Jack Grisham of T.S.O.L.

Has a new book out, and he's featured at O.C. Weekly. I never met him, but T.S.O.L. was huge back in the day, and reading this piece is a blast from the past. Grisham, though, was a vicious criminal, a remorseless bully, and a pathetic drug addict. I think he found God:

Grisham first started going straight in 1984, but the birth of his daughter, Anastasia, a few years later acted as a catalyst to cement his sobriety. He says he's been clean since Jan. 8, 1989.

"For me, when I got sober, it was like a tidal wave came, and I was swept along with it," he says. "I'm not really seeing what's happening, and it's dropped me off, and as the water recedes, I start to see things — just not right away. The water sucks back, and I'm 26 years old, living with my mother. It sucks back some more, and hey, you've got a daughter you're not seeing. It sucks back more, you owe $20,000 in child support. Sucks back more, you've got warrants out for your arrest. Sucks back more, you've got a father whose death you were blamed for. Sucks back more, you can't stand to be touched. Sucks back more, you've never been able to be intimate with anybody. The more it receded, the more I was able to see the damage and look at this behavior. It was like a coroner's blanket had been pulled off a frightening mess. I started waking up."

It's a long essay, but worth the time.

And at Amazon, Grisham's book: An American Demon: A Memoir.