BOOK TITLE: Through the Shattered Glass
AUTHOR: Jeanie Clarke (with Bradley Craig and Neil Cameron)
YEAR: 2016
GENRE: Nonfiction
SUBGENRE: Wrestling Memoir
GRADE: Mixed
Whether you know her as a villainous valet in WCW and WCCW
or the one who told Steve Austin to drink his tea before it got “stone cold”, you
will get an even deeper look into Jeanie Clarke’s life in this hard-hitting
memoir. Toxic marriages to wrestlers Chris Adams and Steve Austin, seventeen
years of pill addiction, estrangement from her daughter Jade, and a miserable
living situation have all taken their toll on this poor woman to where she
contemplated suicide at one point. Going through a successful rehab in her home
country of England
As compelling as Jeanie Clarke’s story is, the way it was
written didn’t give me the chance to feel her emotions and turmoil early on.
Typos aside, the writing style felt a bit rushed, like I was bouncing from
situation to situation without being allowed to settle in. I like a good
fast-paced style, but not at the expense of sensory details and showing instead
of telling. I realize this is a celebrity memoir, but a fast pace and
descriptive writing don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Don’t believe me? Ask
Chris Jericho.
The rushed writing style only lasted for the first half of
the book. Meanwhile in the latter half, the stories Jeanie tells about drug
addictions, being stalked, living with racist neighbors, and having a
borderline abusive marriage with Steve Austin are easily the most terrifying
her memoir has to offer. She took all of those pills as a way to cope with her
stresses and it soon spiraled out of control. I know it’s easy to judge people
who choose drugs as a way to get over their problems. But to borrow a phrase
from Dr. Phil, “I don’t look at her and ask why is she doing this. I look at
her and ask, why not.” You want to cheer for Jeanie to get better and have a
solid foundation for her children. Spoiler alert: she’s been clean for years
now. It’s safe to say she earned her ending, and then some.
If you want some insight as to how the wrestling business
works, you’ll get plenty of that from this memoir. The exhausting travel
schedule, the injuries, the constant pain, and being creatively stifled are
just some of the problems wrestlers face on a day-to-day basis. Taking
prescription pills is just one of the ways they cope with it all. This was
happening long before WWE started their Wellness Policy in 2005 following the
untimely death of Eddie Guerrero. If stricter drug testing had been implemented
earlier, who knows how many lives could have been saved. It’s depressing to
think about and you feel that depression near the end of the book when Jeanie
almost dies of drug-induced shock.
While a mixed grade isn’t the most desirable one I could
give, I don’t want it to turn you, my audience, away from this book. Jeanie’s
story is one worth listening to despite the rushed writing style. Drug
addiction isn’t just something that “weak” people go through. It’s a universal
affliction with so many psychological triggers that it’s amazing anybody can be
rehabilitated at all. If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction,
seek help before it’s too late. Jeanie Clarke found help and she’s a better
woman for it.
