The Los Angeles Diaries

I recently watched the movie” Bad Company” on TCM again after 40 years. It stars Jeff Bridges and Barry Brown- I remember Barry Brown from the early

70’s when I lived in LA- I found out about his passing from the cast and crew section- I wanted to know what happened to him and discovered his

brothers book- I finished reading the book in 2 days because it was so good- survival is an ongoing theme in my own life- I’m looking forward to

reading the sequel, I think it’s called “The River”

I don’t know where James Brown found the courage to recount the tragic tale of his life, but I cannot emphasize enough how meaningful it has been for me to read it. Where many will see this memoir as a classic depiction of the descent into substance abuse, what resonated for me was honesty in regard to the issue of suicide. I believe it takes a potential suicide to understand a potential suicide; most family members respond in the same way that ‘Jimmy’ did to his older brother: “You don’t really mean that stuff.” Sometimes we do. Beyond his courageous though brutal honesty, Brown has the rare ability as a writer to bring his readers into a scene so deeply that we forget we are reading the words on the page and begin to believe we are living these scenes with him. His power as a writer comes from his concise, unembellished rendering of every scene. In 200 pages we have his life–and his soul. I suspect this book will see the same success as Angela’s Ashes–because everyone will tell everyone to read it. Bravo.

“The Los Angeles Diaries” continue the tragic story begun in the book “Final Performance”. dealing with the author, James Brown’s

ability to cope with the issues of a tumultous childhood, which contributed toward the suicides of his older siblings Barry (a rising TV/movie star of the 1970’s) and Marilyn.

The first part of the book describes the frustrations of the author (a college professor) at his ill-starred attempts to sell screenplays to Hollywood, and the familial way of handling disappointment with drugs and alcohol. Interspersed throughout

are vignettes (told in flashback) of his childhood, some sentimental, some chilling.

Brown also relates the difficulty of maintaining a sober facade before college professors and students(well acquainted with the

drug scene) who view him cynically.

One bright spot is the hilarious narrative of Jame Brown’s attempt to mollify his angry wife with a pot-bellied pig as a peace offering.

The Machiavellian porker is named Daisy, and Brown’s problems

burgeon in direct proportion to Daisy’s expensive appetite –

and expansive girth.

Man and pig butt heads; in a contest between man and animal,

the animal will win hands down because it has “cuteness” on its side. (The end of the chapter is a riot…)

The second half of “The Los Angeles Diaries” is depressing, describing the downward spiral, and subsequent suicides of

Brown’s brother, Barry, and his sister, Marilyn.

By the end of his life, Barry Brown was out of control: impersonating a police officer (a character from a movie) and

drinking compulsively. He shot himself to death at age 27.

Marilyn Brown attempted to wean herself from alcohol and drugs, but past demons prompted her one night to climb onto the railing of an overpass, then fling herself to her death in the dry riverbed below.

The book ends on an optimistic note; while in South Dakota, James Brown resolved to go cold turkey, or die – he made it.

But – his two books (“The Los Angeles Diaries” and “Final Performance”) are touching memorials by the survivor to the siblings who didn’t make it…

A new American classic.

This harrowing account of James Brown’s struggle with alcohol and drugs should be required reading for recovering addicts. In remarkable, startling and beautifully-crafted vignettes, the roots and eventual flourishing of Brown’s dependency on booze and chemicals seems as inevitable as the sunrise. But, unlike many of his loved ones, he survived to tell us what it means to ‘come to rest at a moment of beginning.’ It took a brave man to write this memoir. Are you brave enough to read it?

I was not familiar with James Brown’s work, but after reading this one I’ve picked up three other novels. He writes with a seemingly effortless and pleasant prose, yet probes deeply, and with merciless resolve. He writes about being a writer in Hollywood, and about alcoholism, but mostly about how difficult it is to grow within, and eventually apart from, a family, whether it’s his or yours. Highly recommended.

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