Title:  Going Crazy: Left foot, Right foot, Breathe

Author: Tim James

Genre: Memoir

 

In Going Crazy, Tim James takes the reader on his eventful journey from small-town, scrappy Tennessee boy to award-winning, country music songwriter. Along the way, he encounters hurdles, knockbacks, and a couple of near-death experiences but also a few breaks, all of which he shares with unflinching candor.

James’s Going Crazy is an unusual memoir. He unfolds his life, but, in the beginning, he darts the reader around his past and present, with anecdotes and thoughts while building up an autobiographical picture without an obvious chronological framework.

Although not seemingly straightforward, the fast-moving, conversational approach complements James’s personality, and an emerging structure appears. Chapters begin with a few sentences of him musing on the qualities of chosen songs, and throughout, there is the motif of “crazy” in all its connotations.

James’ trajectory from Murfreesboro, Tennessee to Los Angeles is as interesting and inspiring as the man himself. He is refreshingly candid, giving an unfiltered and self-aware view of his quick temper as he navigates high school, playing baseball, and then basketball, the latter sport remaining a lifelong passion.

His early days read like a captivating coming-of-age fiction rather than a factual account. He has a knack for absorbing the reader into period and place, especially in these formative years, and his writing reflects the brash, breezy, and direct teenage James.

Although direct in attitude, twenty-year-old James is somewhat directionless in life until a meeting with an old neighbor visiting his parents, who recently moved to Los Angeles. Within a month, James is playing ball on Venice Beach.

There is an infectious energy as James recounts his first time living in Los Angeles. It’s clear he had a blast, but he is honest, admitting that, from some quarters, he would be regarded as a loser. It makes for entertaining reading although the good times come to an abrupt end when James is badly assaulted.

After healing in Tennessee, he returns to Los Angeles. Outwardly, James appears a charismatic, confident figure, and as he matures into Californian life, his prose echoes this period with a natural, easy charm.

Notwithstanding, James can still be hot-headed with a seam of insecurity.  Consequently, his narrative has an unpredictable edge, making it highly readable. Beneath the veneer of socializing, he cultivates long-lasting friendships and a strong work ethic, which contrast intriguingly with the superficial LA scene.

There is some casual Hollywood name-dropping, but James is respectful to celebrities and acquaintances. Indeed, there are areas of his memoir where a few of the stories would have benefitted from being mined a little deeper, even if he does drop enough hints to fill the blanks.

Although a classic romantic, he is an astute character and his tenacious nature drives him to guitar lessons, performing, and songwriting. James is in his mid-thirties and it’s a testament to his single-minded determination, hard graft, and talent that, against overwhelming odds, he carves out a successful career.

However, he is a realist and, despite his achievements and accolades, it’s a precarious life, fully immersing the reader into the vagaries of the country music world.

Nonetheless, threads of introspective angst creep through his narrative as his second marriage falters. He treats the reader as confidante, questioning his sanity, and reflecting upon his emotional vulnerability with raw-edged intimacy and frank bewilderment which is, occasionally, a touch too subjective.

Tim James has written an intensely personal and engaging memoir, which, like its author, is full of conviction and grit. Going Crazy is a humorous, moving, and deeply human story with broad appeal.

 

 

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