Hit Hard: A Story of Hitting Rock Bottom at the Top [With Earbuds] (Playaway Adult Nonfiction) [Preloaded Digital Audio Player]

I don't know exactly what I expected when I began to read "Hit Hard," Joey Kramer's "Story of Hitting Rock Bottom from the Top." As an avid Aerosmith fan, I assumed there would be a fair dose of fascinating Aerosmith history, including various tales of overindulgence in sex, drugs and whatever else comes with being a huge rock star. While the book does not disappoint in that respect, it is so much more. No question Joey is an interesting guy who seemed to have had a great life, but you would have no idea how truly difficult his life was, or how real and honest he is, until you read this book.

I never knew very much about Joey Kramer personally, as other band members tend to take center stage and news about the band is often news about them. He is obviously an incredibly talented drummer, who carries the band forward in a hard rocking style that is pretty much unmatched by any other band I have ever heard. In live performances by Aerosmith, you can't fail to notice how central Joey's role is: every band member at one time or another gravitates over to stand by Joey, as if to more closely connect to the center of the band's power. But other than knowing that Joey, as all the other "bad boys" of Aerosmith, had abused drugs and alcohol, that he was responsible for the band's name, and seemed to have been married forever to his lovely wife April, I knew virtually nothing about his backgound or his life.

The book begins with a stunning foreward by Nikki Sixx (whose own recent memoir, "Heroin Diaries," was as raw and painful as it gets), which helps to prepare one emotionally for what is to follow. What you learn from the outset is that Joey Kramer's life has been plagued by demons -- primarily the abuse he suffered at his father's hands -- which has tainted the most important relationships in his life, and caused him to avoid rather than deal with important emotions like anger and hurt. While Joey focused on and hid in his music, and numbed himself with drugs and alcohol, these feelings -- of inadequacy and resentment -- were continuously "stuffed down" until they finally exploded and Joey experienced a crippling "nervous breakdown." Joey talks openly and honestly about his journey back from this abyss, and how incredibly difficult it was for him to fully accept and feel good about himself again.

It is impossible not to be affected by Joey's story. I cried when I read Joey's account of finally losing the father who he clearly loved so dearly, but who had done so much emotional damage to him, and how he ultimately dealt with that loss. The road back for Joey has been long and not without potholes. I cried again when I realized that the story was not going to end with Joey and April Kramer walking off into the sunset as a healed and emotionally healthy couple. While I am sad for that loss, I am happy that Joey has found a new relationship in which he feels more grounded and complete.

The most touching aspect of this story, for me, is the courage it took for Joey to face his demons, to deal with them, and to emerge a stronger, healthier person. If that were not enough, he has told his story with honesty and grace, and I believe he really did this to try to help others who may feel that, once you are as far down as he was, there is no coming back.

Very interesting. Not the best written but I learned some stuff about Aerosmith and about drumming. Plus I got some insight into how someone else copes with anxiety and depression.
I did notice he barely mentioned his accident where he was burned at a gas station. Other than mentioning it was very painful. He also didn't mention a lot about his son. What kind of father he is since he got off drugs. He mentioned a lot about his dad because that's where his issues were at. It did make me cry a little. I can understand it's hard to forgive someone when they are dead and you can't talk it out. He did try to forgive his dad before he died but with his dad having Parkinson's he couldn't communicate. Sometimes you just got to let it go and move on. I think he's finally doing that.

Before I read "Hit Hard: A Story Of Hitting Rock Bottom At The Top" I always thought of Joey Kramer as the drummer of the band Aerosmith and I didn`t think much more of him, his bandmates Steven Tyler and Joe Perry always got the attention so Kramer was never really in the spotlight. He was pretty much just there and we rarely heard anything about him. When Kramer`s biography came out in 2009 I read it out of curiosity, wanting to learn more about Joey and read what his life was like. I was shocked at how hard and painful his life must have been, I just assumed he was happy because he looked happy, it wasn`t necessarily the case. Kramer has been emotionally troubled since he was a child and for a long time lived a life of addiction and lies. He`s a rockstar today but underneath the success, recognition and fame was a sad and miserable clown still affected by the emotional and physical damage his family and more specifically his father did to him as a child and a teenager. Kramer will be the first to admit that he didn`t know how to deal with his problems so he hid them in drugs and alcohol for most of his life. Hit Hard is an interesting story and Joey had a lot of courage just writing this book, as Motley Crue`s Nikki Sixx said "Joey had the balls to see what`s underneath the hood and fix it. Being a rockstar was easy compared to that".

Kramer goes into important events of his life and how they affected him. He talks about his childhood and the abuse he suffered at the hands of his dad, his teenage years when he discovered music, girls, alcohol and drugs and drumming. Then he goes into the relationships he had with various people and how he left home as a teenager, went to College in Boston became the drummer for Aerosmith and made it big. There`s also the rehabs and what I`d call "emotional rehabs" because he was so troubled later on in his life he couldn`t do much but cry. There`s also happier moments like when he had success with Aerosmith and albums like "Toys In The Attic", "Rocks" and "Get A Grip" or when he met his future wife April. Yet mostly the story reads like one terrible event after another, for example Joe Perry quit Aerosmith and it wasn`t the same, Joey`s house burned down, he suffered from depression, his father died... But in the end it`s a happy ending, Kramer`s life experiences have made him a better and stronger person today which he acknowledges in the book.

Hit Hard is more about Joey Krammer the man and less about Joey Kramer the guy from Aerosmith, there are parts where he writes about the band and the music but it`s mostly about one man`s goal; accepting himself and not always having to please others in order to feel good. Because of the physical abuse he suffered from his father, Mickey Kramer, Joey led a troubled life and was never an entirely secure person. It`s almost as if his relationship with his father blocked some aspects of his life, it plays a big role in the book. Joey tells us all what he`s been trough and how he finally came to accept himself and forgave his father for all the harm he did. It`s fantastic to see that Kramer saw the light after going through terrible things. He also tells us about his sometimes difficult relationship with Steven Tallarico (Tyler) and how he often saw him as his father in certain ways. One thing I appreciated of Joey was that he never blamed anyone for anything and never said "he did this, he`s that, I hate him...." in the book and it made for a much better reading experience.

Hit Hard is an excellent rock`n`roll biography, it tells a great and captivating story that`s worth reading. Kramer`s book didn`t change my life but it certainly changed some of my perspectives on life and gave me something to talk about. If you`re an Aerosmith fan it`s definitely a book you`ll want to read, for others it`s still a great book. If you`re looking for more Aerosmith content you will be deceived, buy Walk This Way instead, however if you`re curious like I was buy this one you won`t be deceived. No pain, no gain, that`s the story of Aerosmith`s Joey Kramer. 4 and a half stars.