AUDIO BOOK: Trejo: My life of Crime, Redemption and Hollywood by Danny Trejo & Donal Logue

Publication Date: July 6, 2021 Format: Audio Genre:  Memoir Narrators: Danny Trejo, Donal Logue

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio  Length: 13 hours 19 min Buy: Kindle | Audio

Synopsis

On screen, Danny Trejo the actor is a baddie who has been killed at least a hundred times. He’s been shot, stabbed, hanged, chopped up, squished by an elevator, and once, was even melted into a bloody goo. Off screen, he’s a hero beloved by recovery communities and obsessed fans alike. But the real Danny Trejo is much more complicated than the legend.

Raised in an abusive home, Danny struggled with heroin addiction and stints in some of the country’s most notorious state prisons—including San Quentin and Folsom—from an early age, before starring in such modern classics as Heat, From Dusk till Dawn, and Machete. Now, in this funny, painful, and suspenseful memoir, Danny takes us through the incredible ups and downs of his life, including meeting one of the world’s most notorious serial killers in prison and working with legends like Charles Bronson and Robert De Niro.

An honest, unflinching, and “inspirational study in the definition of character” (Kevin Smith, director and actor), Trejo reveals how he managed the horrors of prison, rebuilt himself after finding sobriety and spirituality in solitary confinement, and draws inspiration from the adrenaline-fueled robbing heists of his past for the film roles that made him a household name. He also shares the painful contradictions in his personal life. Although he speaks everywhere from prison yards to NPR about his past to inspire countless others on their own road to recovery and redemption, he struggles to help his children with their personal battles with addiction, and to build relationships that last.

Redemptive and painful, poignant and real, Trejo is a portrait of a magnificent life and an unforgettable and exceptional journey.

Review:  

I found this book on Scribd.

It wasn't hard to feel the comparison of Trejo and my father.  While I was listening to the book I could remember him telling us stories of his time in prison, or selling drugs, so listening to this was oddly nostalgic for me.  However Trejo got clean and turned his life around, while my father may have stopped most drugs he was also an alcoholic and never stopped drinking until he was really too sick to continue.  

When Trejo got clean his life started to turn around.  From his lawn care business to everything else he seemed to touch.  The only place he struggled is with women.  He had your typical Machismo attitude which found him cheating on wives and girlfriends. However his work with addicts and his dedication to helping others get clean is his biggest achievement in my eyes.  

I think Donal Logue said it best in his afterward, that Danny Trejo just has something that leads him to where he is needed.  He finds the people who need him and is always ready to lend a hand. Reading about his struggles with his children's addiction issues was tough as I've been there with my two step-daughters. Its the worst thing in the world to watch them suffer and know that you can't really do anything but be there ready to offer them a hand up, to support them in their effort to get clean.  Luckily one of ours made it, unfortunately the other one didn't and lost her life at 20 to Fentanyl. Danny Trejo was lucky his kids are now clean, alive and healthy. 

The stories of how Trejo fell into acting and his rise to fame are all fascinating as are the stories of how he has helped out on other movies and was able to ease movie shooting in certain prisons due to his connections and knowing how to speak so that prisoners would understand. He states that Edward James Alamos has done so much for the Latino community in terms of visibility, telling our stories etc but he doesn't seem to see how much he has done.  In fact I think he has made a bigger impact, with his visibility, his unflinching honesty about his addiction and his criminal past. He is a role model for so many young Latinos who may not believe they can break out of the cycle of crime, addiction and gangs.  

Now I have to go find a Trejo Taco and get myself something to eat! 

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