smoking crack in another hotel room (this time in LA), his dad is running for president. And I’m not sure if that’s my failing, that it seems just surreal in a sort of absurdist way. maybe it’s too easy to mythologize people who you see on TV. Maybe they are just crackheads like everyone else. But there’s a deliberate lack of talking to any sort of larger context. Like dude your crack smoking was probably a national security issue. Nothing?
And I know it’s not the authors job to speak intelligently to the whole ecosystem and all of American politics. But it does impact him and it does influence his life in a significant way. I found myself looking for something a little bit more in that capacity. And again I’m not sure if that’s my failing. I expect something more from a memoir like this, I want something more from a memoir like this. But maybe the ultimate message is just like “man it’s just dudes all the way down.”
As such, the respect for the hardships the Biden family has endured has significantly increased. The guy might be president but holy shit Joe cannot catch a break. Car crashes, cancer, addiction. I’m not sure soap operas fit this much into a single season.
It’s a decent book. Without the name recognition of the author I probably wouldn’t have picked it up. That said, pretty decent. Better than the other presidents son‘s memoir