In his memoir Brat: An '80s Story, McCarthy focuses his gaze on that singular moment in time. The result is a revealing look at coming of age in a maelstrom, reckoning with conflicted ambition, innocence, addiction, and masculinity. New York City of the 1980s is brought to vivid life in these pages, from scoring loose joints in Washington Square Park to skipping school in favor of the dark revival houses of the Village where he fell in love with the movies that would change his life. Filled with personal revelations of innocence lost to heady days in Hollywood with John Hughes and an iconic cast of characters, Brat is a surprising and intimate story of an outsider caught up in a most unwitting success.
Andrew McCarthy is an American actor, travel writer and television director. He is known as a member of the Brat Pack (hence the title), with roles in 1980s films such as St. Elmo's Fire, Pretty in Pink and Less Than Zero. I've seen Pretty in Pink about a million times and watched St. Elmo's Fire a couple months ago for the first time since it came out. So when I saw McCarthy had written a book, I thought I'd check it out as I like reading bios/autobios.
McCarthy starts off with his childhood, growing up one of three sons. He wasn't overly interested in school but when the acting bug bit him in high school, he figured he would study it in university for two years and then make it big ... and that's basically what happens. He masks his insecurities by drinking, which gets out of control. He enters rehab in 1992 and hasn't use alcohol or drugs since. He has gone on to be a travel writer and novelist.
I thought this book was okay. It's written at a very high level and doesn't get into any detail. It ends with him getting out of rehab in 1992 and the last chapter is a brief overview of what he has done since. There is a brief mention of his marriages (but not his children) and what he has been doing for the last 30 years. There are pictures scattered throughout the book.
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