Acid for the Children: A Memoir
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-10-31 05:51:51
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Flea
- ISBN：1455530549
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Summary
New York Times BestsellerA #1 LA Times BestsellerA USA Today BestsellerOne of NPR's "Favorite Books of 2019"
With "virtuosic vulnerability" （The Atlantic）， the iconic bassist and Red Hot Chili peppers co-founder pens a love letter to a youth spent wild in Los Angeles in his raw and riveting coming-of-age memoir， now in paperback。
In Acid for the Children， Flea takes readers on a deeply personal and revealing tour of his formative years， spanning from Australia to the New York City suburbs to， finally， Los Angeles。 Through hilarious anecdotes， poetical meditations， and occasional flights of fantasy， Flea deftly chronicles the experiences that forged him as an artist， a musician， and a young man。 His dreamy， jazz-inflected prose makes the Los Angeles of the 1970s and 80s come to gritty， glorious life， including the potential for fun， danger， mayhem， or inspiration that lurked around every corner。 It is here that young Flea， looking to escape a turbulent home， found family in a community of musicians， artists， and junkies who also lived on the fringe。 He spent most of his time partying and committing petty crimes。 But it was in music where he found a higher meaning， a place to channel his frustration， loneliness， and love。 This left him open to the life-changing moment when he and his best friends， soul brothers， and partners-in-mischief came up with the idea to start their own band， which became the Red Hot Chili Peppers。
Acid for the Children is the debut of a stunning new literary voice， whose prose is as witty， entertaining， and wildly unpredictable as the author himself。 It's a tenderly evocative coming-of-age story and a raucous love letter to the power of music and creativity from one of the most renowned musicians of our time。
With "virtuosic vulnerability" （The Atlantic）， the iconic bassist and Red Hot Chili peppers co-founder pens a love letter to a youth spent wild in Los Angeles in his raw and riveting coming-of-age memoir， now in paperback。
In Acid for the Children， Flea takes readers on a deeply personal and revealing tour of his formative years， spanning from Australia to the New York City suburbs to， finally， Los Angeles。 Through hilarious anecdotes， poetical meditations， and occasional flights of fantasy， Flea deftly chronicles the experiences that forged him as an artist， a musician， and a young man。 His dreamy， jazz-inflected prose makes the Los Angeles of the 1970s and 80s come to gritty， glorious life， including the potential for fun， danger， mayhem， or inspiration that lurked around every corner。 It is here that young Flea， looking to escape a turbulent home， found family in a community of musicians， artists， and junkies who also lived on the fringe。 He spent most of his time partying and committing petty crimes。 But it was in music where he found a higher meaning， a place to channel his frustration， loneliness， and love。 This left him open to the life-changing moment when he and his best friends， soul brothers， and partners-in-mischief came up with the idea to start their own band， which became the Red Hot Chili Peppers。
Acid for the Children is the debut of a stunning new literary voice， whose prose is as witty， entertaining， and wildly unpredictable as the author himself。 It's a tenderly evocative coming-of-age story and a raucous love letter to the power of music and creativity from one of the most renowned musicians of our time。
Reviews
Jennogle
，
Heart wrenching at times， laugh out loud at times- LOVED hearing Flea narrate this himself。 Brought it to life and felt like I was right there next to him。
Irina Nicoloiu
，
What a life！
Kelly Hemmer
，
I may be a bit biased because the Red Hot Chili Peppers are my favorite band， but I really loved this book。 I love hearing/reading incredible musicians talk about what playing music is like for them， how it makes them feel， what it's like for them visually， and Flea's perspective did not disappoint。 I also really appreciated how candid he was about the difficulties in his childhood as well as his drug use。 He didn't sugarcoat anything， which is exactly what I'd expect from him。Would definitely r I may be a bit biased because the Red Hot Chili Peppers are my favorite band， but I really loved this book。 I love hearing/reading incredible musicians talk about what playing music is like for them， how it makes them feel， what it's like for them visually， and Flea's perspective did not disappoint。 I also really appreciated how candid he was about the difficulties in his childhood as well as his drug use。 He didn't sugarcoat anything， which is exactly what I'd expect from him。Would definitely recommend this book， especially if you're a Chili Peppers fan。 。。。more
Uncle Cornbread
，
The book reads honest and true。 Will be reading the second book。
Liz
，
Did not finish， got about halfway and just decided it was not for me。 Mostly the style I think which is sort of stream of consciousness but also wasn’t finding anything in it that made me want to keep reading。 And since I have lots more books on my list， an easy decision。
Scott
，
I am still digesting this one。 Great read。 Incredible honesty。 Worth checking out。
Daniel Blake
，
Part 1 of his life。 It ends on the very first show of the Red Hot Chili Peppers。 Entertaining， but not for everybody。
Jolene
，
Wonderful bring on book two！
Andrea
，
Although undoubtedly not a personality that I would ever have been able to be near for long， the deep passion and feeling that comes from him is touching and engaging。
Michelle Bacon
，
Flea tells his early childhood story in this book and explains his broken home and his mother's alcoholism。 After her second relationship， Flea discovers his passion for great jazz music and plays the trumpet in school。 by the time he was 12， he was hitting the drugs hard core and playing bass for punk rock bands。His story is littered with the names of actors and musicians as well as the many drugs that passed through his system。 he's lucky to be alive and free from HIV。the story is a little dis Flea tells his early childhood story in this book and explains his broken home and his mother's alcoholism。 After her second relationship， Flea discovers his passion for great jazz music and plays the trumpet in school。 by the time he was 12， he was hitting the drugs hard core and playing bass for punk rock bands。His story is littered with the names of actors and musicians as well as the many drugs that passed through his system。 he's lucky to be alive and free from HIV。the story is a little disjointed since he talks about friends who have passed away bit then prises them in the next chapter。A good book for those who think drugs are cool and need a true wake up call。 。。。more
