Swimming with a Blowfish

The ultimate front-row seat to the rise, fall, and rebirth of a band that wasfor a timethe biggest in the world, Hootie & the Blowish, and Jim Sonefelds shattering and redeeming spiritual path from addiction to recovery and a more fruitful life For a time, there was no bigger band in the world than Hootie & the Blowfishrock & rolls unexpected foil to the grunge music that dominated the early 90s airwaves.In Swimming with the Blowfish, JimSonefeld, drummer and one of the bands principal songwriters, reveals the inside story of the bands humble beginnings, meteoric rise, sudden fall, and ultimate rebirthand in the telling he opens his heart to readers about addiction, recovery, and faith. Hootie became ubiquitous in the 90stheir debut album Cracked Rear View was one of the best-selling in the history of rock music; they won two Grammy Awards; their live performances were played alongside the Dave Matthews Band, R.E.M., and even Willie Nelson and Neil Young; and they appeared at the biggest venues in the world. Though Jim enjoyed the perks that came with famethe parties, the relationships, the money, the drugs and alcoholeventually it all became a camouflage that hid a deeper spiritual malady. As his life was careening toward disaster, he reached out his hands to seek relief in twelve-step recovery, eventually settling into a loving, but by no means uncomplicated, homelife. A book that encapsulates a band still beloved by legions of fans, Swimming with the Blowfish is much morean unpretentious, emotional story of one mans spiritual path to a more fruitful life. Jims journey is shattering, redeeming, and ultimately as comforting as your favorite flannel shirt.