Book Review: Breath to Bear by Paula Dombrowiak

In Paula Dombrowiak’s rock and roll novel Blood and Bone we were introduced to rock musician Jack O’Donnell. Haunted by his past, Jack was still tormented by the death of his bandmate, Mia Stone, a woman Jack regarded as his soulmate. Jack was trying to revive his tattered career and deal with a rather messy relationship with his ex-wife Amber and their daughter, Hayley, a budding musician herself.

And then there was music journalist Erin Langford. At the end of Blood and Bone, Jack and Erin had embarked on a relationship as she got to know more about him and help him with his memoir. But this professional relationship couldn’t help but grow into something quite more romantic. The chemistry between Erin and Jack was electric, and the sex white hot. But was their relationship just a memory of entangled bedsheets and limbs? Or was Erin a promise of love and happiness for Jack? Or would Jack screw things up and cast Erin aside like a used up condom?

Now Jack and Erin, and so many others introduced in Blood and Bone are back in Paula Dombrowiak’s latest installment Breath to Bear. And everyone has quite the story to tell in this crazy rock and roll ride.

As Breath to Bear begins, Jack’s memoir, which he wrote with Erin’s help, has been released. Writing this memoir was an act of laying bare, opening a vein, and bleeding all over the page. Jack is brutally honest about the life he has lived, and how it has lead him this point in time. There is no sugar-coating in Jack’s memoir. And now Jack is dealing with the aftermath of releasing such a blunt tale of his life that may freak out his fans, and ruffle the feathers of those closest to him.

Writing this memoir was cathartic, but Jack isn’t exactly in the best state of mind. As mentioned, he’s still tormented by the memory of Mia. His old band, Mogo, busted up ages ago, and Jack is trying to get his solo career started. If only, he wasn’t dealing with a vicious case of writer’s block. Will the musical muse ever visit him again? Sobriety continues to be a challenge for Jack. His ex, Amber, has announced she’s getting remarried, and his daughter, Hayley, now has a musical career of his own. Being all too aware of the missteps a young person can make in the world of music, Jack has his worries.

And then there is Erin, the woman who helped him string his past and his words into creating his best-selling memoir. When they met, Jack thought Erin was just another irritating journalist, and Erin thought Jack was just another has-been musician. But they connected so much writing the memoir, finding layers and layers beneath both of their surfaces, and yes, the electricity between them was smoking hot. But Erin didn’t want to be just another notch on Jack’s bedpost. And Jack was giving her the time to figure things out.

As mentioned, Jack is trying to finish an album he was originally going to do with Mia. And he’s waiting for the muse to help him writes songs and record them in the studio. His relationship with former bandmates is fractured, and the music business sees him as very damaged goods. And though Jack’s memoir is a huge best-seller, he feels like he exposed too much. But Jack feels it in his bones that he must get his revive his stalled career or else.

Erin was thrilled to get the chance to help Jack write his memoir. However, she didn’t expect to sleep with him and possible fall in love with him, too. Feeling like her journalistic integrity is a bit in tatters, Erin leaves her regular music magazine writing gig and goes freelance. She also hopes to figure out what she and Jack have.

Jack and Erin’s relationship is confusing at best. Jack is a parade of red flags. One of them is his obsession with Mia. How can Erin compete with Jack’s alleged soulmate even if she’s now a ghost? Erin tries to keep Jack at arms length (not always an easy thing to do) and focus on her career as a writer.

Jack tries to revitalize his splintered musical career, make amends with his former bandmates, come to terms with Amber’s impending nuptials, and encourage Haley on her music career. He also can’t stop thinking about Erin. Could he be falling in love with her? As for Erin, she decides to take a road trip, visit various towns, check out their music scenes, and write about them. While on her trip, she befriends a talented budding photographer, Sasha, and Sasha joins her on this road trip.

During this time, Erin acts as a mentor and big sister to Sasha. And it’s wonderful to see two women connect rather than seeing backstabbing and catty behavior. And Jack finds out Hayley has been assaulted by some sleazy toad in the music industry, and deals with this piece of shit in the way you’d expect Jack to act. But you can’t blame him for wanting to protect Hayley. The music business is treacherous.

As Breath to Bear reaches its conclusion, it looks like Jack might get his career back on track and Erin just might be the true blue love he’s been searching for, but it takes a lot of soul-searching to reach this point. Will Jack release an album that goes platinum? Will Erin’s writing career flourish now that she’s freelance? Will Jack and Erin end up at the Chapel of Love? Only time will tell.

Dombrowiak has written another richly detailed and gripping tale. Sure, she covers the usual tropes of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, but Breath to Bear also covers family, friends, redemption, and renewal, issues so many of us faced even though the closest we’ve gotten to the music biz is our Spotify lists. Dombrowiak definitely knows her stuff when it comes to the world of rock and roll, and she builds characters that are complex and enthralling. Breath to Bear is a worthy successor to Blood and Bone.

