The Heroin Diaries book review

I reviewed Nikki Sixx's Heroin Diaries book for the Valley Scene Magazine. It's this rag that is distributed in the San Fernando Valley areas of Los Angeles. I also sent the same book review to Blistering.com. I didn't think a mainstream rag would actually run a review about a rockstar's drug addiction. I guess I was wrong.

The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rockstar

By Nikki Sixx with Ian Gittins

By Rei Nishimoto

It is impressive how much Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx has turned his life around since the days his demons got the worst of him. He was clinically dead from a heroin overdose and was revived by paramedics. These episodes were placed within his personal diaries back in 1987, and later were turned into this book.

For over 20 years, Sixx set a standard of what a rock star was supposed to be. He was the bassist and key songwriter in Motley Crue, an infamous Los Angeles based hard rock band that lived all of the clichés - sex, drugs, and rock n'roll. It was largely Sixx's vision on how the band was going to be and who would play each part of the band.

Sixx was the tall, jet black haired member with the distinct lines under his eyes. Fans recognized him immediately, and many wanted to be him. They were loud, raunchy, and caught the attention of the public during a time when music was still finding its identity. Plus their heavy booze and drug using reputation often boosted their appeal with their fans.

Since those days, he has attempted to clean his life up on his own. He has relapsed a couple different times over the years, and eventually underwent rehabilitation for drugs and alcohol to clean up for good. Calling this a return from the living dead is an understatement.

The Heroin Diaries is a collection of his personal writings from 1987, the infamous year when the popular bassist was at the height of his career and struggling to balance fame and his personal issues. His writings enter into his deepest parts of his depression, along with facing his battles of heroin and cocaine addiction.

Much of his writings were originally done during the height of Motley Crue's career, meaning unlimited access to feed Sixx's addictions and allowing his demons to run loose on him. This realistic look at him reliving this time period, and his friends and family's thoughts on how he functioned leaves chilling thoughts on how someone could actually survive through that.

The book as a whole takes readers through the wild times Sixx and Motley Crue lived through. His descriptions of the out-of-control behavior, as well as his personal struggles to overcome drug addictions is quite shocking, and can be tough to read at times. He even writes about hiding in his closet, from drug-induced paranoia.

Within the book, he and co-author Ian Gittins interviewed numerous people closest to the band, including his bandmates, ex-girlfriend Denise 'Vanity' Matthews, ex-managers, ex-record company executives, and his own family members.

The book goes into the wild lifestyle that the band lived through at the time. It was a life that many people idolize. The fame, the fortune, and their wild lifestyle are often envied, and becoming a subject of controversy. It is often glamorized, and things often ending sadly.
But within the lifestyle and the music, Sixx often brought up his inability to let go of his past. Throughout the diaries, he brought the subject of his father, whom he never got to know; and his mother, who never raised him full time when he was growing up. He was angry about the death of his grandmother, who helped raise him with his grandfather. These parts of the diaries expose a big part of his troubles over the years and a human side of him.

The Heroin Diaries is highly recommended to fans of Motley Crue and rock n roll music. Despite the unbelievable turn of events here, it can be a hard read, as some of the subject matter is not always glamorous. It is definitely a realistic view into a lifestyle that should be avoided at all costs.