Release Day Review: 13 Billion to One: A Memoir by Randy Rush
13 Billion to One: Winning the $50 Million Lottery Has Its Price
Author: Randy Rush
Published: Today, June 24, 2020
290 Pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Jessica’s Rating: 3.5 stars
Dates Read: June 11-21, 2020
Book Description:
As a welfare kid who grew up in the streets, Randy Rush had to fight for everything he got and knew what it was like to struggle. So, when he was suddenly handed $50 million in tax free money, he vowed to use his new-found wealth to help others. But what he didn’t see coming was Jeremy Crawford.
In his gripping, adrenaline-packed memoir, Rush takes readers on his rocket-fueled journey after a trip to the corner grocer to buy food for his beloved cat, Conway Kitty, leads to the discovery that he has won Canada’s $50 million Lotto Max jackpot.
Soaring on a seemingly endless endorphin high, Rush spends the months following his win traveling, feeding his passion for rare sports cars, considering charitable causes, and splurging on friends — paying off their debts and even giving them a free place to stay in million-dollar homes. But his world comes crashing down when he discovers that Dave Crawford, a man he loved like an older brother and had generously provided for, has served him up to his con artist son, Jeremy — who scams Rush out of nearly $5 million.
Reeling from Dave’s betrayal and fueled by the discovery that the Crawfords are serial con artists who have devastated the lives of more than a hundred others, Rush embarks on a mission to take his adversaries down. But as his quest for justice drags on, his festering rage reaches a boiling point and he is faced with a choice: Let the Crawford’s cons destroy him, or re-focus his attention on doing good in the world and enjoying the enormous gift he has been given.
Jessica’s Review:
A bit of a ‘rags to riches’ story that takes a turn, 13 Billion to One is also a cautionary tale. Yes, we all occasionally buy that lottery ticket and fantasize what it would be like to win. But then we never actually win…. But what happens if you actually DO win? That was why I wanted to pick up this memoir. Winning the lottery is not all it is cracked up to be.
Some of Rush’s circumstances were of his own fault. He first wanted to not do any investments for a full year after winning. If he had stayed with his first thoughts, he would not have found himself in his circumstances. He also came off a bit naïve and over the top with some of his early purchases and helping out of his ‘friends’. So many people came off to him expecting multiple handouts. I get it, you want to help your friends out, but multiple times? No, that’s taking advantage of his situation and possibly losing your friendship.
I never lost interest in reading this memoir. It was very easy to read, even when it came to the legal issues, and Rush tells us his story first hand. Despite wanting to try and help Rush learn to say ‘no’ to people and pay attention to the many red herrings that showed up which he ignored, I had little empathy for him. I did like how he shows us how he did end up using his money for the good of others in another country.
A very cautionary tale that shows that the love/greed of money is truly evil and how winning the lottery is really not all you might think it may be.
Many thanks to the publisher Rantanna Media for granting me an e-arc to read and review.
Hollywood Park by Mikel Jollett
Hollywood Park
Author: Mikel Jollett
To Be Published: May 26, 2020
384 Pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Jessica’s Rating: 4 stars
Dates Read: April 11-26, 2020
Book Description:
Hollywood Park is a remarkable memoir of a tumultuous life. Mikel Jollett was born into one of the country’s most infamous cults, and subjected to a childhood filled with poverty, addiction, and emotional abuse. Yet, ultimately, his is a story of fierce love and family loyalty told in a raw, poetic voice that signals the emergence of a uniquely gifted writer.
We were never young. We were just too afraid of ourselves. No one told us who we were or what we were or where all our parents went. They would arrive like ghosts, visiting us for a morning, an afternoon. They would sit with us or walk around the grounds, to laugh or cry or toss us in the air while we screamed. Then they’d disappear again, for weeks, for months, for years, leaving us alone with our memories and dreams, our questions and confusion. …
So begins Hollywood Park, Mikel Jollett’s remarkable memoir. His story opens in an experimental commune in California, which later morphed into the Church of Synanon, one of the country’s most infamous and dangerous cults. Per the leader’s mandate, all children, including Jollett and his older brother, were separated from their parents when they were six months old, and handed over to the cult’s “School.” After spending years in what was essentially an orphanage, Mikel escaped the cult one morning with his mother and older brother. But in many ways, life outside Synanon was even harder and more erratic.
