Under the Influence

by Phil Hamman

“You’re going to end up in prison!” Phil Hamman was told this repeatedly while growing up. His life was spiraling out of control. A dismal home life with an abusive, con-artist father who drank, gambled, womanized, and disappeared for days taught Hamman all the wrong lessons. Even appearing before judges, ending up in jail, being sent to the hospital at the hands of the police, and dealing with the murder of his best friend did not deter him. He fought back against the world, refusing to be brought to his knees by anyone. Cheating death became a way of life. One day he stepped into a parking lot at a predestined moment, and his life’s course began to change. Fate propelled him from the streets of a harsh, impoverished neighborhood and put him face-to-face with troubled teenagers and the challenge to be their positive influence. Under the Influence is packed with firsthand accounts of violence, death, bullies, street fights, love, and a powerful message that will warm the heart, and leave an indelible mark on the reader.

139 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 4, 2013

About the author

Phil Hamman is the co-author of the #1 national best selling true crime book Gitchie Girl. He also has two memoirs published by eLectio Publishing that profile his struggles to rise above a dysfunctional childhood marked with domestic violence and poverty. One serendipitous night drove him from his criminal path and put him on the road to becoming a teacher who mentored and taught students with behavior disorders.

Reviews

[Michelle Pick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Under the Influence is an interesting memoir from Midwest teacher Phil Hamman. The stories chronicle his tough upbringing in and around Sioux Falls, South Dakota. His laid back, warm style of writing makes it easy and enjoyable to read. These tales serve as inspiration; if this young boy with so much going against him can turn around these trials and use them to better not only himself, but countless lives of his students and colleagues, that is certainly a success story. Under the Influence will be of particular interest to Midwesterners and those who grew up facing seemingly insurmountable odds, but will be enjoyed by any reader.

[Kitty · Rating 1 out of 5]

NOTE: Please see my comment to Kallie Shine, evidently she doesn't seem to think I am allowed to make an account so I can review this book. It is OK for her to paste, copy and go to different sites, but she alludes to the fact that there is something wrong with me doing it?? She has also accused me of posting under fake names, not true! There ARE reviews from others disputing things in the book on the other sites & it appears that if he gets any negative comments they want to give me ALLL the credit for them, but it is obvious which ones I have written. I have nothing to gain financially or otherwise from stating the facts. I am not trying to tout the "Wonder of Me", nor am I trying to have a best seller or make money by coming in the back door and STILL bullying, abusing, running people and their lives down and lying about others & disguising it as a memoir.(Leopards certainly don't change their spots). I have said repeatedly, if he had written a book about himself and his unsavory co-horts, told the real truth about our family, fine, but you do not lie about our family and PRETEND to have overcome something you ABSOLUTELY DID NOT DO. I want the truth out there. Plus there are also a couple of other points that I made with her that I had wanted to point out on other sites but there are just so many lies that need to be addressed that I was never able to point them all out. Also on the KSOO & Rick Knobe site, it is stated that he doubted many things written in the book but had no proof otherwise and he also stated that he had spoken with a police officer who doubted that many of the things written had actually happened that involved law enforcement. Unfortunately people read, but don't think or reason stuff out. MY REVIEW: I am the sister of the author and I am very upset that this book is being touted as truth. Had the book been marketed as fiction I would have no problem with it. My life has been portrayed in an ugly and untrue light. I can shed light on the truth of most things written in the book as can our sister. I did not buy the book because other family members that are livid about the book had contacted me in regards to the things being said that were false. When you read it remember the old adage, Believe only half of what you see and nothing that you hear! There was absolutely no domestic violence against our mom in our house. My dad never ever touched my mom, drug her by her hair, broke her glasses, held a knife to her throat or threatened to kill her, none of that is true. We threw away more food than we ate, no one ever had to give up their food for anyone. REMEMBER we had chickens, pigs etc we butchered, (not by our backdoor) and my dad and others hunted so we had pheasant, deer, geese, ducks etc. We ate out almost weekly as a family. My dad never ever tipped our table over in anger or drunkeness. We never sat on the floor eating in fear. We were not afraid of my dad when he was drinking OR sober because for one he was not allowed to drink at home for any reason or occasion. I never even saw a beer in our fridge the whole time I was growing up. #2, Our dad did come home drunk but he wasn't a mean drunk at all, just stupid and we usually didn't even see him because he came home after the bars closed and we were in bed. My dad was actually more afraid of my mom when she got mad not the other way around. We were not poor. We had horses and our parents bought us our first cars when we turned 15. We had 6 aunts & uncles that didn't have kids so they also gave us most anything we wanted or needed. So had there been no money or no food they would have made sure we had anything we needed. Growing up we never missed a fair, circus or carnival. We went on family vacations, California, camping etc. Our christmas's, they were always huge, we always got the newest toys, one year Phil got a squirrel monkey. I don't recall ever wanting for anything as a kid. My parents did buy a house outside of the city limits so we could have animlas and the house was small to begin with but they saw potential for improvements. We put on a huge addition, knocked out a wall to make us girls room bigger since we shared one. It was the 60's & 70's, houses did not have master baths and bedrooms. It was a great place to grow up. There was never any drinking not even beer, let alone fighting when we got together with "The Hillbillies", just extended family visiting the cemetaries where family was buried and eating, playing, catching up, just your basic good times. When Phil got older, I never saw Phil beat up ever, no bruises, no stitches, no arms in slings. I m not denying what he says he did in the dark of night, because I wasn't with him but I never heard of him going to court. Our uncle was a cop & most of the cops knew who we were so I doubt the cops beat up one of their own's family member. This book needs to be taken with a grain of salt. It was written by a master story teller but very little of it is true. To dispel all the untruths I would have to write my own book and I would include the real truth of our family, which was not idealistic, so don't mean to leave that impression, just absolutely not what this book says it was.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phil's book is a tribute to all who have overcome challenges to lead a good life. Some phrases sound trite, but Under the Influence truly is inspiring in the way the characters interact. The struggles, decisions,and leaps of faith reminded me of how strong we all can be.
Forging a new life while not forgetting your roots and failures is a huge feat. This book will give encouragement to those currently in a position where they don't see a "way out." Each chapter has parts that will make you shiver, cry and even chuckle. It's definitely a memoir that should be in your personal library.

