STEVEN ADLER

My Appetite For Destruction

By Shane Pinnegar

Flipping through the pages of Steven Adler’s autobiography “My Appetite For Destruction”, I found it hard to fathom how anyone could be SO wilfully self destructive and self sabotaging as this seemingly happy go lucky man.

I feel an empathy with Steven up to a point – I’ve been called both self destructive and self sabotaging more than a few times myself, though my only poison is alcohol. Adler’s addictions and sheer bloody-mindedness make my dances with the demon drink seem like I had a little too much red cordial at a Sunday school picnic.

Many people bemoan the fact that the original (ie: the REAL) Guns n’ Roses only released one full length album before disintegrating bit by bit at the hands of their megalomaniacal current day leader, but on the strength of Adler’s sordid tale – and reinforced by Slash’s similarly debauched self-titled tome – it’s a miracle they managed to make any music at all!

“My Appetite For Destruction” is mostly a good read, despite Adler’s tendency to portray himself as a big dumb puppy dog. He may not be the smartest kid on the block, but if there’s one lesson to be learned from his tale, it’s to surround yourself with a positive support network rather than consistently putting yourself in situations you can’t handle.