Austin, TX – At age sixteen, with his home life uprooted following his mother’s breast cancer diagnosis, David Barnett’s lust for the limelight took over and he set out to create a rock band. As he escaped into an underground music scene –and the substances waiting for him–he fundamentally shifted the way he interacted with the world and one of his most important relationships: his childhood best friend, Doug, a “gold boy” with a rebellious streak. 

In a high-intensity, coming-of-age memoir rooted in 90s counterculture and the underground music scene, Barnett tackles the build up and breakdown of a childhood friendship, an honest autopsy of failed musician ambition, and subverts the traditional “addiction memoir” genre by playing with timelines. Ranging from his first experience with drugs to the disruptive nature of his toxic ego, Foxtail takes readers on a journey through one man’s young life, the relationships gained and lost, and the heavy metal music that saved him. Featuring lyrics from bands like Slayer, Static-X, and All Shall Perish, music serves not just as a background soundtrack but as a holy text throughout the story, making this memoir perfect for those who find sanctuary in music of any genre.

In this unflinching memoir, David Barnett explores whether the selves we create to survive the fire are the very ones destined to burn us down.