[Tammy · Rating 1 out of 5]

IS NO ONE NOTICING THE LARGE GAP IN THE RATINGS?? Please think about this! When are people going to give us in Norton the benefit of the doubt??? I can understand that people might feel it is inspirational and that Hamman is positively affecting the lives of youth, and I have no issues with that, but why did he have to do it by running us down and telling all these lies about us? Why did he have to mention us at ALL? Why not just tell stories of his teen years, AFTER he moved out of Norton, and just leave us out of it? And how great can he be NOW if he has to lie to make himself look great? Norton Acres wasn’t and isn’t the slums that he portrays in his book! In the 70’s we were a rural community, not even part of the city. Norton Acres is like a family and I’m not ashamed of it like he is.
This book is FULL of lies, but the thing that disgusts me the most is how he uses the deaths of some of the people in our neighborhood, and even people who weren’t from there, to gain sympathy for the “trauma” he experienced when he had nothing to do with these deaths! Lila Mae moved into the neighborhood shortly before she died, and she was older than him and he probably didn’t know her. The Gitchie Manitou murders didn’t happen in Norton and none of the people involved lived there. The person who committed suicide wasn’t a guy, it was a young woman, and she wasn’t left for days like Hamman claims, so he couldn’t have “smelled” it, as he said. She was found within minutes by her uncle. And Phil couldn’t have seen the “mess” through a window, because she was UPSTAIRS. Also Jimmy wasn’t hit within 30 yards from that house, he was hit nearer the corner of Wayland and 31st, a block away from that house. I remember the accident well. I don’t think anyone witnessed it, but we all were waiting for the bus and heard the commotion and went to the accident after we heard the screaming. It was late October and it was cold out so no flies “crusted the blood” nor did the blood remain on the road, it was washed off right away. The scream was not from the mother, who wasn’t even there, it was from Ruby, the woman who hit him. The accident happened early in the morning as he walked up to Cliff Ave to catch the bus like he did every day. I can’t believe Hamman could use the story of Jimmy’s death in this book just to pretend to be traumatized by it and play the victim, like he does with all the lies about Norton Acres!! I could go on forever, because this book is infuriating. Look it up! Read our reviews! EVEN HIS SISTERS are trying to tell everyone that it’s not the truth!! Jimmy S’s family is just now hearing about this and they will probably have something to say as well. And if Hamman thinks he has so much support from Norton, why hasn’t he done a book signing up here? We had to hear about it on the radio (KSOO, who also doubts what he writes) and in the Argus (who has since pulled the article)!
The most hurtful and irritating thing is that he portrayed us in a way that makes us sound uneducated, uncivilized, “dysfunctional” as he puts it, and violent. Life in Norton Acres wasn’t perfect, what neighborhood is, but it was fun and safe. People, please. If you want to give him credit for something, do it at school or on a plaque, but don’t give him five stars for telling lies and hurting others like he does in this book, not by giving this book the even more power to hurt us by blindly endorsing a lie. I think that’s called bullying and you are all standing around cheering him on. You’re part of the problem. Why do you think so many of us are now coming forward to try to set the record straight and defend ourselves? At least give us the benefit of the doubt! If you DON’T know the facts, DON’T HELP HIM continue to slander us. If you KNEW the facts, you WOULDN’T be supporting this book.

