“Time jumps around so much that it’s hard to remember exactly what happened,” Brian Wilson confesses in his memoir. I Am Brian Wilson isn’t a chronicle but a patchwork of memories covering childhood through stardom with The Beach Boys, dark years of mental illness and the comeback he has enjoyed in recent years. The book is organized by broad themes such as family and fear. His father encouraged his sons to sing and form a band, yet was a troubled taskmaster. Of fear, Wilson knew more than the usual share, especially once the voices in his head began to threaten his life. Nowadays he seems content, fulfilled by having brought his lost album masterpiece, Smile, to fruition. “I found love. I found a support network. I found the right doctors and the right medications,” he writes.
