The Harder They Fall: Celebrities Tell Their Stories Of Addiction And Recovery

by Gary Stromberg

The heady, drug-induced decades of the sixties and seventies provide the backdrop for this all-star account of addiction and recovery. Comedians Richard Pryor and Richard Lewis, musicians Grace Slick, Dr. John, and Chuck Negron (Three Dog Night), actors Malcolm McDowell and Mariette Hartley, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Franz Wright, writer Anne Lamott, and athletes Doc Ellis and Gerry Cooney are among the many celebrities interviewed for this inside look at what can happen when fame and fortune meet the recklessness and ruin of addiction. While the stories are as unique and vibrant as the individual celebrities who tell them, the irrefutable collective message is that addiction knows no boundaries. The disease strikes and topples even those who are seemingly on top of the world. Still, The Harder They Fall is a book of hope. In this modern-day version of the 1980s New York Times best-seller The Courage to Change, the famous people profiled have climbed out from the devastation of addiction to lead lives of extraordinary accomplishment.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Abbi Dion]

"There was a problem, though, when I wanted to order one last bottle of wine, and people around me were getting that very nervous, slightly angry look that I became very familiar with." -Anne Lamott

The Franz Wright, Jim Ramstad, Dick Beardsley, Richard Lewis, and Mariette Hartley stories/profiles were AMAZEBALLZ.

[Becky]

Interesting stories.

[K C Smith]

If you need to read or want to read about addiction and recovery, I recommend this book. Not all excerpts are compelling, but most are worth your time. Consider this one informative and, at times, inspiring.

[Valerie]

Famous people are addicts too.

[Elyse C]

Awful - save your money and time... this is 2012 - no interest in the 60's & 70's - Really!

[Bonni Sweet]

It was OK

[Sue Campbell]

A book about celebrities, their stories and their road to recovery.

[Nick Kauffman]

This book is a great example of why not to do drugs. The book tells the stories of celebrities drug addictions and their recovery. I would rate this book 4 out of 5 stars