California Dreaming and Primal Screaming is a raw, riveting, and darkly humorous memoir chronicling a celebrated studio and touring musician’s relentless quest for mental clarity and emotional healing. Pulling back fame’s velvet curtain, it exposes the hidden struggles that fame often masks — where roaring applause and adoring fans can't silence the demons lurking in the shadows of the psyche.

While many artists bask in success, too often they find it hollow, unable to fill the void within. Beneath the glamour and glitter, behind dazzling lights and screaming crowds, lurks a haunting, unshakable darkness. Some try to escape with drugs and alcohol. Jimmy Ryan chose a healthier but uncommon path — one fueled by a fierce determination to break free from anxiety and despair.

What follows is an unforgettable odyssey of self-discovery, one that veers wildly across a landscape of traditional, unconventional, and downright bizarre therapies. From Freudian analysis to Primal Therapy, Transcendental Meditation to hypnotic regression, from EST and Lifespring to occult rituals — Ryan dives headfirst into the unknown in search of something real.

With gripping, often jaw-dropping anecdotes, he brings listeners along on an intimate, sometimes surreal, journey through the labyrinth of self-exploration. He shares what helped, what failed spectacularly, and what left him questioning reality itself.

At its core, California Dreaming and Primal Screaming is more than a memoir — it’s a raw, honest testament to the resilience of the human spirit. With sharp insight and wry humor, Ryan shows that no one needs to settle for a life weighed down by pain. There are many roads to healing, and for those brave enough to travel them, the light at the end of the tunnel is real.