Gregg's Cross is Slightly Pickled

My Cross to Bear, by Gregg Allmann tells all, but definitely from Gregg’s point of view. We all know he spent a good deal of his life on drugs and alcohol. Hence, that point of view is rather pickled, to say the least. He has some interesting stories and a bunch of disappointing and well-known events – all with his own personal point of view thrown in. Again, swayed by all that drugging and boozing over the years. One thread throughout the book is that he was completely affected by the death of his brother Duane. I give him credit for getting it all down in book form, but I do believe he could have done better. Maybe some stories need to be looked at again with a little more truth and not necessarily just from his skewed point of view. I did enjoy reading about his younger years in military school and living in Florida. If you’re into the Allmann Brothers, you may well enjoy this book.

Don't Bother

Only the Truth, by Pat Brown, a murder mystery. And, well, that’s probably the best thing I can say about it. It’s a story of an uneducated man who finds love. Unfortunately, his love Charlotte is supposedly a murderer and wanted criminal. Well, it eventually turns out she isn’t but it takes awhile to get to that conclusion. Without giving away the story plot, Billy Ray “investigates” on his own to find out why Charlotte isn’t what he believes her to be. He unveils the truth after being given unbelievable access to witnesses. Unbelievable may be the key word here. Only the Truth is such a disturbing and poorly written book, that I even ignored the lack of editing. This book was obviously thrown together quickly. All I can say is don’t bother.

Dealing with Teens in the Crazy World

Tough Guys and Drama Queens, by Mark Gregston, is a very good guide to parenting teenagers. We’ve all been teens and know what it’s like to deal with parents. But once we have teens of our own, we kind of forget how we felt back then. We don’t want to lose control so maybe we over control or let go of the control completely. Neither works. Gregston lives with about 60 troubled teens from around the country. His program, Heartlight, is a residential counseling center in Texas. Living with and dealing with teens and their problems 24/7 is difficult work but he can report many, many success stories and few failures. So this man knows what he’s talking about I recommend this book to any parent who has a teen or a child headed that way.

Diary of a Murder

Diary of a Murder, by Jean Henry Mead, is exciting and a fast read, but it has many aspects of “this would never happen in the real world!” Dana Logan and her friend Sarah arrive in Wyoming after hearing of Dana’s sister Georgi’s suicide. Dana doesn’t believe her sister could end her own life and the amateur investigation begins. The prime suspect is Georgi’s husband Rob. But they can’t go to the sheriff who is Rob’s brother and apparently corrupt. So they investigate on their own. Sarah soon becomes ill (possibly poisoned) and Dana finds herself on her own while Sarah recuperates in the hospital. Suddenly, the housekeeper and probably girlfriend of Rob ends up the victim of a hit-and-run accident. Then an investigator who Dana was finally lucky enough to tag along with ends up in trouble. Oh, it just goes on and on. Yes, it’s interesting but not terribly realistic. But if you like murder mysteries you may well enjoy this one.