[Pam Townsend · Rating 1 out of 5]

In reading this book, I found many things stated in the book untrue.  As said in other reviews, I am NOT a relative of the author. I grew up in the neighborhood until I was in the 9th grade and went to school and knew the author.  Things he said that were false such as people had no money for food and necessities, but were able to drive nice cars and buy a monkey.  Funny thing I remember the author being the exact person to be the one who owned a monkey. One time a cousin of mine went to his house to play and Phil threw monkey feces at him. Obviously my cousin turned and left the authors house. Who was the bully there???  I think Phil had so many issues himself that everything else around him had to be the same way.  He talks about being afraid of riding the bus.  Well he didn't ride the bus. He was one of the few kids who drove to Axtell to school.  I rode on those buses and there were not the things done to us girls as he stated.  As far as people all on welfare assistance and never working, my father worked 30 years at John Morrell and retired from there.  He was a very hard working man and made sure that all 6 of us kids had everything we needed.  We walked thru the streets with no shoes because it was what we wanted to do NOT because they couldn't buy shoes for us.  As far as the beatings the author took from other kids, it was probably because of his smart mouth comments and his arrogance.  It isn't that I feel that everything in the book was false, but I think the truth was stretched too much. I had most of my best childhood years living in that neighborhood. I am a successful woman who works hard and can say I have no psychological issues, nor anyone in my family as he seems to think we all did. I would only recommend this book to be read by people who knew him personally, so that THEY could see what he has to say about the area that we grew up in.  It is an area of middle to lower income, but NOT in the text that he describes it to be.   I currently have family that lives in the area and they still find the neighborhood very comfortable and they are successful as well(contrary to how the author portrays us)  
TWO THUMBS DOWN--Pam Townsend

[Erl · Rating 1 out of 5]

My name is Ellie and anyone who lived in Norton Acres knows who I am. I read this book because it was written by someone I knew and about a place where I lived. I read the reviews and placed a review of my own on Barnes and Nobles and Amazon. My review states that if you want to know the real truth look up the article on KSOO Dec 13 written by former Mayor Rick Knobe about how the authors sisters come to the defense of their family, friends and neighborhood. They speak of the REAL truth with nothing to gain from it but the piece of mind that comes from stating the facts. The poor conditions of the neighborhood are extremely over exaggerated and the author belittles the people who lived there then and now. Read the reviews also on Amazon and Barnes and Nobles from his sisters and from the people who also lived in this area. What a difference our memories of the Hammans and our neighborhood are from what was written in this book.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an avid reader, I enjoy reading books of all subjects, genres, and eras. When I found out my dad was getting a memoir published it obviously went to the top of my list! I had read an early excerpt, but was anxious and curious to see how the whole thing would turn out. I really enjoyed the writing style; a storytelling format where each chapter is a short story that fits within the big picture. I actually read the book in one setting and could not put the book down. As a teacher I found many parts inspiring, as a daughter I found some parts difficult to read, and as a person I found the message to be uplifting. If you have a teenager at home, have gone through your own struggles, enjoy memoirs, or simply want to read a unique book, you will love Under the Influence.

[Alice Kruse · Rating 5 out of 5]

It gives hope that you can improve your life. It was inspirational and a quick read, too.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for teachers! The author's painful past gives insight into what motivates students to learn and to be good citizens. I wish I'd had this understanding into the minds of my students when I first started teaching. The book is captivating, inspiring, and a fast-paced read for a quick weekend afternoon read.

[Donna Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I often tell my kids that in Seattle, there isn't anything that could be considered a real ghetto. We have a few rough areas, especially where there are housing projects, but to find a ghetto, you need to leave the Pacific Northwest (USA) and go to Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Detroit...

Or you could visit Sioux Falls, Iowa. Stop by the Norton-Froedlich Projects, for example, unless they have very much improved since our writer, Phil Hamman, grew up there. Thanks to his generosity and Goodreads.com's First Reads program, I got a sneak peek.

His stories of childhood are among the most violent and harrowing of any I have heard anywhere. There are dead babies, mean animals, violent and unpredictable role models...I would be amazed if the children in his family did not all have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder by the time they could speak.

