A man overcomes the trappings of his family’s history of suicide and addiction in this “grimly exquisite memoir that reads like a noir novel” ( Publishers Weekly , Best Book of the Year). “One of the toughest memoirs I’ve ever read, at once spare and startlingly, admirably unsparing. It glows with a dark luminescence. James Brown is a fine, fine writer.” ―Michael Chabon, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Plagued by the suicides of both his siblings, and heir to alcohol and drug abuse, divorce, and economic ruin, James Brown lived a life clouded by despair. In The Los Angeles Diaries , he reveals his struggle for survival, mining his past to present the inspiring story of his redemption. Beautifully written and filled with dark humor, these twelve deeply confessional, interconnected chapters address personal failure, heartbreak, the trials of writing for Hollywood, and the life-shattering events that finally convinced Brown that he must “change or die.” Harrowing and brutally honest, The Los Angeles Diaries is the chronicle of a man who ultimately finds the strength and courage to conquer his demons and believe once more. “[A] gemlike collection.” ― San Francisco Chronicle (Best Books of the Year) “Profound . . . unsparing and clear-eyed, a heartbreaking story, and yet oddly inspirational.” ―Janet Fitch “A darkly bright, hugely compassionate, and oddly redemptive story of loss and failure, guilt and addiction.” ― The Independent “[An] unpretentious, very profound book.” ―Carolyn See, The Washington Post “A grimly exquisite memoir that reads like a noir novel but grips unrelentingly like the hand of a homeless drunk begging for help.” ― Publishers Weekly (Best Book of the Year) Praise for The Los Angeles Diaries "The best addiction memoirs reflect on the running and gunning with just the right amount of thoughtful remove, which is exactly what makes James Brown's The Los Angeles Diaries so important. The title is deceptive in that there's nothing diary–like about it: No diary could be this elegantly crafted and tightly woven. Structured as a series of standalone vignettes, the book has more than enough material to justify a woe–is–me stance—an arsonist mother and suicidal siblings, to start with—but a clear–headed voice that mines the subject matter of regret while refusing to ever wallow keeps the narrator out of self–pity. Underread and underrated, Brown's vibrant imagery and nimble storytelling elevates The Los Angeles Diaries into a league all its own." —The Fix, selected as one of the Ten Best Addiction Memoirs " The Los Angeles Diaries is one of those rare memoirs that cuts deeply, chillingly into the reader's own dreams. It is a dramatic, vivid, heartbreaking, very personal story of human responsibility and guilt, of alcoholism, of suicide, of marital struggle, of the uncertainties and ambiguities of a writer's life in modern America. The book is cleanly and beautifully written, and it's also incredibly moving." —Tim O'Brien, author of The Things They Carried and winner of the National Book Award " The Los Angeles Diaries is terrific. It's one of the toughest memoirs I've ever read, at once spare and startlingly, admirably unsparing. It glows with a dark luminescence. James Brown is a fine, fine writer." —Michael Chabon, author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay , winner of the Pulitzer Prize "This gemlike collection . . . materializes in such delicate strokes that the emerging theme becomes one of almost miraculous forgiveness, any pain and rage all but hidden between the lines." — San Francisco Chronicle (Best Books of the Year) "Profound . . . unsparing and clear–eyed, a heartbreaking story, and yet oddly inspirational, the tale of the last man standing." —Janet Fitch "Life–affirming . . . An extraordinarily gripping, honest, and somehow uplifting tale. It seamlessly moves from bleak to beautiful . . . A darkly bright, hugely compassionate, and oddly redemptive story of loss and failure, guilt and addiction." — The Independent "As tragic as Brown's life has been, the memoir displays neither pathos nor self–pity but elegiac wisdom . . . How moving is Brown's The Los Angeles Diaries ? While double–checking the quotes and facts, I simply gave in and reread it again, struck even more by its pain, its beauty and its craft." —Deirdre Donahue, USA Today "It's the balance of agony and grace, of course, that makes life so ferociously interesting. Brown has perfectly captured that balance in this unpretentious, very profound book." —Carolyn See, The Washington Post "Novelist Brown ( Lucky Town ; Hot Wire ; etc.) mines the explosive territory of his own harsh and complicated life in this gut–wrenching memoir . . . Brown's genius compels readers to sympathize with him in every instance. Juxtaposed with the shimmery unreality of Hollywood, these essays bitterly explore real life, an existence careening between great promise and utter devastation. Brown's revelation