Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King

Say what you want about unauthorized biographies, but this was a good book. I have read a couple of books about Stephen Kings work, and I read his non-fiction book ON WRITING, and I still found this to be a delightful read. After finishing this book, I decided to re-discover the man who is King. I am currently reading PET SEMETARY (a book that King never thought should be published) and have fallen back in love with the master. Thank you to this writer for making me go back on a journey into the dark world of Stephen King.

Bought this as a gift for my mother (Stephen King love love lover!!!) She was completely happy to get it. Never read it either, which is rare! I didnt read it, but if you love Stephen, you better read this book!

My first introduction to Stephen King was SALEM'S LOT, which I read in the mid-1970s while my husband worked nights and our children were fast asleep. At that time, although I had to wake up at 6:00 to get ready for work, the story kept me up reading all night. It both fascinated and frightened me; I was too fascinated to quit turning the pages and too frightened to close my eyes. Since then, I've been a fan of King's and have read most of his novels as well as his memoir of the craft, ON WRITING. HAUNTED HEART by Lisa Rogak portrays King's life and times in a conversational tone and voice, yet in a thorough and convincing manner. The book includes facts, anecdotes, interviews, quotes, several photos and a timeline. Some of the information here are already known from news stories, magazine articles or other sources. Much of it, however, is new --- at least to me --- and I suspect to others as well. What sets this unauthorized biography apart is that Stephen King, the man and writer, is examined in the context of his times: a child raised by a single mother during the 1950s; a college student and protestor during the Vietnam era; a young father, husband and struggling writer working menial jobs in the early 1970s; a prolific and highly paid writer beginning in the mid-1970s; a generous benefactor; a loyal Red Sox fan since his childhood; a rehabilitated abuser of alcohol and drugs; a victim of a near-fatal accident at the turn of the century; a devoted husband for nearly four decades; and a proud father and grandfather. The chapter titles, which are also the names of some of King's works, give clues as to the narrative that follows. For example, Chapter 1, "Apt Pupil," covers King's early childhood and formative years. His terrifying accident and recovery after being hit by a van are discussed in Chapter 12, "Misery." HAUNTED HEART contains personal information about King that I have never read before, most notably about his wife, Tabitha, and their three children, Naomi, Joe and Owen. While the anecdotes about the loyalty and love of Tabitha and their devotion to their kids complement the biography, I had hoped it would've included photos of them, as well as his mother Ruth and brother Donald. Nevertheless, I found HAUNTED HEART to be an interesting and a readable book. I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about Stephen King, the incomparable writer who has created some of the most haunting stories that have fascinated and frightened readers for decades. --- Reviewed by Donna Volkenannt

In "Haunted Heart," her unauthorized Stephen King biography, Lisa Rogak presents a straightforward look into the major events of King's life, from his birth into an impoverished family to the multi-millionaire lifestyle he lives today. And despite how heavily the book depends on secondary sources, and all the media attention given to King for more than three decades now, even passionate Stephen King followers should come away from it with a better understanding of the man. Any potential revelations in the book originate in Rogak's speculation about how King's childhood shaped him into the writer, and the man, he is today, not from the well-known facts about his youth and his career. Stephen King does not remember his father, a man who, as the story goes, went down to the corner one evening for a pack of cigarettes and never returned. King's mother never remarried and it was only by working multiple jobs when they came her way, and with substantial help from her sisters, that she was able to keep Steve and his brother together. The resulting insecurity King felt as a child convinced him that the world is a dangerous place filled with countless scary things wholly deserving his fear. He admits that he fears most of them and that the only way he can escape those fears, even temporarily, is to write about them - something for which his fans should be grateful. Rogak describes the depth of King's addiction to drugs and alcohol in great detail. However, the surprising thing is not King's alcoholism or past drug use, neither of which is much of a secret these days. Rather, the surprise is how productive King was during even the worst years of his addictions. To put it into perspective, consider that he has no memory of the exhaustive editing process he went through to finalize Cujo or the fact that he was almost constantly drunk or stoned during the entire time he directed his first motion picture but still managed to finish the project. "Haunted Heart" does well in its chronological presentation of Stephen King's life, and Lisa Rogak's assessment of what made King into the superstar writer that he is today is an interesting, if not new, theory. Readers looking for the basic Stephen King story will not be disappointed but one has to wonder what King's take would be on all the speculation about what makes him tick. Unfortunately, without King's participation or response we will never know how close to the truth Rogak and others have managed to get. Stephen King fans will appreciate Rogak's efforts but will, at the same time, wish that King had made himself available to her.

If you love Stephen King and want to learn what makes him tick, this is the book for you. Easily understandable with some great pics, too, and I am halfway through, loving every minute of it!!!