Most celebrity autobiographies seem written with one eye on keeping their public image untarnished, which makes Colton Haynes's memoir all the more jaw-dropping. Miss Memory Lane is a raw, emotionally vulnerable and shockingly frank tale of family malfunction, rampant drug and alcohol abuse and poor self-esteem that leads to trouble.
Haynes was raised in a highly dysfunctional and violent home. His parents met in a Texas rehab. His father had previously been married five times and had three children, and his mother had never been married but had two kids with two different men. From a very early age, Haynes was sexually active. His first sexual experience was at the age of six with his father's adult brother. "This was the first time I had ever felt wanted," Haynes writes. He craved "the feeling of being desired, the feeling of getting someone else's attention." At age 14, he began a sexual relationship with a 42-year-old policeman. "I thought once I'd had him, I would be satisfied," he writes. "But I wasn't. I wanted more." And he certainly gets more. "I was sleeping with anyone who locked eyes with me," he adds later. At 15, he joined a top modeling agency, which led to acting roles, including Teen Wolf and Arrow. Agents and his support team encouraged him to go back into the closet and hide his sexuality. This left him feeling isolated, wrecked his already fragile self-worth and resulted in more drinking and Adderall abuse.
This unrelenting and compelling memoir is by an actor unafraid to unmask his demons. --Kevin Howell, independent reviewer and marketing consultant