John Joseph, vocalist of hardcore band Cro-Mags recently released The Evolution of a Cro-Magnon. The Second Edition. I had the great honor of reading this amazing autobiography and getting a sneak peak inside a man with a story that speaks for itself.
I don't want to ruin the book for you as I genuinely believe you should go out and grab yourself a copy. The book read itself, each chapter a story and each page felt like you were in his world at that time. You catch a brutally honest glimpse at his life and the traumas associated with witnessing abuse in his childhood, having abusive foster families, and facing living life on the streets. He exposes his own darkest demons in a way of reclaiming them and showing his growth through the struggles. As an adult John battles addiction and fights tooth and nail to survive and finds solace in hardcore band Cro-Mags, which ended up becoming legends in the underground punk scene. You get a sense of John's attitude with each story, and it's amazing to watch the transformation in his thought process as he aged and became more spiritually aware with himself. He's faced his inner most issues and used them to gain strength and smarts and turn himself into an admirable man.
This book is going to transpire for fans of music, urban culture, literature, and honestly anyone that just likes to hear interesting and shocking stories. While it is a little long, it flies by with each story becoming more intriguing than the last. You will laugh, you'll feel disgusted by the things he had to suffer through, and most importantly you'll feel inspired by his ability to continually get back up despite how many times life tried to knock him down. An absolute must read in my opinion.
You can purchase The Evolution of a Cro-Magnon. The Second Edition here!