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This memoir follows a punk rock pioneer on his slide into drug abuse and life as an armed robber, all the way through life in recovery and what it's like to look back on those times, knowing all the while that he is still under the threat of three strikes, a twenty-five-to-life prison sentence waiting. He has no choice but to deal with it all drug free.
During punk rock's heyday, Patrick O'Neil worked at the San Francisco's legendary Mabuhay Gardens. He went on to become the road manager for Dead Kennedys and Flipper, as well as T.S.O.L. and the Subhumans. He holds an MFA from Antioch University Los Angeles.
"For all the dark, desperate places life has taken this man, he should be dead. That Patrick O'Neil is alive, let alone writing brilliantly is a testament to his tremendous courage, remarkable strength, and the power of redemption against all humanly odds. O'Neil is an extraordinary talent. " — James Brown, author of The Los Angeles Diaries
"O'Neil might have just founded a new nonfiction genre, Narcotic Noir. This book is a beast!" — Joshua Mohr, author of Fight Song
"Ever wondered what it would be like to live your wildest fantasy and your darkest nightmare at the same time? In this skillful turn, Patrick O'Neil has saved you the trouble. A ferocious story of survival and redemption, only the beating, honest heart at the core of this sensational book will convince you that every word is true." — Jillian Lauren, NYTimes bestselling author of Some Girls: My Life in a Harem
“Patrick O’Neil is the kind of literary character who doesn’t usually live to tell his own story, who too often has to be rendered and re-imagined by a writer who played it safer from the sidelines. The fact that O’Neil—a haunted, hunted outlaw, as well an uproariously funny observer of society—is able to give voice to his own complex and dangerous story would be enough to distinguish Gun, Needle, Spoon from most other books. But O’Neil is also the real deal as a writer, full of frenetic energy, unsettling tenderness, and dialogue that sounds like he’s smuggled a tape recorder to hell and back. A one of a kind read.” — Gina Frangello, author of A Life in Men
"Gun, Needle, Spoon is a wild, tender ride of a memoir that you'll never forget. Fierce, funny, and true to the bone, O'Neil's voice as as real and memorable as they come. Read it." — Emily Rapp, author of The Still Point of the Turning World
"Patrick O'Neil has managed the unusual feat of writing about a battle scarred life with both toughness and vulnerability, but without posturing or sentimentality. Gun, Needle, Spoon brings to mind Denis Johnson and Jim Carrol without sounding exactly like either. This book has the spare, lean energy of classic crime writing and is both entertaining and full of insight. A great read." — Jesse Michaels, author of Whispering Bodies