Being a military brat throughout the entirety of his childhood, takes a toll on the sanity of young James, forcing him to find a good time in all the wrong places. Struggling with drug abuse and conflicting identity of self, James knew one thing for sure, he wanted to find the rarest form of love that would make his heart flutter. What he doesn't expect is to find it in the arms of a woman unlike anyone he had ever known before, D'juna.
Although the synopsis of this story is thrilling, the development of the novel does not share the same sentiment. There are, in fact, numerous errors within each chapter, that it became hard for me to read. Things like repetition where it is not needed and flashbacks within the middle of a sentence can become very confusing at times, leaving me wondering whether or not this was intentional.
Sometimes, amidst all the confusion, there was a heartbeat to the tale that made this memoir as raw and unfiltered as it can get. Drug addiction is definitely nothing to play around with. Even admitting it can be scary and a little embarrassing, which is why I commend James for even being able to share his story with us in the first place. This, unfortunately for me, does not take away from the various mistakes that make up this novel.
After having an opportunity to speak with the author, James Case, about my thoughts, he did inform me that there will be heavy revisions and possibly changing the title to The Cunning Disease. For this reason, I would suggest looking out for the new book so that you may have the opportunity to enjoy the memoir without being as confused as I was.
If, however, you do not care as much about the errors, but are interested in what you have read from the synopsis of the book, by all means go and read this book. You must to be willing to handle the twist and turns that is Growing Up, Fucked Up.
My name is Emilia Rivera and for the past year, I have been writing book and movie reviews for my own personal blog Tell It Like It Is. There I present my opinion and provide recommendation on books I have read and movies I have seen.