A former member of several Evansville, Indiana, local punk bands recounts his struggles with mental health and how he feels it intertwined with his love of punk rock music. Between the autobiographical bits, he includes quick sketches of his favorite bands, including the Ramones, Black Flag, the Clash, the Replacements and more.

I'm not sure he really lands his thesis that punk rock directly addresses mental health issues in a special way that enabled him to rise against his depression and self-harm. Based on the timeline presented a skeptic might make the case that letting go of punk rock music and getting professional assistance is what actually put him on the road to recovery. But then, the passage of time is a bit vague as he skips from moment to moment.

Overall, this feels like a first-time effort, lacking polish in writing and art and tending toward the melodramatic.

p.s., I decided not to mention the multiple copyediting mistakes in my initial review, but while indexing the people mentioned in the book, I verified that the name of one of the idolized musicians, Paul Westerberg of the Replacements, is actually misspelled in the book. Oof! ( )