Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Trejo by Danny Trejo Narrator: Danny Trejo, Donal Logue
Published by Simon & Schuster Audio on July 6, 2021
Genres: Non Fiction
Length: 13 hours, 19 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble, Apple
On screen, Danny Trejo the actor is a baddie who has been killed at least a hundred times. He’s been shot, stabbed, hanged, chopped up, squished by an elevator, and once, was even melted into a bloody goo. Off screen, he’s a hero beloved by recovery communities and obsessed fans alike. But the real Danny Trejo is much more complicated than the legend.
Raised in an abusive home, Danny struggled with heroin addiction and stints in some of the country’s most notorious state prisons, including San Quentin and Folsom, from an early age, before starring in such modern classics as Heat, From Dusk till Dawn, and Machete. Now, in this funny, painful, and suspenseful memoir, Danny takes us through the incredible ups and downs of his life, including meeting one of the world’s most notorious serial killers in prison and working with legends like Charles Bronson and Robert De Niro.
In honest, unflinching detail, Danny recounts how he managed the horrors of prison, rebuilt himself after finding sobriety and spirituality in solitary confinement, and draws inspiration from the adrenaline-fueled robbing heists of his past for the film roles that made him a household name. He also shares the painful contradictions in his personal life. Although he speaks everywhere from prison yards to NPR about his past to inspire countless others on their own road to recovery and redemption, he struggles to help his children with their personal battles with addiction, and to build relationships that last.
Redemptive and painful, poignant and real, Trejo is a portrait of a magnificent life and an unforgettable and exceptional journey through tragedy, pain, and, finally, success that will transfix and inspire.
So I was interested in reading Trejo, because of being a fan of Sons of Anarchy. The author photo below is one I took at the Season 7 premier in 2014 in Los Angeles. I also got his autograph.
Trejo is laid out in an interesting fashion. Instead of being chronological, the stories jump around a little in different time periods. I found this slightly confusing at first but it served a purpose. The stories are told more by themes and mostly chronological in the theme. There is a prison and criminal theme, a recovery theme, a family/marriage / parenting theme, and a movie / tv theme.
The background of everything is the family and environment which led to some of his choices and how he handled certain things. His relationships and treatment of women were affected by his childhood home life and what he saw in the neighborhood and with his own parents and relatives, with crimes, gangs, drugs and misogyny.  Danny Trejo had some very bad luck and some very good luck.
The first part of Trejo is the unvarnished details of his criminal life and time in prison. It’s a harrowing situation and not everyone survives. Danny had his uncle’s experience and reputation to guide him but it was still wild.
Next we go on to recovery and having struggled himself, Danny worked to help others while continuing on his own path of sobriety. I can believe it must have been so satisfying to contribute to helping people.  His combination of working in recovery and believing in God helped him to persevere. It was interesting to learn about some of the methods and ways he helped people with their addiction. The environment really did a number on him, and his family, including his wives and children. The crime, gangs and drugs were prevalent.
His journey to Hollywood began with playing parts of prison inmates or parolees. It continued because of his boxing skills, connections to other former inmates and eventually to others in the industry who understood the culture. I saw him in Sons of Anarchy and when I mentioned I was reading this, my daughter said oh from Spy Kids. His familial background made him want to be the breadwinner and he took every role he could of all types. It is all honest work whether it is a hit movie or a bit part or a low budget film. His relationship with God made him want to give back in many ways including feeding others once he started Trejo’s Tacos and other restaurants.
I enjoyed learning about his life from its crazy tough start to recovery and fame. His efforts to improve himself with helping others and giving back are impressive. I am glad he had some fun in addition to handling all the troubles and working hard to build a workable life and family.
Narration:
I really like the fact the narration is performed by the author. It feels even more like him, if that makes sense. It was like he was talking to me, telling me stories. His voice is slow and measured enough, I was able to listen at 1.4x speed.
Listen to a clip:Â Â HERE
About Danny Trejo
Danny Trejo has developed a prolific career in the entertainment industry with a hard-earned and atypical road to success. From years of imprisonment to helping troubled youth battle drug addictions, from acting to producing, and now on to restaurant ventures, Trejo’s name, face, and achievements are well recognized in Hollywood and beyond.
