The Book of Sheen

"We can live the stories or hear about them later from others. I choose the former."

Charlie Sheen should not be alive to tell these stories.

But in The Book of Sheen, the star who has defied all odds â" decades of addiction (to drugs, alcohol, gambling, and more), an HIV diagnosis, three divorces, a dust-up with the Sinaloan cartel, and other challenges that will leave readers stunned â" finally presents the truth... or, at least his version. ("The facts are the facts; how I choose to interpret or deconstruct them falls squarely on me," Sheen writes.)

From his childhood spent on movie sets for blockbusters like Apocalypse Now; to the golden days of 1980s Hollywood, filled with heartthrobs like Rob Lowe and Sean Penn; to the humid jungles of the Philippines and mock-army training that crossed dangerously into life-threatening for the filming of Platoon; to the early aughts' sitcom dominance, every Sheen anecdote drips with shocking lucidity, humor, and self-deprecation.

Sheen deftly leads readers through his childhood as the son of award-winning actor Martin Sheen (a "Cathoholic"), which took the family from New York to Mexico to Italy and beyond; his competitive brotherhood against fellow teen heartthrob and Brat Pack member Emilio Estevez; his debilitating stutter that continued into adulthood and which he attempted to hide from producers and directors; his friendships with Chris and Sean Penn, Rob Lowe, Nic Cage, Matthew Perry, and other troubled stars of the era; his adventures on and off camera for films like Platoon and Wall Street and shows like Spin City and Two and a Half Men; his challenges in fatherhood and the kids that ultimately got him sober; and more. Woven throughout is a constant: addiction, and Sheen's perpetual battle with it.

Riddled with regrets, filled with humor, and finally candid, Sheen delivers a truly hilarious no-holds-barred memoir, one fitting for a star of his caliber and controversy.