Hamman has a gift with words, and this could turn itself into a four or five star publication with some fairly small changes. There are often only two pages of text to a chapter, and I see transition sentences halfway down the page that make me want to get out an editing pencil and scribble a backwards "P" for paragraph. And there are issues with pacing.

I've seen this before. A writer is often ready to tell us every dark and gritty detail of the long-ago past, but they suddenly roll the brush much wider when they get to their most recent years. If a person doesn't want to let go of the privacy that telling their story entails, or their family members object, I think it's better just to talk about the time period when they can go ahead and tell the story with all of the salient details that create a bond with the reader. If they have to cut corners with the more recent past, the reader feels cheated; better to either change a few details to provide some facsimile of privacy, or write a book that only deals with the writer's life during the time period they really want to talk about. And Hamman has fallen into this mold.

There are so many more things he can do with this book (for future releases) if he chooses. He mentions three people who broke up the horror a little bit by providing him with a work ethic and hope for the future. He could talk more about that. This would surely make this adrenaline-crashing, soul-searing writing easier to read without breaks. (I confess, I couldn't take it; I had nightmares and had to read sparingly. And I haven't really had a particularly insular life.)

There are a lot of places where I want to stop the writer for a moment and say, "Wait! Flesh this out. Tell me more."

The joy of self-publishing is that writers that have been rejected by mainstream publishers can find a second chance, but the downside is that without editors and literary agents, sometimes work is published before it has reached its final glory. Hamman needs a good editor to help him put meat on this skeleton's bones.

This is probably a maddening thing for the writer to see, given the amount of well-spent time he already has devoted to what is really very good writing. But for professional polish, he needs to flesh some areas out, and perhaps reduce his present life to a post-script if he isn't willing to let go of details. His entire last 30+years come out as a tiny proportion of his story, and it feels rushed and glossed over.

The capacity to make his stories from his youth vivid, fresh, and raw is unmistakeable. Given some time and perhaps some assistance from an editor, he might be the next Russell Banks. As it is, Under the Influence is a worthy read for those who enjoy memoirs, and especially to teachers who work with poor kids.

For anyone who believes, deep down, that the poor are living soft on the public's dole, read this book. You will find it enlightening!

[Lynnette Townsend · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am very unhappy reading a book with sooooo many lies. I know they are lies because I was born and raised in Norton Addition. Froehlich was a separate neighborhood. Norton was never anything like the book stated. I loved it there and never felt unsafe. We went walking late at night and hung out with friends and never got harassed. I give a high five to the author for turning his dysfunctional life into something positive and he has the right to brag about it in the book but I don’t appreciate the fact that the he used the Norton community to blame for his dysfunctional life. It is wrong. Us kids were never bullied growing up in Norton. Parents were not out encouraging fights. He said he heard fighting and arguing coming from open windows while walking down the streets all the time? Not true at all. My cousin as he called him, “Maggot”, was far from being a bully. He was a small skinny kid. I remember the whole family of my cousins had this nickname (thanks to the author?) but all of them are small and nothing close to bullies. There were some small homes to start out with back in the days for people long before you were born but It was a home. Where are the pictures of the many nice 1,2, 3, 4, 5 bedroom homes that were and are still there in Norton Addition? The pictures of the “homes” in the book are misleading. The “tarred roof” pictured was a shed and not a house. Get it right. The pump house has nothing to do with Norton or Froehlich Addition. A few accidents happened and he wants to blame somebody as if it was intentional. They were accidents and nothing else but. He gets pretty dramatic over some things that had nothing to do with him. Stories were overblown and some were just plain made up. It is full of lies.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Phill Hammon's story of overcoming an abusive childhood is both powerful and inspiring. He paints an unforgettable picture of what life was like for him in an impoverished housing project in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Hammon is a good story teller, but as has been stated in another review, this book would have greatly benefited from a professional editor. It's a series of stories loosely strung together, grouped into three parts. It lacks a sense of cohesion. One chapter doesn't lead to the next. Instead it's a series of random anecdotes, some of them left me wanting to know more, and others didn't seem necessary to his overall story.

A memoir is by far the most difficult book to write, especially a memoir of an abusive childhood. Hammon has a good story to tell, and I hope to see an edition where his story is presented in the best way possible.

This was a Goodreads First Reads Giveaway.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick easy read, an accounting of his growing up in an abusive circumstances in Sioux Falls SD. The writing is pretty good, makes the reader want to stay with/involved in the book. The title is appropriate. I'll read his other books too!