Book excerpt: Johnny and Me is a true story about my childhood experiences growing up in the northwest side of Chicago with John Wayne Gacy. This story details the everyday life experiences in my and Johnnys homes. Details of our families are in the book along with the understanding of each of our parents as they raised us in the 1940s and 1950s. Many of these stories included are of my personal life before Johnny came on the scene in order to let the reader understand my point of view as my life unfolded. I have tried to show you the Johnny that I remember as a childhood friend and I hope that I have been as accurate as I can be on this subject. Various moments of joy, anger, and fear are shared between the two of us as we tried to have a normal childhood in the midst of anxiety and confusion that was brought on by our fathers abuse of alcohol and demanding personalities. The story portrays how our environments molded our characters and helped us to make choices in our adult lives. Details regarding our reactions to everyday events supply hints of how Johnny and I would function in our separate social worlds as we matured. Johnnys possessive nature is described as we went playing normal childhood games and making new friends. His religious experiences are mentioned and a complete description of his controlling personality is shared as one of Johnnys ways to cope with his surroundings. Other details of Johnnys life are revealed such as his early desire to be in the spotlight of social applause. The book concludes with my personal emotions about a friend whose life went the wrong way. His childhood, along with my own, could have been different.