Hot Girl Summer: “Darkness to Light”

Summer 2019 is behind us and you know what, I didn’t do a darn thing.  I didn’t visit one beach, pool or amusement park this year.  My “Hot Girl Summer” consisted of going to work, going to church going to brunch a few times.  All of my adventures and drama came from reading.  That’s a good and bad thing at the same time.  Ice could have been covering the ground and it would not have made much of a difference to me.  I’m going to share and review what I read this summer.

My first review is “Darkness to Light” by Lamar Odom.

This was a good read.  I think you’ll enjoy it if you’re an NBA fan or a person that enjoys celebrity gossip.  I enjoy both.  This story is about the life of NBA champion Lamar Odom.  The book begins with the Lamar’s parents’ star crossed love story.  Then we learn about his experiences as a basketball phenom.  He wrote about his college days and his early years in the NBA.  That lead into his prime years in LA, his marriage into a reality TV family, his decline and then the day he ODed in a whorehouse in Nevada and near death experience.

Lamar is mild mannered and non assuming.  In interviews he came across as having a passive personality.  I felt like he was being bullied by some of the female entertainment journalists that interviewed him while he was promoting this book.  But man, Lamar has had a wild, glamorous and fabulous life.  The man has been to parties where Prince and Whitney Houston were in attendance.  He’s been to Hollywood movie premiers and he’s been in an NBA champion victory parade, twice.

This book made a few impressions on me.  First of all, Lamar Odom is a lucky duck.  He was a drug abuser for years and dodged punishment for his habit.  He was a high functioning drug addict who didn’t suffer repercussions professionally and managed to have a wildly successful career.

His personal relationships were what paid the price for his addictions.  He lost the relationship he had with his high school sweetheart and mother of his two children.  His relationship with Taraji Henson was destroyed.  And he famously divorced Khloe Kardashian.  Lamar suffered the loss of his mother to cancer while he was a young boy and he continues to struggle with her death.  But drug and sex is what ruined his romances and marriage.

Secondly, this book taught me that pro athletes are basically raised by recruiters and coaches.  The influence and place that these men have in the lives of young athletes is significant.  As a sports fan there are certain things that make sense to me now as an observer.  (I’ll keep those things to myself)  Coaches and recruiters play a father like role to up and coming young men.  In Lamar’s story they looked out for his interests but they also viewed him as a product to be protected so their motivations were not purely altruistic.

I also learned that Kris Jenner is a huge B word.  This woman is willing sell her own children out for fame and a payday.  That Kardashian/Jenners are opportunistic and take their family business very seriously.  The business is more important than the family.  Perhaps you all already figured that out but I am a little slow and naïve.  I’ve honestly always admired Kris Jenner but I’m sure a lot of people admire Judas for a while too.  I won’t go into detail because I don’t want to spoil things for you.

NBA fans will get a kick out of Lamar’s behind the scenes stories.  He drops names throughout this book quite a bit.  Of course he mentions Kobe.  He grew up with Ron Artest aka Metta World Peace.  He had a terrible relationship with Mark Cuban while he was in Dallas and Phil Jackson was a hero to him.  I wish the booked focused on his NBA career more.

If you are interested in NBA, Hollywood glamour, the Kardashians, overcoming addictions or near death experiences.  You might enjoy “Darkness to Light”.  There’s something in it for just about everyone.  I certainly enjoyed the book.