Shot in the Heart (1994)

Mikal Gilmore you might know as one of the team of virtually interchangeable, somewhat oddly named rock critics who have toiled in and out of the vineyards of Rolling Stone since the '80s—contemporary with Parke Puterbaugh, J.D. Considine, David Fricke, Anthony De Curtis, Kurt Loder. Or you might know Mikal Gilmore as the youngest brother of Gary Gilmore, convicted and executed Utah murderer and star of Norman Mailer's impressive The Executioner's Song. In this riveting memoir, Mikal Gilmore tells the story of his family, his brother, and himself, simply, starkly, harrowingly, and without a shred of self-pity. To say it's remarkable does not come close to doing it justice. Without a doubt this is one of the best American memoirs ever written.

In case it's not at the library.