3 out of 4 stars
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God, Brian Jones & Me - the Sixties and the Rolling Stones Murder, by Gloria Shepherd, comprises the author's life experiences. This narrative tells how Gloria, who grew up in a dysfunctional family, was abused emotionally, sexually, and physically by her mother during childhood. Also, it shows her life struggles from teenagehood to adulthood, without the guidance of her parents. Though she tries to narrate her ordeal in a light and amusing manner, this book reveals her inner sufferings. Telling about her education, jobs, and relationships, it shows her first marriage to a man that maltreated her, while emotionally abusing their two daughters.
Gloria once worked at the United Nations in New York City, and later became a rock band manager. Most of the book covers how she tried to cope with the challenges life was dealing her through her family members. The latter part of it is about how, decades after the demise of Brian Jones (the Rolling Stones founder and manager), Brian's spirit was communicating with Gloria because he wanted her to write about his life and death. Eventually, she wrote the book.
The author is a great storyteller. Her writing style is smooth and thorough. The book is well narrated and structured. Almost all of the events in it astonished me, and I found it difficult to close it occasionally. It's entertaining, but some events are pathetic and spellbinding. Before now, I didn't realize that such things could happen to just one person. Those are experiences that could make one lose their mind. I wasn't surprised when, somewhere in the story, Gloria sought solace in alcohol and lost the will to live twice, but she was saved afterwards.
Featuring different kinds of domestic abuse, this publication is not ideal for any faint-hearted person, who has ever gone through any form of abuse. It might trigger negative memories. Gloria had a lot of family trauma, and she was helpless. Whereas she stood up for herself a couple of times, most times, she couldn't defend herself. She just accepted whatever her mother, husband, and daughters dealt her.
Furthermore, Gloria loves animals, especially cats, dogs, and horses. Throughout the book, she tells how she often rescued stray cats and then found homes for them. Again, she writes about how she was involved in horse training and participated in National Stock Show, Colorado. No doubt, animal lovers will appreciate this aspect.
Overall, the book is engaging; however, some of the personal stories are weird. It consists of some grammatical and typographical errors. For example, "...when the she came home from work" and "...his fifteen-year old daughter." I rate the narrative 3 out of 4 stars. I didn't rate it 4 stars because it needs another round of editing, and I couldn't rate it lower because it's intriguing. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading fascinating non-fiction books, which involve domestic abuse and paranormal activity.
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God, Brian Jones & Me - the Sixties and the Rolling Stones Murder
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