How To Stop Time: The Memoir of a Heroin Addict

(Paperback)

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In a coolly dispassionate voice, Ann Marlowe has created a mock dictionary in order to dissect her addiction to - and her eventual rejection of - heroin. Each entry, varying from the anecdotal to the analytical, describes the allure and the degradation of the drug, set against the story of her own life. Without glamorizing it, she explores the seduction of the drug and honestly reveals heroin's temporary deep satisfaction, before finally casting the drug aside as a failed, even abusive, lover, a negligent spouse, a one-way ultimately doomed relationship. Her journey through heroin is a cerebral tale grounded in an exploration of emotional life. Throughout, her tone is ironic and searching and her alphabetical voyage provides an insight into the twilight world of drug addiction.

Reviews

'A brilliant and impressive book, all the more so because of its remarkable calm and restraint after such a terrifying experience' PENELOPE FITZGERALD ** 'Her insight is a positive addition to the literature about the drug, and a telling and sophisticated examination of modern society' THE LIST ** 'A calm look at middle-class heroin addiction and an honest analysis of how an obsessed society mythologises it . compelling' IRISH TIMES

Author Bio

Ann Marlowe is a journalist who has written for THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW. She has a BA & a PHD in Philosophy from Harvard & an MBA from Columbia Business School. She has worked on Wall Street. This is her first book.