You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
tanja_alina_berg 's review for:
Å være ung er for jævlig
by Christiane V. Felscherinow, Anne-Marie Smith
I read this book in the original Norwegian 1982 release, recommended and lent me by an acquaintance. It is falling apart. The fragrance of the disintegrating glue had the aroma that book lovers get high on. This book is about other, more harmful highs. I had no idea that it was such a thing until I looked it up on goodreads. Although the events described here are 40 years old, this book is still available in print.
Having now read it, I understand why. It's a rather unique account of the young German drug addict Christiane. How she got into drugs by hanging with the "wrong" crowd that just happened to be her friends. How she went from maruijana to LSD to heroin. How she became a child prostitute to fund her habit. How she tried to get herself out of the addiction, to no avail. Christiane's friends are in the same position.
In the middle of the book is a letter found on one Christiane's overdosed junkie friends. In it he writes that he killed himself because - parphrasing - "all junkies cause their friends and families harm. A junkie destroys not just himself, but also other people. That being a drug addict is the worst of fates. So what drives young people into such a mess? Let this be a warning to all those that stand before the choice: shall I try just once? Idiots, just look at me!"
The treatment programs available at the end of 1970's were based on adult users. The main premise was voluntary admission. None of the set-up was directed at drug abusers that were still children. The despair of Christiane's mother is shown through her own words, intermittently through the book.
This is an eye-opening book, although it shows aspects of life that one would rather not see. Just this morning I read a headline in the paper that the yearly death rate from illegal drugs in the United States is now higher than the number of people killed in traffic. It does not seem that the problem has gotten smaller.
Having now read it, I understand why. It's a rather unique account of the young German drug addict Christiane. How she got into drugs by hanging with the "wrong" crowd that just happened to be her friends. How she went from maruijana to LSD to heroin. How she became a child prostitute to fund her habit. How she tried to get herself out of the addiction, to no avail. Christiane's friends are in the same position.
In the middle of the book is a letter found on one Christiane's overdosed junkie friends. In it he writes that he killed himself because - parphrasing - "all junkies cause their friends and families harm. A junkie destroys not just himself, but also other people. That being a drug addict is the worst of fates. So what drives young people into such a mess? Let this be a warning to all those that stand before the choice: shall I try just once? Idiots, just look at me!"
The treatment programs available at the end of 1970's were based on adult users. The main premise was voluntary admission. None of the set-up was directed at drug abusers that were still children. The despair of Christiane's mother is shown through her own words, intermittently through the book.
This is an eye-opening book, although it shows aspects of life that one would rather not see. Just this morning I read a headline in the paper that the yearly death rate from illegal drugs in the United States is now higher than the number of people killed in traffic. It does not seem that the problem has gotten smaller.