Laura Nine
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Long live Flea， one of the most interesting people ever。
Keith Kavanagh
，
if bart simpson was a real boy， this would be his biography
Neil Gilbert
，
The ramblings of the luckiest druggy in the world。 I wish there was more connection to the RHCP and how that went。
Shawn Persinger
，
3。5The most unique aspects of this book are the highly embarrassing， unflattering stories Flea tells about himself; stories without morals， without spin， without humorous endings – essentially stories of regret and unease。 It is a form of storytelling that demonstrate the flaws all of us have， without having to justify them as learning experiences， stories that say， "I'm human and that state of being has many challenges。" 3。5The most unique aspects of this book are the highly embarrassing， unflattering stories Flea tells about himself; stories without morals， without spin， without humorous endings – essentially stories of regret and unease。 It is a form of storytelling that demonstrate the flaws all of us have， without having to justify them as learning experiences， stories that say， "I'm human and that state of being has many challenges。" 。。。more
Kt
，
3。5⭐️
Natalie
，
4。5
jennifer 🌞🫐🍃🦀💌🎧
，
everytime i finish a memoir i always feel a bit of emptiness。 i love reading memoirs because they really show the depths of a person， and i love truly getting to know people and feeling some sort of connection with them。i absolutely adore this book and i love flea so so so much。 I really admired that even though RHCP is a huge part of his life， he chose to tell the story that nobody knew and i love that and i hate that i can’t read more of this book。
Nick Stubbs
，
RHCP is my favorite band of all time and Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis is my favorite memoir of all time so I had to read Acid For Children。 This book is NOT about RHCP， it’s about Flea’s childhood which was interesting， not super oppressive besides a few key moments。 He also talks in intense hyperbole often so it’ll be a story and then 2 pages of him slipping into a drug-induced dream where he’s “vibrating to the cosmic themes spread across the universe。” Just not my bag when it comes to memoir RHCP is my favorite band of all time and Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis is my favorite memoir of all time so I had to read Acid For Children。 This book is NOT about RHCP， it’s about Flea’s childhood which was interesting， not super oppressive besides a few key moments。 He also talks in intense hyperbole often so it’ll be a story and then 2 pages of him slipping into a drug-induced dream where he’s “vibrating to the cosmic themes spread across the universe。” Just not my bag when it comes to memoirs。 Read Scar Tissue if you want a memoir that’ll stick with you。 。。。more
Carlos
，
Eu não dava nada por esse livro， mas a experiência de ouvir o audiobook lido pelo próprio Flea é excelente。 Nesse livro ele narra sua infância e adolescência até começar sua carreia como músico profissional com a banda que viria a se tornar os Red Hot Chili Peppers。Ele retrata bem o que era Los Angeles entre o final dos anos 70 e início dos 80， entre outras coisas。 Experiências engrandecedoras e vexatórias com as quais todos podemos nos identificar， mesmo não tendo aquela vida louca dele。
Oryx
，
Not good。Maybe if I gave more of a shit about him I’d care。It’s frenetic in a bad way， like a bouncy ball fired into an empty shipping container thinking it’s preaching the gospel of god。
Rob Wash
，
Not what I expected， and that's exactly why I loved it so much。 A quick read and a fun one for any RHCP/music fans out there。 Not what I expected， and that's exactly why I loved it so much。 A quick read and a fun one for any RHCP/music fans out there。 。。。more
Angela Ruth
，
Quite possibly the best memoir I have ever read。
Israel Sotelo
，
Half of the life of Flea， a very good biography
Lisa Drusina Silva
，
Hmmmm。 I do love me some RHCP。 My love for them has spanned 30 years！ Flea is an OG， a prime player and has so much love and genuine spirit he gives。I liked his book a lot。 Did I love it， no。 He has phenomenal stories。 It felt like a book written by a guy who is ALL over the place with his thoughts and this difficult to really dive into。 He is a complex man with a life that brings him a million places so I understand why he wrote the book the way he did。 But for me， an avid reader， it was hard t Hmmmm。 I do love me some RHCP。 My love for them has spanned 30 years！ Flea is an OG， a prime player and has so much love and genuine spirit he gives。I liked his book a lot。 Did I love it， no。 He has phenomenal stories。 It felt like a book written by a guy who is ALL over the place with his thoughts and this difficult to really dive into。 He is a complex man with a life that brings him a million places so I understand why he wrote the book the way he did。 But for me， an avid reader， it was hard to connect and follow。 I still LOVE me some RedHots and LOVE me some Flea。 。。。more
Bethany
，
Flea is one of the coolest living human beings。 I adore him， the way he tells his story， the way he speaks about the people he’s closest to…you can really tell he deeply cares about so many things in this life & appreciates so much of it。 Doesn’t read like a rockstar manifesto in any way。 I wasn’t expecting this to be a soul searcher or to delve so deep。 I’ll read this one again， for sure。
Kane Russell
，
Trés bien
Samantha Marie
，
a beautiful story that feels like flea is just talking to you about his life。 he takes moments to reflect on his memories， what hes learned， and how it shaped him as the person he is today。 stunning。 i usually hate memoirs but this， was such a beautiful memoir with sweet and inspiring words at times。 his personality shows through his writing， which makes it even better。 much love。
Ashlin
，
I loved this book。 I’ve always like the RHCP but have never been so into them to listen to this book， until I got a personal rec from a friend。 I’m so glad I did。 Flea is such an incredible artist and so emotionally intelligent。 His writing is beautiful and inspired me in many ways to create more and absorb more art。 Highly recommend this book！
Zee
，
filing this one under “books about people’s childhoods that absolutely terrify me”
Zanete
，