Joe Clifford didn’t start drinking beer until he was almost twenty years old. By the time he turned twenty-two, he was addicted to methamphetamine; and the heroin wasn’t far behind. Soon he’d lose his wife, his job, his home. Junkie Love follows the roughly ten years Clifford spent wandering the streets of San Francisco and beyond, first as a wannabe rock star, and then as another homeless junkie with his head lost in the stars. In between are the harrowing events and close calls, the shady characters and the enduring friendships, the redemption and restitution that led Fix Magazine to call Junkie Love “one of top four recovery memoirs” of all time. From the Forward by Jerry Stahl "The good news is Clifford’s is exactly the kind of voice our poor, strung-out country deserves in these toxic end-times. Like his hero Kerouac, this is a writer drawn to life’s more rough-edged and unsung corners. But, in the best Beat tradition, he writes about the lost and monstrous with a life-affirming, almost depraved sweetness. The miracle is, hardcore addicted, in love with a beautiful schizophrenic, Clifford returned with mind and talent intact. But that no trace of clichéd bitterness or streety one-downsmanship pollutes his tone."
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Holy cow! The fact that [a:Joe Clifford 3461130 Joe Clifford https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1701358885p2/3461130.jpg] survived his ordeal with addiction and still possessed with enough brain cells to write a complete book is nothing short of a miracle. However, if you've every had even the remotest contact with an addict, the family members of an addict, or just read about them, you can start to understand the reasons for the behavior by reading [b:Junkie Love 17656909 Junkie Love Joe Clifford https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1365639108l/17656909.SY75.jpg 24643936].The fact that the author has a foreword that warns that he thinks (but isn't sure) that most of the story is true is borne out in the story itself. He recounts details of places and actions that probably would be best forgotten by most of us. The fact that he had the wherewithal and fortitude to recall and write down the details serves as a warning to us all. Not only is this nearly a horror story in living color, it's also well written with imagery that evokes every sense. You can see the dilapidated surroundings of his place in Hepatitis Heights in San Francisco. You can feel the heartache and shame. The wild cast of characters is an array of diversity that oddly enough, can make you both laugh and cry. You can smell the bus rides and showerless days and sense the hopelessness in such vivid detail that at times, I had to stop reading. Still, the books was unputdownable. Even when I agonized over the latest low that author hit, I soon picked up the books again. I knew he must have survived the ordeal since he wrote a book about it and he's still alive. Still, there was nothing in the story that guaranteed he would make it, especially when the mathematical odds were given. They definitely weren't in his favor. This should be required reading for anyone affected by addiction, which really means everyone alive.
