The Los Angeles Diaries

A Memoir

A man overcomes the trappings of his family’s history of suicide and addiction in this “grimly exquisite memoir that reads like a noir novel” (Publishers Weekly, Best Book of the Year).

“One of the toughest memoirs I’ve ever read, at once spare and startlingly, admirably unsparing. It glows with a dark luminescence. James Brown is a fine, fine writer.” —Michael Chabon, Pulitzer Prize–winning author

Plagued by the suicides of both his siblings, and heir to alcohol and drug abuse, divorce, and economic ruin, James Brown lived a life clouded by despair. In The Los Angeles Diaries, he reveals his struggle for survival, mining his past to present the inspiring story of his redemption.

Beautifully written and filled with dark humor, these twelve deeply confessional, interconnected chapters address personal failure, heartbreak, the trials of writing for Hollywood, and the life-shattering events that finally convinced Brown that he must “change or die.” Harrowing and brutally honest, The Los Angeles Diaries is the chronicle of a man who ultimately finds the strength and courage to conquer his demons and believe once more.

“[A] gemlike collection.” —San Francisco Chronicle (Best Books of the Year)

“Profound . . . unsparing and clear-eyed, a heartbreaking story, and yet oddly inspirational.” —Janet Fitch

“A darkly bright, hugely compassionate, and oddly redemptive story of loss and failure, guilt and addiction.” —The Independent

“[An] unpretentious, very profound book.” —Carolyn See, The Washington Post

“A grimly exquisite memoir that reads like a noir novel but grips unrelentingly like the hand of a homeless drunk begging for help.” —Publishers Weekly (Best Book of the Year)