Too High, Too Far, Too Soon

by Simon Mason

A fast-paced, gritty memoir about the rock 'n' roll dream, drug addiction, petty crime, and the long road to recovery. Too High, Too Far, Too Soon is the humorous, tragic, and searingly honest memoir of a man who survived childhood tragedy, Catholic boarding school, and chronic drug addiction. Simon Mason graphically details his experience of teenage angst in a tatty seaside town before he ran away to London, and then onwards to the crack-infested streets of LA. He recounts his numerous decadent adventures at Glastonbury Festival, and the notoriety that came during his stint as personal chemist to the biggest bands of the '90s, before he himself descended into a helpless period of heroin addiction. After several incidents of petty crime stemming from his drug problem, Simon launched numerous failed attempts to become a bona fide rock 'n' roll star, and even more failed attempts to get clean, finally being "rescued" by Banksy from a stolen camper van, covered in blood in the Spanish countryside. Too High, Too Far, Too Soon is a rock 'n' roll memoir with a difference, written by a man who lived the life and attained the drug habits of the most extreme rock stars, yet whose attempts to break through to the big time always eluded him.

Genres: Nonfiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published June 6, 2013

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Story to say, but this book bored me. Simon goes on a lot about his drug fuelled lifestyle and addiction, so much so I skimmed most of it. I would’ve liked to hear more about how he finally got clean, but that was a small portion of the book. There are some great stories, but the author comes across as a bit of a wanker throughout. Sorry....

[Eszter Faatima Sabiq · Rating 3 out of 5]

A useful read if you want to understand substance misuse, and Simon is probably a lovable person given the number of chances people were willing to give him, i just felt he witheld some of the roughest most shameful bits of his story. At times boring but overall enjoyable; wishing all the best for the author and thanks for sharing your story. P.S. i'm dying to know more about Banksy.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2*. OK, this was more or less what I expected, but still somewhat... Maybe not shocking, but pretty yucky. Mason was drug dealer to the starts, or so we are led to believe, but that was for about 5 minutes. The rest is about just how far a junkie can go. And the answer is, pretty damn far. A drug and alcohol recovery charity for which I am a Trustee is looking to do a one-man play from this, and I think it could be really good - there is a lot of (self-deprecating) humour in this and a lot of pruriently gross stories, and basically, it is an interesting story. The kind of book you feel uncomfortable about laughing at sometimes....

[Letitia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this stand alone tale of excess.
A junkie memoir with a difference.
The difference comes from the humor and self deprecating wit of the author.
Even when the subject matter becomes progressively darker, the authors sense of humor is ever present.

[Simon Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book about three or four years ago, be I recently reread it. Not sure if everyone would find it a good read but if you know anyone who has lived a similar lifestyle (or maybe have lived that lifestyle yourself) it's well worth taking the time.

[Sam Tanfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really harrowing but amazing story, I honestly couldn’t stop reading but it was a hard read, often having to go back a few lines to re-read.

[Stargazer · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is incredible what the human body/mind/spirit can tolerate, how this guy made it through is pretty unbelievable, good luck to him.