UP IN FLAMES: Memoirs of a Billionaire's Brat

by Paul Flamer

When Paul Flamer was twenty-three years old, he met Jeffrey, a wealthy tech mogul who introduced this small-town boy from Texas to the finer things in life. Jeffrey whisked Paul away on international trips, bought him fancy cars and multiple houses — and eventually, a green diamond wedding ring. There was a dark side to this seeming fantasy, though. In addition to funding Paul's designer wardrobe, Jeffrey also financed his increasing dependence on drugs. Unable to come out to his judgmental family, Paul began living a double On one hand, the straitlaced, patriotic airman; on the other, a reckless party boy and billionaire's brat. Paul would lose Jeffrey, his money, his dignity, and very nearly his own life before he learned the true meaning of RuPaul's anthem, "If you can't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?" Barnstorming through Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, Austin, Las Vegas, Sydney, London, and Ramstein, Germany, UP IN FLAMES follows one man's around-the-world journey to reconcile addiction and ambition, religion and sexuality, and how sometimes the only way out may just be to burn it all down.

262 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 5, 2020

About the author

Paul was born and raised in Texas. He left the state to spend four years in the Air Force, the last two of which were at a base in Utah. Utah was also where he embarked upon a tumultuous relationship with a billionaire that would take him around the world several times over, with many adventures and mishaps along the way. Eventually, he ended up back in Texas, where he lives today in Austin with his lovable schnauzers Bentley and Sasha. UP IN FLAMES is his first book.

Reviews

[Jess Hagemann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine the craziest, most jaw-dropping, made-up-sounding story you can--and then read UP IN FLAMES. Not only does every word of Paul Flamer's experience ring true (Flamer is extremely honest and vulnerable in this book), but he puts novels with their "surprise twists" to shame. You won't see coming what happens as he falls in love for the first time, comes into money for the first time, tries drugs for the first time ... just to find they're all gateways into a world from which there may be no return.

[Dale Thele · Rating 5 out of 5]

'UP IN FLAMES – Memories of a Billionaire's Brat' by Paul Flamer is a well written and fast-paced read. A roller-coaster journey of the author's life, complete with the highest of peaks to the deepest depths along with sharp curves and turns. An emotional struggle to find self-worth and love amidst an angry world filled with chemical dependence and self-destruction. Yet through all the trials the Universe throws at him—he comes out bruised and battered—but a better person. For anyone struggling with life's challenges, Paul offers hope and a promise of a better tomorrow.

[Brad Patton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rooted for Paul at every dark turn and breathed a sigh of relief in his corner at every light filled growth in his life. What a well written narrative of a journey that is sometimes jaw dropping and sometimes causes one to clutch the pearls, but always a very obvious telling of one’s true search to find a more meaningful hope in this wild ride called life.