It's so easy (and other lies) By Duff McKagan

Awesome, Awesome, Awesome.  When I first started to read this book, I though, "Here we go, another book about partying like a "rock star", drugs, women, destruction" I was partially right.  However this book was gripping, insightful, motivational and truly inspiring.

How this man survived the 80's and is even alive today is beyond me.  McKagan takes you into the dark annals of his life story.  This man "partied like a rock star".  From his early days of his panic attacks to the heavy alcohol induced hospital stays, McKagan takes you step-by-step into his dark world and the life saving steps he had to take.

The chapter describing his first use of crack was so vivid, I thought myself to be the one using.  The first 9 chapters are a bit confusing because it jumps back and forth too much however after chapter 9, it really starts to focus on the GN'R days. 

The scary part about this book is how strangely close it resembles my life.  Obviously not in the the talent, success, or even the level addiction, but more in the steps he took and how they specifically mirrored my thoughts.  For instance, he talks about how he found reading.  He devoured everything he could find.  He wanted to read all of the books others had read when they were in high school and he was playing gigs hammered.  I too recently (a few years) found reading as an avenue of release and escape.

Mr. McKagan showed how resilience is sometimes more important and impressive than just stamina.  Even after getting clean, he tripped up but found the strength to immediately fix his errors and get back to normalcy.   He has written for Seattle news papers, Playboy, and ESPN.com, is a good father, husband, and still rocks with the best of them.

Truly a great book.

Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Touchstone; First Printing edition (October 4, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 145160663X
ISBN-13: 978-1451606638