America Anonymous: Eight Addicts In Search Of A Life (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
In other men we faults can spy, and blame the moat that blinds their eyeeach tiny peck and blemish findto our own greater errors blind (Ben Franklin)After profiling many different addicts the author uses the last chapter to confess to his own issues. He even confesses to writing about these addicts while actively perusing his own addiction. This very fact really speaks to the power & insanity of addiction. He follows 8 different addicts who suffer from addictions including: food, alcohol, heroin, cocaine, sex, and shop lifting. Each addict he writes about shares openly about how and why they relapse and use their "drug" of choice. They openly share their stories about daily sober living. It was interesting learning about the similarities between addictions. Although seemingly different each addiction fills a void within each addict. Each addict also shares similar paths toward relapsing. I myself am an alcoholic and before reading this book I felt that no other addiction could hold a candle to the power of my addiction. After learning about how other people deal with their own addictions I now see how each have the same powerlessness in battling them. I may not be able to drink, but for others their issue may be a different substance but each addiction has the same power to destroy happiness and life manageability. I'm beginning to feel comfortable leaving alcohol out of my life, but it’s nice to know I can still enjoy nearly every other pleasure life has to offer. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to see into the lives of different types of addicts while also learning that each of them have the ability to escape their own self imposed prisons. Benoit Denizet-Lewis knows how to talk to strangers, especially if they're the type of strangers who make for good family gossip. BDL doesn't just tell addicts' stories in his book, he warmly asks them the difficult questions that they turn to their addictions to avoid. For three-hundred pages, BDL forces the reader to put the moral judgment on the nightstand and try to see the world from an addict's eyes. Over time you find yourself empathizing with the steroid user, shoplifter and sex addict, until you see how low their compulsions have taken them. The book's unique sociological perspective makes it required reading for anyone who is undergoing treatment for addiction or who loves an addict.
What do You think about America Anonymous: Eight Addicts In Search Of A Life (2009)?
Really good, will use in 603 dsm class. nice audio book as well.
—dolphin
I read this in rehab! Great writing and inspirational stories
—malu
