Redeemable: A Memoir of Darkness and Hope by Erwin JamesMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
An honest and eye-opening account of a lad growing up rough and the dangerous road it takes him on.
Losing his mother was a pivotal point in a young Erwin's life. It changed his relationship with his father and brought out the worst in his father. Erwin and his sister being moved from one house to another and eventually being separated had a negative effect on Erwin and he began to stray from the right side of the law.
The fact that Erwin gives an honest view of his criminal activity and the attitude he had, never believing that these minor offenses would hurt anyone. It was only after his sessions with Joan that he started to understand the downward steppingstones of his life.
Having had an alcoholic father myself I can relate to many of the memories Erwin shares about his father. However trying to understand the choices he made is still difficult, though he indicates the understanding that they were his choices and he could have chosen a different path.
I enjoyed reading about how Erwin turned his life around, even if it took the entire incarceration. It truly gives an insight into the life of the not so blessed youth.
In some ways, Erwin's story has many similarities of another Scottish lad in Jimmy Barnes, told by him in Working Class Boy and Working Class Man.
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