Josh Brolin Says Mother Used to Sic Wild Animals on Him, Brother

Josh Brolin's telling all about his relationship with his mother in his new memoir ... touching on her drinking -- and, mentioning one scary trick his mother used to pull on him.

The actor sat down for an interview with The Times -- published Saturday -- to talk about his book, "From Under the Truck," a reference to a night of heavy drinking that ended with his mother's boyfriend literally passed out underneath a vehicle.

In the article, the interviewier mentions a story Brolin relays in the book ... about how his mother Jane -- a wildlife conservationist -- would often yell at "Sic 'em" to any wild animals like courgars, coyotes, bobcats and the like nearby which would then usually take off after Josh and his brother Jess.

JB writes, "You knew if you didn’t get on the other side of that shut door within a couple of seconds, you’d be cleaning up fresh bloody marks somewhere on your body for the rest of the day."

Despite the obviously terrifying nature of these encounters, Brolin is "loath to say" just how horrifying they were ... instead, he tells The Times his mother may have been a pain in the behind, but she was never someone who you didn't want around.

Ultimately, Brolin's mother passed away in a car accident in 1995 at just 55 years old ... an age which Brolin, in the throes of a heroin addiction, thought was a good, long life.

Looking back, Brolin -- now 56 -- says he realizes how misguided believing 55 to be a long life really is ... though it took him years before he finally kicked all his addictions.

Brolin dives deeper into that part of his life in "From Under the Truck" ... talking about dropping acid at 13 years old, showing up to his grandmother's deathbed reeking of alcohol and more.