by Danny Trejo
First published 2021
Danny Trejo opens his life story with brutal honesty about his early years in an abusive household and his descent into heroin addiction. He takes readers through his time in San Quentin and Folsom, where he encountered some of the country's most dangerous criminals, including a notorious serial killer. Trejo explains how he found sobriety and spirituality during solitary confinement, then transformed his criminal past into acting gold. He describes working alongside Charles Bronson and Robert De Niro, and how his experiences robbing banks informed his roles in Heat, From Dusk till Dawn, and Machete. Despite becoming Hollywood's go-to villain, Trejo reveals the painful contradictions in his personal relationships. While he speaks at prisons and on NPR to help others find recovery, he struggles to guide his own children through their addiction battles. This memoir captures both his remarkable transformation and his ongoing challenges with family connections.
Genres: biography, drama, crime, autobiography, memoir, non-fiction, biography-memoir
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: redemption, second-chance
Setting: Folsom, San Quentin
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
288 pages · Hardcover · Atria Books
Content warnings: addiction, child-abuse, drug-use, physical-abuse