Hollywood Park by Mikel Jollett (# 45 in 2020)
Thank you to @celadonbooks for my finished copy and to @librofm for my advanced listening copy of this fantastic memoir.
Mikel Jollett was born into a cult, Synanon to be exact, and his childhood and upbringing were unfavorable to say the least. This is the true story of how Mikel overcame the obstacles of poverty, addiction, and abuse.
While I think some people might go into this read thinking it's focused on the cult, itself, it's important to note that this book is more about Mikel's journey as an individual. As a child, Mikel dismisses many of the missteps of his parents, and realizations about his childhood don't fully come to fruition until he's older.
I highly recommend listening to this one on audio if you get the chance. I always say that the best audiobooks are those that are read aloud by the author as the author knows his/her intentions and can be purposeful with emphasis and inflection. Listening to Mikel tell his own story was breathtaking, and the audio is interspersed with musical scores that tie in Mike's musical background. 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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