Being a 'Playa' Had Too High a Cost

ATLANTA, June 8 /PRNewswire/ -- By age 5, he'd already had sex. An uncle gave him liquor just to get a rise out of his mother. He watched girlfriends take care of his father's every whim and thought all women were supposed to behave that way. At 13, he was smoking pot; at 16, he was selling it.

And every Sunday, he went to church.

In "The Life and Death of a Playa," author Timmy Ray chronicles growing up in a home where his parents sang and played in gospel groups, yet showed their guitar-playing son the dangerous thrills of alcohol, drugs and life on the road.

"I had been halfway over the country by the time I got out of high school, on stage and TV more times than I can count," says Ray. "My perception of what was going on around me led to decisions that took me down the wrong path. I believed I could do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. I didn't realize until later in life that most of the things I wanted to do were inappropriate."

A lust for sex, drugs and money almost killed him, he says. While his father chose to sing with the likes of Lou Rawls, Sam Cook and Jackie Wilson as his road to fortune and fame, his son chose to operate crack houses.

"My addictions really took off when I started doing cocaine. It seemed like the trouble started almost immediately. I didn't pay it any attention at first, because I always landed on my feet."

Everything came crashing down in 1989, and he turned himself around. He has written this book and is a motivational speaker at drug treatment centers, churches and special events in the hope of helping others in similar situations.

"The playa had to die in order for me to live."

About the author

Timmy Ray was born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1959, and graduated from Jefferson High School. He moved to Atlanta to market his book, "The Life and Death of a Playa," and found success there. Today he writes, acts and is a motivational speaker. He currently is writing his second book, a work of fiction.

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SOURCE AuthorHouse