Found..a daughters journey home by Tatum O`Neal

Tatum O`Neal is the daughter of actor Ryan O` Neal and his first wife Joanna Moore, an actress herself, she was the wife of John McEnroe and is the mother of 3 children. This is her second book, her first A Paper Life was an excellent read as is this.
Tatum had an unconventional and dysfunctional upbringing to say the least, it lead her to serious drug and drink issues which severely impacted on her ability to function as a mother and as a human being. Much of the blame is laid at the doorstep of her father and in this case that is probably the place to put it,although she acknowledges the responsibility of others charged with caring for the young Tatum and Griffin.
A fair and honest portrait, this is a lady who excepts her own failures and deals with them, all the while trying to rebuild the fractured relationship she has with the highly immature and volatile Ryan O`Neal. Her mother is dead and her brother Griffin is a bigger train wreck than she is. Stepmother Farrah Fawcett(the term is used loosely) appears to simply not have even the slightest ability to understand the needs of the children brought into her life and really this lack of understanding must have transferred itself to her parenting of her son Redmond who spends the bulk of his time in jail...sad, sad, sad.
Addiction and bad temperedness course through the O`Neal veins with disastrous consequences for anyone who comes into contact with them, few escape their emotional havoc.
Tatum writes with an acceptance, a lack of bitterness, a dash of anger here and there and a great sense of humour, how she has kept it I don`t know but she sounds like a fun lady with a ton of dissolving baggage.
Her desire to be a family as she imagines a family would be, is a work in progress but she is a strong and brave lady. I would imagine anyone would enjoy this book but those with issues similar to her`s would find it very helpful.

Not Dead and Not For Sale by Scott Weiland and David Ritz..A memoir...

I read this in a day and that speaks to the books ability to captivate and hold you which it does. With well chosen words and well healed phrases Weiland and his co-author David Ritz take you on a heroin and booze plagued journey that leaves you gasping and wondering How the Hell is He still Standing let alone writing, recording and performing.
The lead singer of The Stone Temple Pilots (never heard them in my life) is a very talented man word wise and his book is dotted throughout with snippets, snatches, drawings and poetry that would make you cry (and I hate poetry!) great photos,wonderful drawings, heartfelt, honest, lyrical, magical in places and yet the double side of his reality is so very clearly shown, gritty, stark, hopeless, wasted, in and out of rehab like a yoyo,relationships that simply can't work, love that is defeated at every turn, a dead brother, dysfunctional relationships with his family, situations that simply can`t be mended and Bands that find functioning other than for the dollar very hard work indeed.
Weiland is a very creative man and as long as he continues to fight his demons and win,his creativity will enhance the lives of those who come in contact with it.
I had already read Mary Forsberg Weiland's book but I've done a little dipping to try and get a complete picture of a situation that I`ve read from both points and I`ve come to realise that both are writing their truth, we may not agree with it but it belongs to them and how they choose to interpret and tell it is their business, every reader would take away different things from their narratives, so really why shouldn't the authors.
A big thank you to Claire Hammon for lending me this book.