Book Review: I Romanced the Stone

I started I Romanced the Stone by Marvin D. Wilson, then put it down. This book was not for me. Chapter One is a How-to on crack cocaine. Chapter Two is a condemnation of my generation, those of us who grew up in the “hippie” era, except I knew no one Marvin described. It made me angry that he lumped all of that generation into drugs, free love, and tuning out.

Then a couple of weeks ago, I went on vacation with my husband. I packed books, one of them Marvin’s I Romanced the Stone. I started over from the beginning. I still felt the same after those first two chapters. But I kept reading.

Marvin is very open about his failures and the spiral downward his life took because of drugs. He not only hit bottom, he began to dig a hole and just kept digging. Deeper. Until he lost everything. His home, his job, his family. And yet his family did not abandon him.

When he was not willing or able to save himself, his family saved him. And he began to see that his life was worth saving. That he could come back from devastation and drugs, with the help of his wife and family, a spiritual recovery program, and God.

Lest you think Marvin had never been taught to turn to God, he says in his bio that he is the son of a Christian minister. But crack cocaine was more powerful than what he’d been taught, more powerful than his love for his wife, more powerful than Marvin himself.

Here is the back cover blurb:

Caution: Do not buy or read this book if you are timid, or of tender sensibilities. The story inside is the true, uncensored reality of the life of a crack-head; the harsh reality of the lifestyles, evil places, characters, and dangers that are rampant in the inner city streets of America. This is not fiction, and it is not pretty. If you can’t take the heat, stay out of the kitchen.

However, if you can handle the truth, and wish to stay around for dinner, you will be rewarded with a banquet, a celebration feast, held in honor of one crack-head whose life was spared, who was made whole again, and who wishes to share his spiritual message of hope and advisement with all who will listen.

Marvin writes his life. Not mine. I came to see that this is his memoir, his experiences, his words. They are powerful words. He went into the depths of Hell and came out with hope and a future.

I Romanced the Stone
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Marvin D. Wilson stood up and told his story, a dark tale of drugs and a bright hope of redemption. I give I Romanced the Stone a rating of Hel-of-a-Story.

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FTC Disclaimer: The author, Marvin D. Wilson, sent me this book. He did not ask for a review. I decided on my own to write one. I admire Marvin for writing this book and sharing his story with others. It’s a dark story, but it has a bright ending, one which others may find inspiring and life changing. There is not rating system for books like there is for movies, but I recommend it for adults, not children or teenagers, unless you feel they are sinking and need a rope to grab hold of, a true story of someone who survived.