The Alchemy of Meth: A Decomposition

Giving it a 3 because the author has important, valid things to say, he just doesn't communicate them well in the book. I bought this volume in Kindle format immediately after hearing the author interviewed on public radio, and even before reading recommended it online to others in the addiction support groups (i.e. other moms-of-addicts).Pros: The author, when interviewed, shines a light on the pervasive meth issue and by doing so points out the oversimplified "opioid epidemic" sound bytes politicians and press love. We have an ADDICTION epidemic, full stop. He also used some stunningly familiar expressions to describe the allure of meth, such as "finally, FINALLY, [the user] feels like he fits in his own shoes , [his own life]" and "he doesn't feel 'high', he feels right." All of this echoed what my son and other people's beautiful lost boys have said about their meth addiction.Cons: I can't get past the choppy, stream-of-consciousness, POV-switching, convoluted tense of his narrative style. Others may like it; it reads like I imagine the meth addict's attention span works. I read voraciously on every conceivable subject and while I knew it wasn't an academic treatise, I expected something like Studs Terkel's pop sociology, or the wrenching contemporary first person memoirs on the impact of methamphetamine addiction by Nic and David Sheff. Instead it reads like...abstract art? free verse poetry?I can't get past that choppy free form narrative style - it's definitely not my cup of tea - but kudos to the author for tackling a subject that receives too little attention in the shadows of Big Brother Opiate Addiction.

I was so moved by this book. It sensitively tells the stories of people in a small town in Missouri alongside the author’s own different kind of story. All of them are about trouble, heartbreak, and toxic hope. This book isn’t just about methamphetamine but a world in crisis where you take extreme measures to survive. I read it all the way through in one sitting and that made the fragmented stories come together beautifully, like a kaleidoscope of a broken place. At times it felt totally surreal and sometimes disturbingly familiar.

I agree with the previous review. Good insight into rural meth use, especially if you are from Missouri. However, the choppy to and fro POV was frustrating. I would get characters confused. If the goal of this was to be the mind of a meth user it makes sense, but is hard to read.

Definitely not worth the price I paid for it. Would’ve been acceptable priced at $10, but almost $30 is way too expensive for this book. I don’t recommend purchasing it.