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The extremely accomplished classical pianist James Rhodes will be well known to music lovers far and wide. Over many years, this gentleman has made quite an impact as a virtuoso performer, having appeared in concert halls around the world, entrancing audiences with his brilliant interpretations of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, Frédéric Chopin, and other giants of music.
But when not dazzling us with the rapid, elegant movements of his fingers, James Rhodes suffers a great deal. Having survived early experiences of sexual abuse as a schoolboy, he has struggled, in consequence, for many years, with depression, anxiety, discontent, and a profusion of morbid thoughts, which have dampened his quality of life. Indeed, Rhodes even had to endure a period of time in a psychiatric hospital.
Eager to share his moving life history, Rhodes has written not one, but two, autobiographies about his private life in a frank, bold, and unashamed fashion.
In his first book, Instrumental, a stark memoir, Rhodes (2014) explained in chilling detail the way in which an older man had sexually molested him, with painful sequelae. And now, more recently, in Fire on All Sides, the author has provided us with an even fuller and richer account of the moment-by-moment state of his mind, riddled with shame, terror, self-doubt, and, often, hopelessness.
Reflecting upon his early abuse, Rhodes has described himself as having felt:
Terrified, knowing that what was coming was inevitable and nothing could change it but still, against all the odds, hoping and waiting desperately for something or someone to stop things, for some giant magic hand to descend from the sky and whisk me away to safety knowing all the time that there would be no such luck. (p. 221)
With the skill of a consummate novelist, James Rhodes has portrayed his mind in a compelling manner. Consider this brief résumé of several vexing vignettes from his daily life:
I give a fuck about Sky not having the latest episode of Criminal Minds to