Vulnerability, loneliness and the wonder of discovery are key themes in this memoir, and Flea presents difficult stories in a unique light. But the more I read about his youthful dynamic with Anthony Kiedis, the more I recall my own Flea/Anthony experience I wrote about in my book, a story called, "Peppers for Breakfast."

Flea, like Anthony Kiedis, lived a tumultuous childhood and adolescence, to the extent that no embellishment (or, fortunately, professional book-writing experience) is necessary to convey the weirdness and wildness of his early days. I was audibly repulsed reading about how, at a party, he and a handful of others held out their arms while another party-goer went down the line injecting them all with meth (with the same needle each time, of course - this isn't Sesame Street). And that's just one of many amazing anecdotes Flea has bouncing around in his brain. He really should have died multiple times (his words, paraphrased), and that makes for a great story. FLEA: When I saw that, I didn't even know what to do. It was a miracle taking place in front of me. I just - you know, I fell and rolled on the floor and laughed. And you know, I could've taken flight and had wings, and it wouldn't have been any more surprising or stunning to me than seeing and hearing and feeling these guys playing that music. Flea's chapters are short and to the point. It's a format I enjoy. Don't tell me ever freaking boring thing. What mattered? What's compelling? A kad se ogoli ego, ostaje samo ljubav, pretočena u muziku, u riječi, u vodu, u zahvalnost, u uspomene. Anyway, respect to the guy for all the apologies he made to people he wronged, unintentionally or otherwise. The way he lived is something of a template for as perfect life as we, imperfect human beings, are capable of: No matter the shit you've done, sooner or later you should come to your senses and make something out of it.FLEA: My dad was a pretty button-down, straight, square guy - wore a suit and a briefcase, went to work every day. And all of a sudden, my mom takes off with this jazz musician who was a junkie who lived in his parents' basement. FLEA: I mean, we played a show last night. I'm seeing him in an hour for a screening of a documentary we made, you know? And I've never read it because I'm scared to read it. In Acid for the Children Flea shares, in great detail, the first 20 years or so of his life. As you may expect, there is no shortage of wild and crazy tales. From family and friends to music and drugs, this memoir covers it all. (Even the influence of books on Flea’s life from a very young age!) The reader is, however, likely to be surprised by the deeply touching nature of Flea’s narrative. I imagine that reading this book is akin to having a conversation with the man himself: candid and stripped down, like hearing Flea speak his own story aloud, just as a memoir should be. FLEA: I think it was a fear of being able to write about it or understand it because ours is a relationship that is very brotherly, but we push each other's buttons in ways that are almost like, you know, when you have a troubled relationship with parents even as adults. And... He writes in Beat Generation bursts and epiphanies… You’ll put down Acid for the Children with your human sympathies expanded; you’ll feel less alone.” NO MAJOR SPOILERS

P.S. His childhood love of jazz and learning music is likely one reason he began his Silverlake Conservatory of Music, where my daughter took guitar lessons. Flea raises funds so children of all incomes can attend. Flea details the life that led up to that moment — where “four became one” — in a stoic manner. The memoir follows a basic chronological structure, split into three parts: childhood, adolescence and young adulthood. But aside from this structure, Flea exercises a lot of creative freedom throughout the book. CORNISH: ...You had the stepfather who's the wild and free but also volatile and violent one. Have you merged those experiences - meaning, like, what kind of father do you think you are as a result? Admittedly, I was about two-thirds of the way through this when I realized it definitely wasn't going to cover anything RHCP-related. This is volume 1 of, presumably, at least 2, although I haven't heard anything about a follow-up. Dentro de las lecturas previstas para este 2021 no entraba en mis planes leer la autobiografía del bajista de los Red Hot Chili Peppers. De la discografía del grupo no conozco más allá de las típicas canciones, y el nombre del bajista me era ajeno hasta que el libro cayó en mis manos hace unas semanas. Fui a recogerlo a una librería para un amigo, y como estábamos tardando en vernos le pregunté si le importaba que le echara un vistazo.But the family soon fell apart. 'I was raised in a very violent, alcoholic household,' Flea later said. 'I grew up being terrified of my parents, particularly my father figures. It caused [me] a lot of trouble later in life.' He began smoking weed at 13 and became a daily user of harder drugs. He was on the streets by 14 and soon after, met another social outcast and drug user named Anthony Kiedis. They formed a band that would become the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Kada se sa majkom i očuhom Walterom preseli u Los Angeles, Flea i ovaj grad prepun smoga, palmi i toplote pronalaze zajednički jezik, i on mu se prepušta lutajući njegovim ulicama, upoznavajući nove, čudne i oštećene ljude, prepuštajući se eksperimentisanju sa supstancama koje su mu ili otvarale um ka cijelom svemiru, ili ga zakucavale za pod donoseći samo prazninu, i učeći da svira bas, koji će mu postati krila i prolaz u dubinu sopstvene duše. Zbog toga je prikaz knjige Acid for the Children jedan od najtežih, ali i najdražih. Jer, kako ostati objektivan kada je knjigu napisao čovjek koji je 1983. sa Anthony Kiedisem oformio RHCP, čija muzika me, bez pretjerivanja mogu reći, u određenom smislu oblikovala kao ličnost i bila tu kada nikog drugog nije bilo. Ali, hajde da pokušam. And you know, people love how they know how, you know? You know, we - people - you know, I think about - I learned later that he had been, you know, horrifically abused by his parents and the amount that he was able to love me was, you know, light-years ahead of what he got, you know? And so in retrospect, I'm grateful for what he was able to give me and that, you know - and I do forgive, and I've really come to terms with that stuff.