In his raw, poetic and powerful voice, Jollett portrays a childhood filled with abject poverty, trauma, emotional abuse, delinquency and the lure of drugs and alcohol. Raised by a clinically depressed mother, tormented by his angry older brother, subjected to the unpredictability of troubled step-fathers and longing for contact with his father, a former heroin addict and ex-con, Jollett slowly, often painfully, builds a life that leads him to Stanford University and, eventually, to finding his voice as a writer and musician.
Hollywood Park is told at first through the limited perspective of a child, and then broadens as Jollett begins to understand the world around him. Although Mikel Jollett’s story is filled with heartbreak, it is ultimately an unforgettable portrayal of love at its fiercest and most loyal.
Jessica’s Review:
I had not heard of Mikel Jollett before receiving my arc copy of Hollywood Park, but his is a story where you do not have to be familiar with the person to see how much they overcome. Mikel started life in the cult of Synanon and was taken away from his parents at 6 months of age, as all children of the cult were. Several years later, his mother gets away from the cult with Mikel and his older brother but they still experience a very hard life.
Jollett writes his memoir in a unique way: He starts off the novel at five years old and ‘talks’ as that age with everything that is going on around him. As he becomes older and understands more, so does his telling of his story, in the age he is at that time. Even as a small child, he was wiser than his actual age. Not many would be able to tell their story in this way with success. This memoir shows the addiction that occurs and the devastating effects of it on the addict and also the effects on the addict’s loved ones. There is also loss that occurs and we can really feel the emotions that Jollett expresses. He is a musical artist after all, so those words come well to him.
Memoirs are always hard to review, as it is someone’s life and their experiences/ interpretation of events, but this one reaches a cord with the reader. We all have different life experiences and those experiences shape who we become as a person. Jollet sharing his story with the reader through writing or through his lyrics of the songs his band performs can help others with their experiences and interpretations.
Jollett’s band The Airborne Toxic Event has a new cd coming out on May 22nd. It is also titled Hollywood Park, just as this memoir. It is the band’s first album in three years.
Many thanks to the publisher, Celadon Books for sending me an arc copy to read and review.
Pre-order Links:
The Airborne Toxic Event music:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Children’s Picture Book Review: Coronavirus: A Book for Children
Coronavirus: A Book for Children
Authors:
Elizabeth Jenner
Kate Wilson
Nia Roberts
Illustrator: Axel Scheffler
Consultant: Graham Medley
Published: April 13, 2020
26 Pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Jessica’s Rating: 5 stars
Date Read: April 17, 2020
Book Description:
What is the coronavirus, and why is everyone talking about it?
Engagingly illustrated by Axel Scheffler, this approachable and timely book helps answer these questions and many more, providing children aged 5-10 and their parents with clear and accessible explanations about the coronavirus and its effects – both from a health perspective and the impact it has on a family’s day-to-day life.
With input from expert consultant Professor Graham Medley of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, as well as advice from teachers and child psychologists, this is a practical and informative resource to help explain the changes we are currently all experiencing.
Jessica’s Review:
Our lives have all been affected by the Coronavirus/COVID-19 and things are still constantly changing worldwide. Besides adults having questions, your young children might also have questions, but don’t know how to ask or how to express feelings they might be having.
Nosy Crow publisher has released this children’s picture book for FREE. This book is aimed for children ages 5-9, but can be helpful to those that are older as well.
Given in simple language, this children’s book explains the Coronavirus/COVID-19, what is going on in our world with all the closures, and the process to getting a vaccine. This book helps children to understand what they need to do (stay home, wash hands) and that eventually we WILL get through this.
The illustrations are wonderful as they showcase a variety of people (various ethnicities, disabilities, ages, and appearance). These illustrations help to show that Coronavirus/COVID-19 affects everyone.
Bravo to the publisher Nosy Crow for having this children’s book created and made FREE to everyone. You can get your free copy at their site here. There are several ways at the link where you can get this FREE book.
This is a children’s book that is 100% recommended especially during this time of unknown in our world.
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