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Happy Ending
Every Happy Ending implies a not-so-happy beginning, and David Rat's story—from a groundbreaking career as the drummer of the 'Noise-Rock' cult band Rat At Rat R to a devastating addiction to heroin—follows a path from soaring heights (and highs) to the hellish basement of desperate addiction (the lowest of all possible lows).
David Rat's gripping memoir is written not in conventional prose but rather, true to his highly artistic nature, in modern free-verse. His story documents not only his addiction but new-found loves, and lost loves too, and ultimately focuses on the source of his eventual recovery— his young son James.
Indeed, fatherhood was David Rat's inspiration, as well as his motivation, to beat the needle. Brutally honest, gripping and openly apologetic, David Rat's story stands as a testament to hope, as well as a tribute to young James, and confirms that even in the darkest of circumstances a Happy Ending is still possible.
David Rat's gripping memoir is written not in conventional prose but rather, true to his highly artistic nature, in modern free-verse. His story documents not only his addiction but new-found loves, and lost loves too, and ultimately focuses on the source of his eventual recovery— his young son James.
Indeed, fatherhood was David Rat's inspiration, as well as his motivation, to beat the needle. Brutally honest, gripping and openly apologetic, David Rat's story stands as a testament to hope, as well as a tribute to young James, and confirms that even in the darkest of circumstances a Happy Ending is still possible.
132 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 10, 2012
3 people are currently reading
88 people want to read
About the author
David Rat
2 books21 followers(From Happy Ending forward by Fiona Helmsley)
A small town boy, David Rat came to New York City in the early 1980´s to be an artist. With big city rock n’ roll dreams he became the drummer for seminal No Wave pioneers "Rat At Rat R". David worked the door at the infamous downtown Pyramid Club, juggled clingy girlfriends and looked forward to finally garnering his father’s approval as a mainstream success in the music industry.
The story-telling quality of David’s poetry calls to mind the lyrical elegies of Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side” and Iggy Pop’s “Look Away.” But immersed within the world of the New York City underground David became addicted to heroin, and began writing testimonies to painful longing and the ritual redundancies of addiction.Only with the birth of his son did David finally find the motivation and the strength to kick his habit and banish the needle from his life.
Today, David Rat is an ex-patriate living in Brazil, with his wife Greice and border collie "Lady", and writes only for charity... Currently Drug Free, He remains fiercely dedicated to animal rescue, his music, writing, and to the dream his son James will help realize a Peaceful and Compassionate world...
more info about David Rat at
www.open-Bks.com
www.Dromedary-Records.com ....
A small town boy, David Rat came to New York City in the early 1980´s to be an artist. With big city rock n’ roll dreams he became the drummer for seminal No Wave pioneers "Rat At Rat R". David worked the door at the infamous downtown Pyramid Club, juggled clingy girlfriends and looked forward to finally garnering his father’s approval as a mainstream success in the music industry.
The story-telling quality of David’s poetry calls to mind the lyrical elegies of Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side” and Iggy Pop’s “Look Away.” But immersed within the world of the New York City underground David became addicted to heroin, and began writing testimonies to painful longing and the ritual redundancies of addiction.Only with the birth of his son did David finally find the motivation and the strength to kick his habit and banish the needle from his life.
Today, David Rat is an ex-patriate living in Brazil, with his wife Greice and border collie "Lady", and writes only for charity... Currently Drug Free, He remains fiercely dedicated to animal rescue, his music, writing, and to the dream his son James will help realize a Peaceful and Compassionate world...
more info about David Rat at
www.open-Bks.com
www.Dromedary-Records.com ....
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 11, 2015
Blissful, heartfelt pain and meaning.
Just finished David's book. Morning coffee, glad pain in my heart, my thoughts turning outward to my relationship with the world outside, the words in my head, the feelings in my soul that have no words, grateful for the morning I chose to read this.... I'm reminded of everything I love and hate and miss and the gratitude I have for all that's chosen to stay with me, still here to share the ride. Grateful for David for sharing this part of him, and relating to so much. My prescription for you, dear reader, is to open yourself, then open these pages, and then your eyes ... the last part David will do for you if you do the first two tasks. Me, I'm going to finish my coffee, and then live this day, which I know will be lived differently than had I not started it off inside these pages.
