Josh Brolin has built a successful Hollywood career, but in his memoir From Under the Truck, the actor reveals a childhood marked by chaos, addiction, and painful memories. His story offers a deeply personal look at the struggles that shaped the man behind the fame.

Brolin recalls growing up with his mother, wildlife conservationist Jane Brolin, who sometimes encouraged wild animals to chase him and his brother as a form of discipline. Although the memories sound frightening, he says his relationship with his mother was complicated, and despite her flaws, he always wanted her in his life. Her death in a car accident at age 55 had a lasting impact on him.

The memoir also explores Brolin’s battle with addiction. He writes that he experimented with marijuana at just 9 years old and used LSD by the age of 13. Years of alcohol abuse followed until a heartbreaking visit to his dying grandmother made him realize he wanted a different future. That experience became the turning point that led him to sobriety.

Today, Brolin says life is better than ever without alcohol. He credits sobriety, maturity, and even the tough love of his stepmother, Barbra Streisand, with helping him stay on the right path. Looking back, he says growing older has given him a new appreciation for life, proving that even after years of hardship, it’s never too late to make a lasting change.