(Reviewed by Heidi A. Swan)
“At 15 years old, my love for baseball became a million-dollar baseball card business. By my late teens, I had turned my hobby into a successful memorabilia company. By the time I was 25, I had started Prince Marketing Group, where I was representing some of the biggest athletes and celebrities around the world. I had no clue how to do any of it without taking the edge off. I traveled. I took painkillers. “
Aiming High is a compelling autobiography by Darren Prince, a super -agent who is a survivor of opioid addiction. Kristen Mc Guiness, his co-writer, does a good job of maintaining his voice. I have met Darren Prince and watched interviews with him. The book reads just like he speaks.
Prince’s career began at a startlingly young age. In his teens, he made daring, profitable trades with baseball cards. His phenom status earned him the respect of his peers and mentors. Using a similar approach to advance in other careers, he quickly earned the trust of celebrities. From the very beginning, his father, Martin Prince, encouraged and guided him.
“I never needed a college degree. I went to Martin Prince University. I don’t know that there was a better school out there.”
As a rich man in his twenties, Prince was living a wild life in a very sexy business. He ran around to the trendiest bars, clubs and restaurants, partying late, and getting wasted.
Hidden beneath this playboy exterior was some deep-rooted childhood insecurities. As Prince’s high-profile events and clients grew bigger, so did his need to get relief from his pain. It’s poignant to read about his need to numb his feelings as he meets and orchestrates historic events with American sports heroes and celebrities: Magic Johnson, Dennis Rodman, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Pamela Anderson, Hulk Hogan, Joe Montana and many others. Prince’s successful career obfuscated a growing addiction, one of which even his father was unaware.
The author doesn’t withhold the brutal consequences. For instance, he would need to set an alarm for 3 AM to get up and take a pain pill to prevent withdrawal sickness in the morning. One time, he woke up in a hotel room on his stomach with his pants around his ankles, unable to remember what had happened the night before. There were brushes with death: from car crashes to overdoses. Before going to a party at a strip club thrown by Dennis Rodman, Mr. Price was sick with bronchitis.
“…I did what any good addict does. For $500, I called a doctor up to my room to get a prescription for painkillers and Tussionex…I threw back a few drinks, swallowed a handful of pills, and took a few shots of the cough syrup. Within minutes, I was on the floor, chest racing. I felt like I was going to die. I…prayed, “God, please don’t take me right now.” I don’t remember anything that happened after.”
His road to sobriety was not an easy one. He tried Suboxone and other medications which just made him worse. He credits the girlfriend of his uncle with saving his life. She told him he had a disease.
An unforeseen gift of recovery is that the author is now able to finally feel comfortable in his own skin.
“What I found was that no matter what language we spoke, where we came from or who we were, we were all united.”
Peppered throughout the book are words of thanks to all who helped him. A large photo section visually conveys many of these heartfelt relationships. Most touching of all is his connection to Martin Prince, his dad, who asked his son to write a book to help others.
Darren Prince fulfilled his father’s wish with Aiming High.
