Apology to the Young Addict

March 16, 2020
Novelist Brown (The Los Angeles Diaries) depicts his addiction and subsequent long-term sobriety in this riveting memoir. Brown and his wife, Freddie, were retired and living in sleepy Lake Arrowhead, Calif., before developing opiate addictions that stemmed from prescription painkillers. Within three years, they transformed from cheerful retirees into desperate addicts who were evicted from their home. Subsequent recollections depict the anger and rage Brown felt about the emotional scars of his upbringing and addiction. To diffuse those feelings, he exercises (“Physical exertion takes me out of myself”); acts as a sponsor to others in recovery; lectures at colleges, prisons, and recovery groups; and reclaims Christianity after years of atheism. In a vivid flashback (and the inspiration for its title), Brown and a fellow heroin user are interrupted while shooting up by the man’s young son—who later becomes a user. Brown, now clean for over a decade, remains determined to help his fellow addicts—though he expresses frustration and disgust with them as they slip and slide. Readers will be drawn in by Brown’s gritty and intense narrative.