Paperback: THE VOICES IN MY HEAD by Charlie Stella

 Paperback: THE VOICES IN MY HEAD by Charlie Stella, 2021, 9781951473501.

The great crime novelist Charlie Stella writes a "fictional memoir" from pre-birth to, I don't know, 2018-ish?

Stella had a rotten dad. Stella had a caring mother. The rotten dad's sleazy behavior messed up the entire family. He was frequently out every night with girlfriends and not trying too hard to hide it. He uses a family mob connection to run a private department store of stolen merchandise in the basement of the family home. That family home breaks apart when Dad has an affair with a relative's wife. (Yech. What the hell is wrong with you?)  Dad claims poverty and screws over his ex-wife and children but getting out of paying any decent maintenance or child support. Dad is an awful father. Charlie just wants approval, acceptance, love, etc. All the things every child needs. Charlie gets into frequent fights. Charlie ends up going to a mental hospital a couple times. Charlie's sister craves paternal approval as well, instead of starting fights she takes on the Dad's behavior of belittling and Charlie.

Anyhoo. Charlie keeps on trucking and gets to reading. Charlie makes poor romantic decisions. Charlie makes more poor romantic decisions. Charlie sleeps around with party people. Charlie gets into loansharking and bookmaking and makes a ton of money that goes to supporting his gambling habit, his mother, his children, his ex-wives. 

I'm not going to attempt any literary interpretations or psychological analyses except to say Stella opens up a lot. I presume making it 'fictional' is a way to focus on his memory and emotions rather than fact check everything.