About this book

This book review is for Forgiving Dr. Jekyll: From Hyde to Healing by Paul Drugan. This book is available at Amazon in both softcover and Kindle versions. I have the softcover version of the book, which is around 200 pages in length. The book has a nice binding, cover and has a medium-sized font, making it easy to read. The overall quality of the book is excellent. The book is 9″ high x 6″ wide, making it a book that you can hold comfortably. In addition to the 20 chapters in the book, there are a Gratitudes, The Truth: A Message To Victims, and About The Author sections. The book was published in 2025.

Summary

Forgiving Dr. Jekyll: From Hyde to Healing is a memoir that chronicles the author’s life of abuse by his father, his subsequent revelation of his sexual orientation, spiraling into substance abuse, his recovery, how he forgave himself and his father, and going from broken to embracing a new life. The chapters are generally pretty short, averaging around 10 pages per chapter. From a reader’s perspective, this is really a benefit, as you can finish a chapter, put it down, and start reading the next chapter when you pick it up again.

The primary focus of the book centers on the relationship with his abusive father. For the vast majority of Paul’s childhood, his father focused his parental role on criticizing and outright insulting Paul’s behavior to the point that it was a mentally abusive relationship. Couple that with a steady barrage of physical abuse, and you end up with a child who has been terrorized and on edge, always anticipating his father’s next outburst. It was sometimes difficult read about some of these abusive episodes and their graphic descriptions of the violence the father inflicted on his son. His father seemed to focus most of his anger on Paul rather than on his siblings. Paul was clearly different in many ways, and that seemed to be a personal challenge to his father, who wanted him to fit the mold of this New England idyllic community they inhabited.

Clearly, the abuse Paul experienced as a child and teenager scarred him mentally and at times dictated so much of his thoughts that it reminds you of what happened psychologically to inmates of the gulags or concentration camps. This abuse later led to nearly destroying his life with partying and substance abuse to forget the nagging memories of the past.

In the end, this book is about redemption. Paul came to the realization that he could not change the past, but he could move on from it and embrace something better in the present, while building a better future free of all this emotional baggage.

Recommendation

I found myself relating to a lot of Paul’s story, having been raised Catholic, having a love for literature, being of a similar age, and experiencing some substance abuse issues myself. I could also relate to his discovery of Eastern religion and philosophy, which he embraced, and became part of his recovery and renaissance.

From what I understand, this is the first book Paul Drugan has had published, but I was pleasantly surprised by Paul’s ability to write excellent dialogue. His description of events and his perspective are intertwined in the story without detracting from the events themselves. I found the book easy to read, yet enhanced by Paul’s vocabulary, which used colorful and descriptive words that best described the situations from his perspective. What I’m trying to convey is that this book is very well written.

My recommendation is that if you lived through an abusive relationship with your family, you will be able to relate to this memoir. I would guess that even in the seemingly perfect families, there is some abuse that exists, certainly not 100% of the time, but maybe in 50% – 75% of families. Like me, you will also be able to relate to what I’ll call the road to redemption, or maybe it should be called self-realization. Even if you hadn’t come from an abusive childhood, but you may have struggled with substance abuse, or just couldn’t find your way out of the morass you find yourself in, then I would recommend this book.

There is an emotional element to reading this book, with the first three quarters of it being about abuse and the subsequent effect on Paul, and the remainder of the book being about how Paul turned his life around. As a reader, you go from being horrified by the abuse Paul suffered to rooting for him as the healing process began, and gratified that through deep introspection, compassion, and forgiveness, he breaks the chains that held him down for so many years. I highly recommend this book; you will be better off for reading it.

About the Author

Paul has been honing his writing throughout his adult life, with a career deeply rooted in political advocacy and civil rights campaigning during the transformative 1990s. With a master’s degree from Harvard, Paul has used his voice to champion equality at the local, state, and national levels. His experiences have shaped his writing, bringing insight and passion to his debut memoir. He proudly calls Chicago home, a city whose tough spirit and complexity mirror his own journey. In his memoir, Paul invites readers to join him on a reflective and inspiring narrative of resilience and change.

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