Running with Monsters

Running with Monsters: A Memoir by Bob Forrest
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Bob Forrest is an interesting guy - always on the sidelines, many times almost famous, nearly a rock star, nearly a husband, nearly a father. You might know him as the interesting guy with the strange hat and glasses from Celebrity Rehab. I've heard him interviewed by Dr. Drew Pinsky several times, and I know that their friendship goes way back to the darkest days of Forrest's drug addiction.

Forrest's tale is wondrous and twisted. As you read, you keep thinking: this time, he'll make it! If his friends and super-addicts The Red Hot Chili Peppers can do it - why can't Forrest?

Forrest's story takes you deep into the world of the severely drug addicted. You experience the highs and the lows with him, the close calls and the tragic events. I felt Forrest's confusion over his parent's relationship as well as his terror when things went south (again and again).

What a remarkable life Mr. Forrest has led.

The only thing I didn't like about this book was there were not enough breaks in the text. The stream of consciousness would keep going deeper into the rabbit hole, with no good "stopping place". I like to usually read a chapter or section of a book every night before bed, but often found myself not picking this book up because the chapters were long and without clean breaks. That is something that really could've been fixed in the editing, as Forrest's ideas definitely had places where a chapter could've ended before starting the next tale and still kept the flow. Otherwise, this would've been 5 stars.

View all my reviews