Just finished David's book. Morning coffee, glad pain in my heart, my thoughts turning outward to my relationship with the world outside, the words in my head, the feelings in my soul that have no words, grateful for the morning I chose to read this.... I'm reminded of everything I love and hate and miss and the gratitude I have for all that's chosen to stay with me, still here to share the ride. Grateful for David for sharing this part of him, and relating to so much. My prescription for you, dear reader, is to open yourself, then open these pages, and then your eyes ... the last part David will do for you if you do the first two tasks. Me, I'm going to finish my coffee, and then live this day, which I know will be lived differently than had I not started it off inside these pages.
January 25, 2013
A raw, honest, harrowing account of one man’s descent into heroin addiction, David Rat’s Happy Ending attests to the resilience of the human spirit. Artistically crafted in modern verse, this memoir packs a punch full of longing, regret, and glimmers of hope. As Fiona Helmsley so accurately quoted Oscar Wilde in her forward to David's book: "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." David is one of those.
December 12, 2015
There are millions of junkies in this sad, hard, doomed world but there are exceedingly few poets. This writing, like any great art, goes beyond the subject and into pure feeling, and emotion.
I want more.
I remember a very smug interviewer asked Burroughs if he regretted his life of junk addiction:"Best decision I ever made." he replied, as his eyes looked far far away, where time stops.
I want more.
I remember a very smug interviewer asked Burroughs if he regretted his life of junk addiction:"Best decision I ever made." he replied, as his eyes looked far far away, where time stops.
January 9, 2013
With prose befitting poetry, David Rat shares the heaven and hell of a “Junkies Lament.” The painted picture reveals an honest glimpse of the hell and hope every junkie lives on a daily basis.
But that is not what this is about. A deeper read reveals a slice of humanity at its rawest level.
It reveals the strength and spirituality of a good soul, simply along for the ride.
David carries the reader down a dark alley; one littered with lost lives, lost loves, and lost souls. He shares the secret unknown to most, “there but for the grace of god go I.” Believe it!
But don’t despair through the tears of this read. For in the end, it is really about redemption and the rising of a soul. I found it to be an excellent read and roadmap for the important things in life.
J.K. Dark ~ Author Dark Harbors, Dark Thoughts & Dark Forces, Anecdotes, Short Stories & Mind Clutter.
For David:
A junkie's sick
A monkey's strong
That's what's wrong
Oh my god, a monkey can move a man
Send him to hell
And home again
With an empty hand in the afternoon
Shooting for the moon
~ James Taylor A Junkies Lament
But that is not what this is about. A deeper read reveals a slice of humanity at its rawest level.
It reveals the strength and spirituality of a good soul, simply along for the ride.
David carries the reader down a dark alley; one littered with lost lives, lost loves, and lost souls. He shares the secret unknown to most, “there but for the grace of god go I.” Believe it!
But don’t despair through the tears of this read. For in the end, it is really about redemption and the rising of a soul. I found it to be an excellent read and roadmap for the important things in life.
J.K. Dark ~ Author Dark Harbors, Dark Thoughts & Dark Forces, Anecdotes, Short Stories & Mind Clutter.
For David:
A junkie's sick
A monkey's strong
That's what's wrong
Oh my god, a monkey can move a man
Send him to hell
And home again
With an empty hand in the afternoon
Shooting for the moon
~ James Taylor A Junkies Lament
February 26, 2013
I imagine David Rat as the kind of guy you bump into at a crowded party while waiting for a chance at the keg, then you end up forgetting all about the beer and instead spending the whole night exchanging strange stories, or in his case, being enthralled by his strange life.
Don't get me wrong, I mean strange in the nicest way- the most intriguing way.
His poetry in Happy Ending felt like a rock musical. There was the perfect combination of angst, sorrow, pain and pleasure. It was just as heartfelt and messy and real as rock and roll. And that "reality" of his work is all the more endearing. You'll forgive the errors, and wish someone had pushed him a bit harder, a bit longer.
Rat's not the kind of poet your English teacher made you read, and he's nothing you'll soon forget. Trust me.
Don't get me wrong, I mean strange in the nicest way- the most intriguing way.
His poetry in Happy Ending felt like a rock musical. There was the perfect combination of angst, sorrow, pain and pleasure. It was just as heartfelt and messy and real as rock and roll. And that "reality" of his work is all the more endearing. You'll forgive the errors, and wish someone had pushed him a bit harder, a bit longer.
Rat's not the kind of poet your English teacher made you read, and he's nothing you'll soon forget. Trust me.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews