This 2012 memoir follows Swofford's first, Jarhead. It is a machismo tour de force
of his letdown after success and wealth arrivd from his first book. Too many drugs, alcohol,
and sex had him spiralling out of control. He fairly boasts of his "downfall" before
confronting his contentious relationship with his father. That part is worthwhile and
a fierce portrait of how connected we become with our parents, even if in rage.
The ending is a happy one, but nearly sounds too fortuitous and barely earned. That is the
way of the world more often than not.