Retro Review: Postcards from the Edge by Carrie Fisher

I first became aware of Carrie Fisher when I saw the movie “Star Wars” back in 1977 where she played the iconic Princess Leia. Instead of being a simpering wuss like so many princesses I grew up with, Princess Leia was totally bad ass, and I loved her for that. But Carrie Fisher was so much more than Princess Leia. She was also a talented script doctor and author, her first book being Postcards from the Edge, which was published in 1987.

Postcards from the Edge follows the story of one Suzanne Vale. Suzanne is an actress and as the book begins, Suzanne has had a drug overdose and is now drying out in a rehab center. There are several sections to Postcards from the Edge. The first part follows postcards Suzanne sends to members of her family while she’s in rehab. Remember, this book takes place in the 1980s and postcards were the way people could briefly communicate when a phone wasn’t available. In 2023, people would be communicating via emails or texts. But Emails from the Edge or Texts from the Edge doesn’t quite have the right zing. While in treatment, Suzanne also tries to keep up with journaling, writing about her experiences in rehab and coming to grips with her addiction. She also shares her flirtation with a fellow addict named Alex.

When Suzanne finally gets out of rehab, she starts dating a producer named Jack Burroughs. This part features dialogue between Suzanne and Jack. It also features Suzanne speaking to her therapist, and Jack speaking to his lawyer (who in a way is kind of a therapist).

The last three sections follow Suzanne’s life as she tries to revive her career and stay clean. She’s making a movie and living with her grandparents during filming. While filming, she’s constantly being hassled for being overly tense, and is chided for not chilling out enough. Later one, we follow Suzanne through her non-acting life, working out with her trainer, hanging out with friends, industry events, and various meetings related to her career. During this time, Suzanne meets an author, and later she develops a relationship with this author while also facing the anniversary of her overdose and her time in rehab. And in the epilogue, Suzanne writes a letter to the doctor who pumped her stomach when she overdosed. Interestingly enough, the doctor had sought her out. Suzanne lets him know that she’s still clean, on the mend, and doing so much better. The doctor even asks Suzanne if she’s seeing someone, and she can’t help but feel a little charmed by his interest. And though Suzanne knows her life is better than a lot of people’s, she still doesn’t quite feel at peace.

Postcards from the Edge isn’t a book that has a strong plot. It is more about Suzanne’s internal musings and facing her shortcomings and challenges. Suzanne is written in a way that is relatable. And Fisher gives her just the right humor to make Suzanne funny. Suzanne Vale is all too human, and Postcards from the Edge (despite the 80s of it-MTV showing videos, cocaine use) is still relevant today. I wish Fisher was still with us in 2023. We could really use her unique voice as a writer.

Book Review: Guts-The Endless Follies and Tiny Triumphs of a Giant Disaster by Kristen Johnston

“I’m convinced that the only people worth knowing are those who’ve had at least one dark night of the soul.”-Kristen Johnston-Guts

Many of you probably best know actress and funny lady, Kristen Johnston, from the long-running sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun for which she won two Emmy awards. She had a stint on the TV show Mom and did countless plays. Johnston also had a memorable turn on Sex and the City where she played faded party girl Lexi Featherston who falls to her death from a window after declaring, “God, I’m so bored, I could die!” and did just that. Splat! She’s also been in quite a few movies, including the charming yet criminally underrated Music and Lyrics, and the recently released Small Town Wisconsin, which I saw this past spring at its movie theater premier here in Milwaukee. Bragging rights-I sat several rows behind her. Jealous?

Like me, Ms. Johnston is a Gen X-er, a Cheesehead, and a recovering Catholic. I like those qualities in a person. She’s also gone through some seriously bad shit, and she describes all of the grizzly details in her book Guts: The Endless Follies and Tiny Triumphs of a Giant Disaster.

Johnston was in London doing a play, when she suffered a horrible medical catastrophe. Her intestines exploded and expelled into her stomach. She ended up in the hospital where she had to endure a very difficult recovery and come to terms with her addiction to both alcohol and pills. It was her addiction that brutalized her both physically and mentally. While hospitalized, Johnston had to face facts. She was completely fucked up. Her addiction nearly killed her.

Nobody wants to be an addict, and Johnston was no different. But a simple drink turned into far too many. And taking a pill turned into a severe compulsion. Johnston even stole medication from her mother.

Johnston’s stay at the hospital was hardly a trip to a spa. Her description of her stay is horrifying. It was a wonder how she survived. Yet, at the same time, Johnston’s tale of her hospitalization and road to recovery is quite funny. And this is where Johnston’s oddball humor shines. Her take on one particular exasperated nurse had me in stitches.

