Tales of the Titmouse

by Pamela Barrett

Pamela has been running, running from a teenage marriage, a dead-end job, and memories of a difficult childhood. In a cottage on her grandmother's property in San Gabriel, California she settles down and enrolls in the local beauty school. Through a fellow student, she meets an intriguing charismatic man. Caught up in a whirlwind romance she flies to Mexico with him and then discovers he's a man with a secret. In his world, she finds herself running again, this time running drugs. Tales of the Titmouse is written to anyone whose life has been touched by the heartache of addiction. For addicts who are lost and hopeless. For their loved ones who feel like God doesn't hear their prayers. It is a memoir, a look into the dangerous world of drug smuggling through the eyes of a 23 year old woman. The story of a young woman looking for love, looking for purpose, and trying to fill the emptiness she feels inside with all the wrong things. Pamela's journey through the darkness of the drug world is a testament to the power of a mother's prayer and the faithfulness of God.

Genres: Memoir

234 pages, Paperback

First published October 19, 2009

About the author

Pamela Barrett is an hair designer in Paso Robles, California. She and her husband, artist John Barrett live on the Central Coast. Her memoir Tales of the Titmouse: One Woman's Journey Out of Darkness takes you into the drug world of the 1970's, from smuggling marijuana to a drug overdose and miraculous deliverence. Written with a PG-13 sensitivity, it is a valuable tool to help drug addicts and their loved ones."

Reviews

[Jeffrey Crimmel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished reading Tales of the Titmouse by Pamela Barrett. This book is a very good description of what was going on in the 70s between California and Mexico. Pamela lived a very fast pace of life in the weed trade and hung out with the get rich quick crowd. She tells the reader in depth what that life style was like and how drugs covered up her insecurities she had been carrying since childhood.

Somehow she managed to survive that life style and found connection with Christianity and God. Many readers do not want to read a Christian perspective on how they were saved. Do not worry. Most of the book is her life before she found something to hang onto. She does not preach to the reader but she does let the reader know at the end that getting into Christianity saved her life.

Read the story. The 70s was a wild time and Pamela lived and survived it. Anyone into recovery could get a lot of good information from this book. Her intention is to do just that. Help recovery addicts.

Jeff Crimmel Living Beneath the Radar

[Ellen Maze · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was reading Pamela Barrett's Tales of the Titmouse, I kept flipping to the back cover and looking at her photo in incredulity. I looked into her eyes, asking, "However did you survive? However did you have the courage? The audacity? The plain-old-fashioned cahones to defy authority? I mean, look at your sweet face!"

Repeatedly, I resumed reading, more and more convinced that not only is Pamela's a miracle story, but also a heroine tale. Follow me here--yes, she broke the law and lived an unbelievably dramatic life, but she persevered, she overcame, and most importantly, she lived to tell the tale.

I think this is a very important work. I read it because I was interested in what life was like for a former drug smuggler--turned Christian gramma. But I can see it being very a therapeutic read for anyone who was in that lifestyle or knows someone who was/is.

Superbly written, with a lovely voice and writing style, I can recommend this book with confidence to anyone who enjoys memoirs.

5-Stars

Ellen C Maze
Author of Curiously Spiritual Vampire Tales
http://www.ellencmaze.com

[Hanje Richards · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Tales of the Titmouse because of my interest in memoir and addiction and recovery. Although I don't know Pamela Barrett, we have a mutual friend who told me about the book.

Pamela appears to be about the same age as I am and we have similar lengths of clean and sober time. Our paths have been different in many ways, but at the same time similar.

I think Pamela is a very good writer, and although I am a Unitarian Universalist (the church Pamela's mother didn't want her to attend), and did not find my way to sobriety through Christianity, I found it. I too have tried to serve addicts who still suffer, and I have every respect for each person's journey.

Thank you for sharing your story with me and with others, Pamela. I hope to write as well in telling my story as you do in yours.

[Kathi Dumond · Rating 5 out of 5]

captivating,it pulls you right along on this journey with pamela, aka, titmouse.a must read for anyone struggling with addictions, as well as their family and loved ones, and wondering if there is a way out.

[Luke · Rating 1 out of 5]

The cover contained a cartoonish illustration, therefore I expected it to be a children's book. It was not. Very disappointed in this terrible and depressing book.

[Emily Kestrel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have my typical mixed reaction to this memoir. Barrett excels at description, and I would definitely recommend Titmouse to anyone who is interested in the California counterculture of the 1970s and into the "Me Decade" excesses of the 1980s. The author depicts herself as a would-be free spirit, dabbling in drugs and the New Age movement (especially astrology), with a lot of unresolved baggage from her chaotic, somewhat abusive childhood. She meets a charismatic surfer/drug smuggler named "Cristobal" and his well-heeled artistic friends ("the Boys,") who introduce her to the exciting world of Mexican drug smuggling.

I really enjoyed this part of the book. Barrett paints a vivid picture, and I can understand how she was seduced into this lifestyle--lots of travel and money, a hot young love interest, and little thought for the ramifications of what she was involved in. In her descriptions of her youthful self, she comes across as being impressionable, spontaneous, and way too trusting. She seems scant on self-reflection; all is experiential and reactive at this point in her life.

But things change. She gets older (but no wiser), muddles about on her own, and binges on whatever comes her way: drugs, relationships, even EST (you know, the self-improvement "cult" that involved a lot of yelling? Which I guess was a big thing back in its day). Then she becomes a Christian and lives happily ever after.

As a conversion story, its appeal seems limited to the already converted (to that brand of very personal Christianity), which is a shame, because she seems quite sincere. I am always interested in people's spiritual journeys, but Barrett is scant on reflection here. And while I'm sure that God--no matter how you think of the Deity--does not want anyone to squander their lives to addiction, despite the author's best intentions, this book fizzles out with an earnest yet unsatisfactory: "Just Say No."

That said, I wish the author the best in her journey, and commend her for the courage of sharing her story. I do hope it finds the audience who can benefit from it most.

[Jean Scheffler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished last night!! What a fantastic book and extremely well written. A very personal story told in a non senimental way. Interesting and Intriguing all the way to the last page. I was touched by the authors honesty and belief in the power of faith. I believe this book will truly reach many people and change the lives of persons afflicted with addiction and the persons who love them.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am very excited to read this book. It sounds very interesting!

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book at Goodreads! I'm so excited to receive it in the mail. Thanks!!!

Pamela has a great testimony to share and she is a good writer.

[Lynette Norton · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far I think Pamela is amazing to have gone through so much and come in one piece. She is now able to help others make a change to their lives, that's wonderful. I can't wait to finish the book.