We All Fall Down

Living with Addiction

Fiction - Audiobook
367 Pages
Reviewed on 07/04/2012
Buy on Amazon

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    Book Review

Reviewed by Laurie Gray for Readers' Favorite

“We All Fall Down” by Nic Sheff picks up where Sheff’s New York Times bestselling memoir “Tweak” left off. “Tweak” leaves Sheff having completed treatment, writing his memoir, and living a rather tedious life of sobriety in Savannah with a friend and two cats. In “We All Fall Down,” Sheff says that he walked out of treatment and was living with his girlfriend and a dog in Charleston, getting drunk and/or stoned every day while writing “Tweak.” 'Sober' for Sheff means no longer doing meth or heroin, and only doing cocaine when a dealer gives him a free sample. “We All Fall Down” chronicles Sheff’s continued struggle with addiction and quest to publish “Tweak.” Like “Tweak,” “We All Fall Down” begins with a disclaimer: “This work is a memoir. It reflects the author’s present recollections of his experience over a period of years. Certain names, locations, and identifying characteristics have been changed.”

Sheff is a gifted storyteller. His reality is raw, profane, and unencumbered by facts. Readers (or audio listeners) are dropped directly into the psyche of a veteran addict, a paradox of self-loathing and narcissism. The frightening allure of drugs permeates every word and could easily trigger relapse in recovering addicts or entice curious teenagers. And the sad truth is that most teens and addicts will never have as many opportunities for recovery as Nic Sheff has had. Those who follow his path are more likely to end up in prison or dead. I highly recommend this book for treatment providers and adults who are dealing with addicts, but have never experienced personally how insidious addiction can be. Sheff exposes a disturbing truth, not just through the lies he continues to tell himself, but about the lies we all tell ourselves.