Strange Days: 2my Life with and Without Jim Morrison

by Patricia Kennealy-Morrison

Book Overview

In an intimate biographical memoir, Kennealy describes the music scene of the '60s and '70s, never varnishing over her experiences with sex and drugs that were such a driving force in Morrison's life, and explores the translation of the Morrison myth into Oliver Stone's film. Photographs.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0525934197
• ISBN13: 9780525934196
• Release Date: May 1992
• Publisher: Dutton Books
• Length: 429 Pages
• Weight: 1.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.2" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

If this book doesn't make you...

laugh out loud, reach for a tissue, or holler, "You tell him, Patty!" then I don't know what else to say! It pulls you in from the very first page and doesn't let you go until the self-interview at the end. I own the original hardback copy of this book. I bought it when it hit the shelves in 1992, and it's followed me through several moves, a 13-year marriage and subsequent divorce, and many, many Spring cleaning rituals! I've read almost all of the books available about JDM, and I've always thought that this one was the first (and the only) one to have portrayed him as the sensitive, creative, and extremely complicated person he must have been. I became fascinated with Kennealy-Morrison after cringing through That Movie, and I remember thinking at the time that what little I'd read about her didn't seem to jibe with the catty, nasty dialogue moviegoers were forced to endure...I wanted to find out more. For starters, her portrayal of Jim was unflinchingly candid - she didn't sugarcoat anything is this book; indeed, she manages to successfully convey to the readers just how much of a joy he was to be around during his gentler, reflective, sober days. That being said, she also gave readers an honest account of just how gut-wrenchingly cruel he could be when his darker, drunken side emerged (often at the most unfortunate moments in their relationship). Other books seem to have focused almost exclusively on JDM's loutish and groupie-mongering behavior - this book gives us a glimpse of just how easy it must have been for Patricia to fall in love with a romantic, well-spoken, mannerly, and multi-faceted Jim, and I thank her for this. Another thing that struck me about this book was how difficult it must have been for the author to divulge such an (intensely) high amount of personal information as effortlessly as she did. There were times, as I was reading, that I almost felt guilty - as if I were secretly reading someone's private journal! She didn't *have* to tell anyone these stories, and it takes a very gutsy writer to do so. Kudos for that, Patricia; otherwise, we'd have never known the Jim you knew. Another aspect of the book that appealed to me was her delving into the (oft-maligned) spiritual aspects of Witchcraft. I have been a practicing Pagan for ten years now, and it's rare to watch a movie or read a book that accurately, honestly portrays the Craft in a positive light. The descriptions of her handfasting ceremony added yet another glimpse into JDM's spiritual curiosity, and I have no doubt that they probably spent many hours talking about not only the Craft, but many different paths. That's the beauty of this story - we, the readers, got to take a peek at Jim's "higher self," a task that other books fail to touch upon at all. A couple things I've noticed by reading all of the other reviews here is that: a) People here tend to forget just how *young* these people in the book were. They were all still in their mid-20s, and

View Altering and Mind Changing

What a gift when someone allows a reader into their life and their deepest thoughts and feelings. Patricia goes ahead and spares the reader nothing, her honest and fascinating words filling each and every page. She sets the record straight for anyone interested in the truth. This book changed the way I view so many things in life and in history and am so very grateful to Mrs. Morrison for showing me and every other reader these things and all the while teaching valuable lessons in life and love. Worth reading over and over again. Rock on!

The side of Jim Morrison that didn't belong to Doors fans

This book will inspire rage in some and love in others. You just have to decide if you want to hear the umpteenth story about Jim pissing off a building or inciting the masses to riot, or if you want a more sober, inspired take on the man himself, as he was with a woman that he loves.The very notion that Patricia's account of Jim is subject to the approval of every Doors fan on the planet is simply ludicrous. The assertions that she thought herself Jim's only love are false. For anyone that pays attention to the words they're reading, it's obvious that Patricia states that Jim clearly loved Pamela Courson, but that he also loved her (Patricia). This book is a beautifully written, entertaining account of a time in the life of the author, and proof that a person can fall in love with more than one person, each person fulfilling different needs in their lives. Patricia would not facilitate his substance abuse with one of her own. Pamela did.Most Doors fans can tell even by other accounts, even by Jim's lyrics, that he was completely different people according to who he was with. This book tells of one side. If you want to read a book that stands on its own merits as a thought-provoking, fantastically written work that happens to tell about Jim Morrison, read this one. If you want to read a shoddily written third or fourth hand fantasy tale about a tragic romance and a fictionalized rock 'n' roll tale, look elsewhere.

"Mad, bad, and dangerous to know."

Jim Morrison, the poet. Jim Morrison, the intellect. Jim Morrison, the romantic. Jim Morrison, the friend. Never have I seen so many different sides of JDM as I did in Mrs. Morrison's book. Her recollections of this man as something more than a drug addled, dirty hippie, rock star gives the readers some hope that JDM was a real man and not some mythological figment of the 60's collective imagination. I've read bios and essays and critiques and interviews and most everything under the sun surrounding the life and times of JDM. None ever told me anything more than he was a weirded out rock star with nothing better to do than break girls hearts and find that next whiskey bar. Mrs. Morrison gives the readers a glimpse into the mind of a man who was scared - scared of being loved, scared of not being loved, scared of who he was becoming and who he may never become. Her portrayal of Jim Morrison shows his intelligence and humor and generosity, as well as his drunkenness, his insecurity, and his, at times, unthoughtfulness. This book is about THEIR relationship and the impact he had on HER life during their time together and after his death. On a side note. To even compare Strange Days with the Jim and Pam novel floating around this year is laughable. That book is a farce, based on assertions and assumptions made by the author. It seems more a story of how SHE wanted to see Jim and Pam than how they really were - a majorly codependent couple who had little more than drugs and dramatics in common. It would have been a more interesting read had it been a bio of Pam, as it was said to have originally started. But the author realized she had nothing to sell with that and made it into yet another JDM bio to throw into an already bloated market. But hey, Jim sells, now doesn't he? I would be more inclined to believe Patricia Kennealy Morrison, a woman who is handfasted to JDM, thus considered his wife (and not just by common law), than someone trying to add more fuel to JDM mythological fire.Wonderfully written and hard to put down, Strange Days will give you an insight into Jim Morrison, the man instead of Jim Morrison, the myth.

Heart-rending and reaffirming

One woman sharing her personal and intimate perspective of Jim Morrison. No excuses are made, for his actions or her own. This is not a biography of Jim Morrison, nor should it be. It is the story of a man and a woman and the love they shared, and the forces which lead to their parting. This is not the usual grab-bag of tired old stories about the Lizard King; it is a personal recollection of a life and a love shared with James Douglas Morrison.