White Out: The Secret Life of Heroin Paperback – April 2, 2013

Clune writes about his addiction to heroin, which admittedly would be a hard habit to shake, but enough of what he wrote sounded familiar and compelling to me, a non-heroin-using, supposedly well-functioning human being.Clune's language is beautiful and visual, and when he writes about 'the bare cliffs of our natural brain chemistry' it hits home, for how many of us have not tried to self-medicate against boredom, depression, loneliness, mindlessness? Alcohol, narcotics or caffeine may have less dramatic/sustained effects, but it makes the language of addiction familiar to many. But not everyone can wring such poetry out of a deeply destructive habit. A wonderful book.

but I never warmed up to it. A heroin memoir, Michael Clune does a great job of describing the world he travelled in as he tried to score heroin and function as an addict while attending grad school in Baltimore. He also works hard to describe what it's like to be addicted to heroin. I love a distinction he drew between doing heroin, which he says is every time like the first, and hearing a song, which can never again be like the first time. I learned a lot about a culture I know nothing about. And yet, I never wanted to open the book. It sat by my bed for a week. I had to force myself through it. Spending time with an addict is never fun, I guess.

This book, which I have read in two days of absorbed obsession, has opened a floodgate of memories. By seeing myself remember them, I can get these little blips off the radar of existence-- kind of like the instant when you first look into a mirror. It seems Clune, as I remember from my unfortunate days of being a junkie in his classes, has seen enough of time-forgotten to coax us into its presence.

This is a fantastic memoir. Clune writes with his own unique voice and it is a refreshing change from most other memoirs of the same subject. I won't give away any details but I suggest everyone read this book, especially those with loved ones who face addiction. So glad I got this book. It was also shipped in perfect condition, not a scratch, tear or fold in any of it.

Somewhat of a dud. Hard to read and not real informative when it came to how he cleaned himself up. Seems in some part that he just outgrew his stupidity. His life was all over the place so that is why there is no real coherent revelations. Seemed to be somewhat of a day by day diary.

Read for a book club interesting and gives another point of view that I rarely get to see.

It's a book that I couldn't put down. I have been recommending it to all my friends and family. Michael is now my brother in law and I am so happy for his success!

England setting; not entirely translatable to American culture.

Staggeringly good insight into the life of a smack user. Insightful, realistic, tragic and amazingly funny.

A stunning glimpse into a rich internal landscape. The quality of this book cannot be overstated.