Codeine Diary: True Confessions of a Reckless Hemophiliac

by Tom Andrews

In a resonant, haunting, and often hilarious memoir, the author recounts his battle with hemophilia, a battle he was determined to win, pursuing such potentially catastrophic hobbies as playing in a raucous punk rock band and racing motorcycles. Reprint. 20,000 first printing.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Health, Poetry

238 pages, Paperback

First published February 2, 1998

Reviews

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

He goes back in forth in the book covering the "present" time of when he's having a bleed and then covering his past with his condition and then a lot of his family history. His brother has a kidney disease that requires him to have home dialysis.

I liked the beginning. Gave a history of what he had been through living with hemophilia in the time of HIV. There could have been a LOT edited out though with him being in the hospital going through the recovery. I almost didn't finish the book because it was getting repetitive but I'm so glad I did finish it. The last 20-30 pages were my favorite. There's a completely awesome picture of his family's 1972 Christmas card in there. It's AMAZING and hilarious.

Would I recommend it.......maybe, with the preface that it gets a little repetitive and stale in the middle....

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because I was introduced to Andrews through a poem used in the Biola Advent Project this year. My curiosity was piqued by the brief biographical information in the devotional, so I decided to read this book. It was constructed in an interesting way, combining his experiences of enduring a bad bleed and resulting hospital stay, his setting a Guiness world record as a 12 year old for clapping his hands all day, and his reflections on his life thus far, particularly dwelling on his brother and his brother's kidney problems that had caused his early death.

So! Lots going on! I found his story intriguing (I don't know why hemophilia has always intrigued me, but it has, ever since I read about the poor Romanov heir.) In light of the poem I read, I assume Andrews moved closer to God in the years after writing this book. In the book he seemed to be wrestling a lot with his mysterious situation (his hemophilia had been caused by a genetic mutation, rather than a hereditary condition; despite numerous blood transfusions, he was one of the few who did not contract AIDS) and his brother's devout faith.

[Cheryl Jensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although presented as a memoir, the material of Codeine Diary largely occurs during a short two-week slice of the author's life. In the final chapter Tom Andrews reveals the body of the book is a copy of his diary from 1989, describing an incident in which he fell on ice and experienced significant hemophiliac bleed. This accounts for the stream of consciousness style of the narrative, and the concentrated introspection which is at times rather tiresome. The chapters are interspersed with his memories of achieving a place in the Guinness Book of World Records at age 11 by clapping continuously for over 14 hours. The author includes copies of the affidavits required to prove his accomplishments, a strange choice as these also are not engaging reading. Mr. Andrews does provide an interesting, though limited, window into his experiences and concerns of what it is like to live with hemophilia. Later editions of Codeine Diary are subtitled True Confessions of a Reckless Hemophiliac, rather than a memoir. It's a more catchy but rather exaggerated titled.

Mr. Andrews died in 2001 at age 40 from complications of a blood condition which caused clotting.

[Jennifer D. Munro · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite liked this book but was not blown away by it. I found the hemophilia passages much more educational and compelling that the flashbacks to his record-breaking hand-clapping as a boy. I must admit that I was dismally unaware of what living with this disease is like.