Slippery Steps: Rolling & Tumbling Toward Sobriety by Don McLeese

MEMOIRS ARE HIP –

Oct. 2022 –

Q. What inspired the book?

“To try to make sense of how the worst day of my life became one of the best days of my life. I often understand something best through the process of writing about it.”

Q. What surprised you in the process?

“How one thing in my life led to another, including parts of my life that I haven’t thought about in decades and almost seem like they had happened to a different person.”

Q. What do you want people to take from it?

“That you don’t need to be a down-and-out drunk for sobriety to change your life in some very enriching ways. But I more generally hope they consider it a story worth telling and well written.”

McLeese’s greatest local rock bands of all time?

“The Paul Butterfield Blues Band: I could give a long explanation of their rock legacy, and crucial connection with Bob Dylan.”

“Cheap Trick: Yeah, Rockford, but great enough to overcome that distance.”

“The ever-expanding universe of Jon Langford bands: He came to Chicago after I left and has so deeply imprinted himself upon the city’s music, art and culture.”