Great essay, although the essay describes the author as much as his subject. But I don’t understand from the essay how his uncle was “ruined”, much less “ruine

Great essay, although the essay describes the author as much as his subject. But I don’t understand from the essay how his uncle was “ruined”, much less “ruined by LA”. “Ruin” is a strong word. I’d guess if his uncle was still around he would call such a characterization “horseshit”.