Born into Chaos, Saved by Music, Forged in Resilience—A Memoir of Survival & Triumph.
A powerful memoir of overcoming adversity, finding hope in music, and triumphing against all odds.
A Story of Survival, Resilience & Hope
The Pain: Born into poverty and violence in Philadelphia, Chaz faced unimaginable hardship.
The Struggle: With an addicted father and a religious mother, he searched for hope in chaos.
The Breakthrough: Music, friendship, and resilience became his path to a new life.
The Promise: More than a memoir—this is a powerful message of strength and survival.
A Memoir of Survival, Music & Triumph
What if your hardest struggles became your greatest strength?
Raised in Philadelphia’s toughest streets, Chaz Holesworth faced poverty, violence, and family turmoil. Amid the chaos, music became his lifeline, guiding him toward hope and resilience.
Life and How to Live It" is more than a memoir—it’s a story of survival and strength for anyone who has fought to overcome adversity
📖 If you’ve ever struggled or found healing in music, this book will inspire you.
Why Read This Memoir?
Raw & Real: A powerful true story of survival against all odds.
Hope & Resilience: Proof that even in life’s darkest moments, there’s a way forward.
Music as Salvation: Discover how songs by R.E.M. and Tori Amos became a lifeline.
More Than a Memoir: A deeply moving story that will stay with you long after the last page.
Chaz Holesworth
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Chaz Holesworth grew up surrounded by poverty, violence, and family struggles. Through music, friendship, and resilience, he found a way to rise above adversity.
Now living in the suburbs with his wife and their cherished dog, Chaz is a writer and advocate for social justice, fighting for the rights of workers and animals.
"Life and How to Live It" is his powerful debut memoir, sharing his journey of survival and hope to inspire others.
Testimonials
Life and How to Live It: Volume One: Begin the Begin by Chaz Holesworth is the first part in the life story of the author. The book is a great story of triumph in the face of overwhelming odds. The author does an excellent job of painting his life story for us and making it clear that he had many mountains to climb. Many people give up when facing so many obstacles, but Chris found a way to push through and rise above all that stood in his way. The memoir is both a story of victories and losses, so the reader will feel all of the emotions that come along with such a story. The author has included many details of his life's journey which help us to relate to him and the adventure that he was on.
In Life and How to Live It: Volume One: Begin the Begin, Chaz Holesworth delivers a raw, compelling memoir that captures the harsh realities of growing up dirt poor in Philadelphia. With a drug-addicted father and a born-again Christian mother, Holesworth's childhood was marked by chaos and hardship. Yet, amid the dysfunction, his story is one of resilience and self-discovery. Holesworth writes with unflinching honesty, balancing the darkness of his upbringing with moments of profound insight and hope. This first volume sets the stage for an emotional journey of survival, leaving readers eager for the next chapter in his life. A powerful read for those who appreciate memoirs that don’t shy away from life’s grittiest moments.
This book can be absolutely tragic at times, but the way the author gives you the story, there's nothing to see but inspiration within its pages. This book is all about the author's less than ideal (and I use the term lightly) childhood with parents that have polar opposite toxic issues. Each page feels like the author is the same room with you, telling you the story as you. There's a lot to this book, but it's worth the time.
This book is the story of the author's life, from early childhood to adulthood. He explains how he came into this world, the ups and downs of his circumstances, as well as the things that really helped him power through the rough and violent times. I had a friend from Kensington neighborhood in Philly, so a lot of the photos were familiar to me. It was really interesting to see his childhood, and see how music really pulled him up. That resonated with me as it mirrored my own experiences. This book can help others to find their thing that helps them get through life, and shows them that a rough time isn't the end of the world.
This story reflects the world in which many people live, how was the life of Chaz Holesworth, who despite coming from a dysfunctional family and living since childhood in a very dangerous neighborhood of Philadelphia, Chaz faced extreme poverty, however despite the fact that he could have chosen to get “easy money” from the world of drugs that surrounded him, He tells us how music helped him to get ahead, a book is a must read for all those young people who are often tempted by drug gangs not to fall into that, that there are many ways to get ahead, Chaz's life offers a great message of hope and resilience to anyone who is going through times of adversity.
In the book Life and How to Live It, the author (Chaz Holesworth) shares his experiences of survival when he was on the streets of Philadelphia, those days that were not easy at all. The author relates that his father had a disease, he was a drug addict, while his mother was religious, therefore he grew up with two opposite poles. The important thing about this story is how Chaz managed to overcome the adversities of his home through music and those close to him. When reading this book, I realize that Chaz, instead of telling you a story, makes you believe that you are in the conversation, which takes reading this book to another level. Chaz does not only focus on the bad things that happened to him, but on how those struggles shaped him and how he found hope along the way. If you are looking for a book that gives you motivation to keep going, even though you are going through very difficult things, this book is for you.
“Life and How to Live It” by Chaz Holesworth explores the capacity of a human being to overcome trauma. Spending his childhood in poor neighborhoods of Philadelphia with a father addicted to heroin and a very christian mother, our protagonist’s life was strongly influenced by poverty and misery. Through all of this, he found comfort in music and art. This book explores how his love for different music bands helped him overcome the challenges of life. Holesworth’s strong storytelling makes this story heartwarming, and heartbreaking. The reader will be touched by his resilience and inspired by his journey to rise above dire circumstances. This deeply personal story is not only about survival but about hope and finding beauty in life’s darkest moments.
“Life and How to Live It: “ This work offers us a tough autobiography about Chaz Holesworth, who has to struggle day by day after his hard difficulties due to the poverty and danger in which he finds himself after living in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Philadelphia. This story transforms from a moving narration of the life that the protagonist shows us to a story of hope thanks to the music, inspired by the songs of Tori Amos, he was able to gradually form a path towards the light in the midst of an economic catastrophe. This reading helps people who are looking for a push in their lives to find strength in the midst of adversity and that with the help of relationships that sometimes we do not take so much importance and art can change our lives radically.
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