Name: Acid for the Children
ISBN: 9781538751305

Flea (Musician)

"The co-founder of the Red Hot Chili Peppers chronicles his life from his birth in Australia and upbringing on the streets of Los Angeles through his rise to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee." --

A Memoir

Acid for the Children

Flea

The strange tale of a boy named Flea starts in Rye, NY. It was all very normal. But soon his parents divorced and his mother Patricia remarried a jazz musician. Flea's stepfather frequently invited musicians to his house for jam sessions which sparked Flea's interest in music. The family moved to Los Angeles, where Flea became fascinated with the trumpet, idolizing musicians like Miles, Dizzy, and Louis. But the family soon fell apart, "I was raised in a very violent, alcoholic household," Flea later said. "I grew up being terrified of my parents, particularly my father figures. It caused [me] a lot of trouble later in life." He began smoking weed at 13, and became a daily user of harder drugs. He was on the streets by 14 and soon after, met another social outcast and drug user named Anthony Kiedis. They form a band that would become the Red Hot Chili Peppers. ACID FOR THE CHILDREN is pure, uncut Flea, with nothing left unsaid.

Flea from red hot chilli peppers tells his story of fam trauma, addiction, success, fame, partying, friendship etc etc in a quirky fun rock star kinda way. Fun nice writing. 

Rebecca atkinson

Patrick Book

Pretty cute! And almost completely avoids talking about the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

This book is yikes city. Flea waxes poetically about all kinds of vibing with the sound, connecting with the Earth etc since he was a kid, but in a very ‘first grader who is enlightened’ vocabulary. Isnt this man sixtyish by now? Some of the book I’ve found to be endearing, but most of it is unfortunately pure gibberish - and I say this as someone who loves him and the RHCP.
He is an inconsistent writer, finishing chapters and stories in weird sudden halts, meanwhile somehow managing to remember every name of every person he has ever met.
Also according to this book and how its written: Flea never met a gay man without explaining it with ‘I met this gay man’. He apparently also never saw/met a person of color who wasnt described as such before even their name was said, or at latest in the next sentence if he was trying to be mysterious (their brown cinnamon eyes/face).
Also the book ends when hes still in his twenties. A miscalculation on my part for sure for thinking Id enjoy this book much more than I did, but also maybe we didnt need every waking second od his life around ages 4-9 explained.

chrystyna

i loved this book so much.
i loved reading the stories of Flea growing up and how he became what he became.

a nice read, would recommend it to friends.

Mia Caven

Oh boy. I have so much to say about this book but I’ll keep it simple. I love flea. I think flea is a great guy. He seems incredible. But… this book was challenging. He’s a very simple writer, making this book a quick read. But the contents was HARD. he has the right aim but goes about it the wrong way sometimes. I felt uncomfortable in some bits. For example, a lot of sexualisation of women from the perspective of young him. The use of the word pussy 1000 times was unnecessary and made me squirm since he is currently almost 60. I understand he grew up that way, taught different things, but it didn’t have to be literally spelled out. I had extreme conflicting emotions on this one.

Jeannette Ordas

Considering I LOATHE the RHCP, it seemed odd to read this memoir, but I heard it was good, so I went for it. And it is a really fun romp through Flea's early life, pre-fame. Decades ago, I had seen Suburbia and Let's Get Lost and spotted a young Flea and wondered why he was in those films (he's also apparently in My Own Private Idaho). He's a good storyteller and he's experienced so much trauma, adventure, wildness, but much is told with a revisionist lens. A surprisingly enjoyable & quick read.

I will admit that I picked up this book because of my love for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but that isn't what this book is about. This is one man's no-holds-barred memoir about coming-of-age. Chock-full of scattered profundities, profanities, and zany anecdotes; this is a philosophical journey akin to Matthiessen's Snow Leopard.

Strap in and get ready to check out a myriad of musical, literary, and cinematographic references as an aside to the actual book. Get ready for some heavy shit, but more importantly, just feel the groove, man!

Simon Crocker

I will admit that I picked up this book because of my love for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but that isn't what this book is about. This is one man's no-holds-barred memoir about coming-of-age. Chock-full of scattered profundities, profanities, and zany anecdotes; this is a philosophical journey akin to Matthiessen's Snow Leopard.

Strap in and get ready to check out a myriad of musical, literary, and cinematographic references as an aside to the actual book. Get ready for some heavy shit, but more importantly, just feel the groove, man!

Parts of it were so profound and beautiful and parts were just a little dull and overdone. Nevertheless it’s beautifully written and a fabulous memoir.

Madison Aumua

Melissa Schwartz

I was lucky to have attended Flea’s book signing in Brooklyn in November 2019. His appreciation for the things he loves and his lifelong learning are inspiring. I love him as a musician and a person.

Acid for the Children A Memoir

Reviews

Highlights