I Want My Life Back

by Hamilton, Steve

• ISBN13: 9781592850839
• ISBN10: 1592850839
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-03-01
• Publisher: SIMON & SCHUSTER INC

Summary

I Want My Life Back is not a pretty story- but it's beautifully told and absolutely compelling. The book's cover features a portrait of author Steve Hamilton. You'd guess his age to be somewhere in his late 60's. Guess again. He's 39, and he has seen several lifetimes of hurt and failure. Raised by an alcoholic father, Hamilton learned early how alcohol can dominate every dynamic in family life. Later, alcohol and drugs dominated every aspect of his own life.This book is a moving and compelling portrait of the addicted life. Readers will learn how addiction comes to possess the mind, soul and body of its human prey. Readers will begin to understand why an addict like Hamilton can't quit the very thing that is destroying him. He leads readers to grapple with a mix of emotions: loathing, pity, sympathy, compassion, and ultimately, admiration. He has been clean and sober for more than a dozen years now, and he completely embraces the Twelve Step philosophy.A powerful story powerfully told, I Want My Life Back is Leaving Las Vegas with a happy ending

Author Biography

At the age of fifteen Steve Hamilton already had a criminal record for possession of an illegal substance. From there, his life spiraled deeper into the drug underworld of South Africa. It took eleven institutions and three times pronounced clinically dead before he took his first real steps back into normal society. He was a founding member of Narcotics Anonymous in South Africa and has since counseled addicts in rehab clinics. He also lectures before school groups and other organizations about the dangers of experimenting with drugs.