Post her time in the hospital was also a struggle for Johnston as she travelled the tricky path to recovery and getting off alcohol and pills. These passages are also written candidly and with humor.

Johnston also covers her childhood in Guts, which wasn’t easy. She shot up to nearly 6 feet tall before she was in high school, and was tormented by her peers who called her a freak. Fortunately, she found herself in the world of performing and comedy, and ended up studying at NYU’s prestigious Tisch School of the Arts. She found success as an actor soon after graduation, but was still gripped with the idea that she wasn’t enough.

One thing Johnston discusses in Guts was her inability to ask for help. It is so ingrained in many of us that asking for help in a sign of weakness. Help. The other four-letter word. Perhaps many of Johnston’s (and our) difficulties could have been alleviated if she had reached out and asked for help much sooner.

While reading Guts I found myself at turns, teary-eyed, laughing, gasping in horror, and being so damn proud of Kristen for overcoming her addictions I could totally plotz. And in one segment where she gets back at one of high school bullies years after graduation, I couldn’t help but smile. Hey, sometimes not being the better person feels pretty good.

As stated above, Johnston thinks the only people worth knowing are those who have had one dark night of the soul. I totally agree. It’s good to know you, Kristen.

I Read It So You Don’t Have To: How to Murder Your Life by Cat Marnell

Whenever I write a book review I remind myself an actual human being wrote this book-remember to be empathetic in your review, be fair, be firm.

But when it comes to Cat Marnell’s memoir How To Murder Your Life…well, screw being nice. As the kids say, “I can’t even.”

Now I’m a pretty caring and compassionate person, especially when it comes to someone in a cruel grip of addiction and mental health issues. I’ve read countless books about people dealing with these issues and I know people in real life who have dealt with these issues. And have offered an open-mind and a shoulder to cry on to them.

Knowing a smidge about Marnell due to my interest and experience in both fashion and media I picked up How to Murder Your Life thinking it would be a book about a young woman’s harrowing journey through addiction while trying to make a living in two very challenging industries while also dealing with personal issues like family, education, friends, love and various mundane tasks like paying the bills and making sure the fridge is full.

I thought How To Murder Your Life would convey how Marnell finally realized she had a problem and had a someone or several someones intervene and tell her she needs to get help. I thought it would be a tale of Marnell agreeing to get help, go to rehab and at turns deal with breakthroughs and breakdowns finally arriving on some type of sobriety and doing everything in her power to stay that way. I expected wisdom, clarity, vulnerability and redemption. I was at the very least, hoping for a well-written book.

I got none of these things.

Marnell grew up posh and privileged in the DC area. Her family is both loving and at times infuriating. Marnell, as a child, seems to be silly, fun, creative and like any kid, a bit of a handful. Well, aren’t we all? From a very young age Marnell is interested in the fashion/beauty industry and develops a passion for magazines, going to the point of creating her own ‘zine.

When she reaches her teens she decides to attend boarding school and soon after goes into a tailspin, some of it where she is truly a victim (she loses her virginity to what seems to be date rape), but most of it where she is a willing and enthusiastic participant. Lazy, obnoxious, and fully entitled, Marnell barely graduates high school, can’t quite get into a proper college and gets addicted to various substances thinking it makes her dangerous, edgy and glamorous like she’s the Edie Sedgwick of the modern age.

But despite her lack of education, talent and mastery of anything other than taking an alphabet of any drug she comes across, Marnell gets an enviable gig working for Lucky magazine. Much of her easy entry is due to being privileged, white, thin and spoiled and well-connected. Granted, this isn’t exactly rare in the world of media and fashion.

Thus, Marnell continues to be a complete trainwreck, professionally, personally and romantically. From her early days with Lucky to later on where Marnell is working for the website xoJane under the “legendary” Jane Pratt.

Drugged out her gourd, Marnell’s life is a collection of missed deadlines and missed periods. But instead of being horrified by her life, she seems almost proud. And sadly, she is coddled by nearly everyone in her realm and as How to Murder Your Life reaches its conclusion, Marnell is still a fucking junkie!

Well, isn’t that a trip? Is How to Murder Your Life well-written? No. Marnell’s writing is distraught, callow, unenlightened and so purple Prince would probably say, “Okay, that’s enough.” And the name dropping of celebs, high priced cosmetics and designer duds just made me roll my eyes. Your not only one to apply MAC to your lips, Marnell. It doesn’t make your special (As I type this I’m wearing Chanel no. 5. Yes, you may touch the hem of my ancient Limited sweater).

Fortunately, there are countless on books about drug addiction that are worthy of your time. How to Murder Your Life is clearly not one of them.