A Short Review of JD's book
===========================
October 10, 1994
by Corinne Smith

"Hi guys --

As promised, I finished reading TAKE ME HOME over the weekend.
I won't spoil anything and reveal details for you.  Here's my
assessment, nevertheless.

I believe John felt a need to get a lot of things off his 
chest, and that's why he decided to write a book.  It was 
probably very cathartic for him, part of a therapeutic process 
of assimilating, assessing, and accepting what's happened to 
him throughout his life.  At times it seemed as if the words 
were coming from a stream of consciousness session with a 
psychologist who began the hour by saying, "Tell me a little 
bit about your life."

Fans will read this book and will either feel disenchantment 
or empathy. The big surprise is that John's life has been far 
from idyllic, far removed from the image his followers have of 
what his lifestyle must have been like over the past years.  
He's human; he's faced the same types of problems and 
challenges that we all have.  That concept shouldn't come
as a surprise, but to the most devout fans, it'll be a severe 
jolt back to reality.

If you're one of those devotees, and you begin to feel 
disillusionment as you're commiserating over TAKE ME HOME, 
read the book from a different angle.  Think about what *you* 
were doing and feeling during the times that John talks about.  
Think about what his music and performances meant to you back 
then, while he was simultaneously dealing with other issues
that you didn't see.  When you approach the work from that 
point of view, you may come to the realization that it's a 
miracle his music and his opinions had as much impact on us as 
they did.  And still do.

I put the book down with a greater respect for John, and at 
the same time, a greater compassion for him as a person.
The next time I get the chance to shake his hand -- at next 
year's Windstar conference, I hope -- I know exactly what I 
will say to him:  "I climbed trees as a kid, too."

Corinne Smith, obsessive JD fan since 1972
chs@psulias.psu.edu"