My Brother Bo

Cheers to My Brother Bo: Addicted in Paradise, a heartfelt biography about the author's younger brother.The year -1949- of Bo's birth, Jersey Joe Walcot was the Heavy Weight Boxing Champion of the World. By the time the baby son of an accomplished author and an award winning LA Times Travel Editor reached manhood his recreational drug use escalated from casual to lights out.During the Vietnam War, Bo did a brief tour in the Navy. He also aborted college, and later became a custodian for the Los Angeles school district. He took pride in his work and was very likable. Yet, his drug and alcohol addiction was catastrophic.After family intervention, Bo eventually kicked his disgraceful habits; equipped with art and acting classes, he landed steady work as an extra for the TV sitcoms: Melrose Place and Evening Shade. Actress Heather Locklear was among the people he called his friend. He rubbed shoulders with stars like Burt Reynolds, Ossie Davis, Charles Durning, and Ann Wedgeworth.When his tenure in Hollywood ended, he moved to Hawaii, where he lived a leisurely comfortable life. It was there, he replaced his substance abuse dependence with troubles prescribed to him by his private doctor. After Bo succumbed to a prescription drug overdose, his life in Paradise ended.Today, his family and friends have their memories and can only imagine him surfing the waves of the Pacific Ocean.Meredith Coleman McGee, Publisher/Acquisition EditorMeredith EtcJackson, Mississippi