"Marilyn Manson, The Long, Hard Road Out of Hell," is the story of the shock-rock musician, songwriter, and poet known as Marilyn Manson. His birth name is Brian Warner. Warner was a budding writer who enjoyed writing horror stories. One of his stories, which remains unpublished was entitled, "The Payback," which was a story about a man who had contempt for everyone but most especially himself but was able to learn how to charm people into liking him. Once he won their confidence, he focused on destroying them. The name of the protagonist was Marilyn Manson. Obviously, the story was a thinly veiled autobiography of the writer. The struggle, though often disguised with bravado, of Manson trying to attain self-acceptance and self-worth is a theme throughout his story.

Warner was bright and an excellent writer but could never sell any of his work. He tried reading poetry at a club but that did not go over well. Rap music was coming into his own and groups like 2 Live Crew were being criticized for their obscenity and the bad role models they were for their young fans. Always thinking out of the box, Warner decided to conduct what in his mind was a scientific project. He decided to see how far a white, non-rap music group could go with obscene and illicit behavior.

Warner began rounding up musicians, most of whom were under the influence of some controlled substance, and eventually formed his band, calling it Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids. Later, they dropped the Spooky Kids portion. Warner used the name Marilyn as it was the name of his mother's pet rat and it was a reference to Marilyn Monroe and Charles Manson. The first few gigs did not bring much adulation or fans. Trevor Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, however, did notice them and eventually they became the opening act for that group which is when the group took off.

Manson went on to become a controversial performer including simulated sex and acts of brutality in his appearances. Manson struggled all his life with self-worth and an inability to establish genuinely intimate relationships. After Marilyn Manson became a successful band, Manson finally came to terms with his loss of humanity attributed in part to his dysfunctional family which led him to cocaine addiction and abusive behavior toward women. The story winds up with Manson quitting cocaine cold turkey. After becoming clean and sober, Manson began to gain a more humane attitude to others and began to reexperience emotions such as guilt, love, hate, and self-worth that he had lost many years before.