Trejo has starred in dozens of films including DESPERADO, HEAT, the FROM DUSK TILL DAWN series, CON AIR, ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO, the SPY KIDS movies, MACHETE, and MACHETE KILLS, the BAD ASS trilogy, DEAD AGAIN IN TOMBSTONE and co-starred in DEATH RACE 2, DEATH RACE: INFERNO, MUPPETS MOST WANTED, GRAND DADDY DAY CARE, 3 FROM HELL which was released in September 2019. Danny can also be seen in MADNESS IN THE METHOD, directed by Jason Mewes which was released in August 2019.
On the television side, Trejo reunited with Robert Rodriguez for Miramax’ From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series. He also had recurring roles on Sons of Anarchy, King of the Hill, Breaking Bad, and The Flash, and has been featured in episodes of Blue Bloods,WHAT We Do in the Shadows, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Kidding, among others. Danny has recently wrapped the 3rd season of AMERICAN GODS, where he will be playing the character of MR. WORLD.
Additionally, Trejo has voiced characters in the animated films STORKS and THE BOOK OF LIFE, along with the series American Dad!, Rick and Morty, Puss in Boots, Young Justice and Family Guy. He also voices the character of Boots in DORA AND THE LOST CITY OF GOLD, which released in August 2019. More recently, Trejo has lent his voice to Cartoon Network’s Victor and Valentino, Disney Channel’s Big City Greens, and Universal Pictures’ MINIONS 2: The Rise of Gru. Comedian Pete Davidson recently performed an original rap song titled “Danny Trejo”on Saturday Night Live as a tribute to Mr. Trejo.
If you didn’t think Trejo was busy enough, he recently expanded his Trejo’s Tacos empire to include 8 locations in the Los Angeles area, including two new locations at the Original Farmer’s Market and in the Colony in West LA. Trejo’s Coffee & Donuts has also proven to be just as successful and will continue to expand in the near future.
Despite Danny’s impressive list of credits, it is his continuous role as a devoted father of three and an intervention counselor that bring him the most satisfaction. Danny is excited to share his love of food with the world with the release of his first cookbook Trejo’s Tacos: Recipes and Stories from LA, released in April, 2020. Danny’s colorful life and prolific career are chronicled in the new bio-documentary Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo which will be available July 2020
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- C21-Summer
I don’t watch much TV or movies, but even I recognize this actor. Neat to get his full story and seeing what type of man he became through it all.
It’s a fascinating story I really enjoyed it and he is a nice guy. He worked hard to get where he wanted to be and I think he is still working on it.
This sounds fascinating. I love memoirs like this where the person has overcome terrible things to go on to be successful and happy. Awesome review!
Thank you Tammy! It’s a terrible and inspiring story. I believe he was always a good guy but he certainly had a bad environment and no support to start.
I love Danny Trejo! The Machete! Thanks for sharing the blurb of the audiobook. I had no idea he had such a rough beginning and his struggles with addiction and his times in prison. I’m so glad he’s put God first and is living a life of purpose. I saw him earlier this year on The Masked Singer and after he was unmasked, he mentioned to Jenny McCarthy Wahlburg that he is also raising two children with autism and he admired everything she did for autism awareness. What an awesome guy.
Yes! He is just so genuine and a nice guy.
Wow, sounds like he has been through and overcome a lot. I’m not familiar with Sons of Anarchy but my husband loves it so I’ll have to point out this book to him.
Yes I love SOA so I had to read this and it was very good. I enjoyed learning about him and his history although some of it is hard to hear.
Oh wow ….what a story that is told here. I haven’t watched the show (I don’t watch too much TV anymore) but I definitely know of it. Going to grab this one up though for sure, sounds like a story I want to read.
It’s a true story and a LOT happens. I like that the author is the narrator. He’s really forthcoming about it all: the good, the bad and the ugly.
Meeting him probably made the read a bit more special for you. Sounds like he’s had an interesting life!
Perhaps but it’s more that he was on SOA and Spy Kids. I did enjoy getting to know more though.