The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon

I just finished the book "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead: The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon". I'll admit to being a fan in the first place.

The book was ostensibly written by his ex-wife, Crystal Zevon, but in fact it was written by essentially everybody who knew him, which is a real strength. Her role was really more that of an editor. It begins with a touching firsthand account of the very end of his life, from the woman who was with him when he died, then resets to his childhood and progresses chronologically from there. The entire book is a series of brief bits, the longest of which is probably no more than a single page in length, written by whoever knew him during that time, plus there are bits and pieces from his own journals. He'd told his ex-wife just before his death that he wanted the entire story out there, in all of its unflattering detail, and that's exactly what it is. It's a powerful, effective approach, and I'd love to see it used for other biographies. As a side effect, it's also very easy to read. You can sit down and just read one or two segments, or you can read lengthy sections, and the experience works just as well either way.

The man's life was, frankly, one long train wreck. He was as insecure and selfish as he was brilliant, and he was very brilliant. After an early start as a highly regarded songwriter, he developed a reputation as an effective performer as well, though even his friends didn't think he was more than an adequate singer. He eventually fell into alcoholism and drug abuse, and was a spectacularly mean drunk. Like a lot of rock star stories, he came to terms with his condition after a long struggle, though his career never reached the heights of many of his friends. In fact, his career was in very poor shape at the time his cancer was discovered and brought a lot of attention back in his direction.

I was struck by how he managed to have a serious falling out with everybody who was ever important to him. There were no exceptions, unless you count the woman who was his closest friend at the very end, and that's likely because they simply hadn't known each other long enough. In some cases, he'd work out his differences with his friends or family and they'd resume their relationship, only to fall out yet again. And frankly, there's no doubt that the fault was his every time.

So why did these people put up with him? It wasn't as though he was wealthy, or successful, or even a particularly nice guy. I think it boils down to that he was an especially interesting guy, and that for all of his horrendous behavior, there was little actual malice in it. He was self-centered, but at the core of it, he just didn't cope very well with life. People would rescue him because they felt bad for him, then he'd do something that'd really tick them off, putting him in a bad spot again. Repeat as necessary for a lifetime.

He had no shortage of women in his life, and I have no idea why any sane woman would've stayed in a relationship with this man for very long. All I can say is that he must've been very persuasive.

I'm always fascinated by anyone's creative process, and his was certainly no exception. For all of the weird elements in his work, I was stunned to learn that most of them were based in actual events or phrases he came across, rather than invented. He'd build on those elements in his own way, but I hadn't anticipated that some of the songs were as literally true as they were. Very strange.

My wife asked me why I was so interested in reading about this horrible man and how nasty he was to other people. It was a good question, and I only really figured out the answer as I reached the very end of the book. He made many of the same mistakes everyone does in life; he just made them on a more spectacular scale than most people and more often. He could've chosen to take control of his life, but for some reason never did so. At the end of the day, he muddled through on the love and support of a lot of people who cared about him, and in that way he was no different than anyone else. Mistakes, I suppose, are ultimately the most human thing of all. His humanity came through in his work in his own unique style. He was enough like everybody else for a reader to feel the emotional connection and different enough to make it worthwhile to see how the story actually played out.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who'd enjoy a biography, even if you're not familiar with his creative work, though I might warn off anyone who might be offended by substantial amounts of content regarding sex and drug/alcohol abuse.