THE WANDERER: Dion's Story

by Dion with Davin Seay DiMucci ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 26, 1988

Rock star Dion fights his way out of the teen-idol mold in this gutsy bit of confessional writing, a fanriliar but moving autobiography of ""the Mook with the Most who ended up with a whole lot of nothing."" Success came early to this Italian street-kid from the Bronx--by 11, he was wowing the troops at Fort Dix with his pearly voice and silver strumming; a few years later, he linked up with the Belmonts and released his first hit, ""The Chosen Few."" But we know how the story goes: as the career soars, the home-life nose-dives. Dion joined a street gang and watched several of his friends go down in rumbles. He was expelled from seven high schools. And he became a junkie, gulfing down pills, smack, booze, and pot while churning out one smash hit after another. He made movies, he made millions. He married a wonderful wife. Then, when record execs tried to turn him into a junior Frank Sinatra, he incinerated all his song scripts and began to haunt Greenwich Village, tapping his foot to Bob Dylan and Muddy Waters. His personal descent ended with a stint in a psycho ward. Dion describes his crash from the heights without sparing himself (""1 stood in front of the mirror. 'You creep,' I sobbed. 'You pathetic creep'""). He's just as up-front about his mystical revelations, culminating in a 1979 vision of Jesus, which helped lead him back to probity, sobriety, and a rejuvenated career. Dion offers no concessions here to rockers, bom-again Christians, or gossip mavens: the intense, compelling focus is exclusively on the Wanderer and his private shipwreck.

Pub Date: Oct. 26, 1988

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Beech Tree/Morrow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1988

Categories: NONFICTION