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The Other Side of Nowhere
Book by Danniella Westbrook
304 pages, Hardcover
First published March 21, 2006
8 people are currently reading
133 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
July 17, 2023
Riveting read. Absolutely astounding that she's still alive. It mustve been hard to admit how low life became under the influence of major drug addiction. Her husband mustve had the patience of a Saint.
July 2, 2011
Amazing story...this book should be given to any youngster trying to embrace the drug culture!!!
December 31, 2014
Tried to read this, didn't try very hard because I don't like her and could not care less how she got herself in such a mess.
June 2, 2018
Where Faith and Hope restored..
enjoyed reading this book.
enjoyed reading this book.
March 6, 2011
I think Danniella is brave, very brave to have given such an honest account of her addiction to cocaine. I think it is admirable for her to have taken full responsibility of her addiction, without blaming others, without pointing fingers. I also think she is very blessed to have the family she has, a husband who clearly loves her more than many of us will ever know (backed up by the abuse she gave him and the desperate state she was in) and those friends who are real true friends.
I have used drugs and I have loved taking them. I have gone through times when I have thought I could not get through the day without a spliff. I have been in a very low period of my life when they helped numb the deep pain and heartache I was suffering. I have partied for up to 3 weeks at a time with only 100 hours sleep over a 3 week period. I have taken so many that my periods stopped and my skin was grey and I was skeletal. I have lived in a house where the people who lived there thought it was OK for someone to vomit in their bath tub and for it to be left there for days. Thanks to a friend who slapped me around the face and asked me what the hell I thought I was doing to myself, I snapped out of the daze I was in and stopped... for 6 months, never to go back to that desperate state again. I came close to it many times, but thankfully I too was rescued by the desire to turn my life around and the love of a great man.
BUT even though I have experienced those things, I have never come close to the depths of despair that Danniella has, nor am I likely to God willing. I have nothing but compassion for her and although many people will say "well she deserves it for taking the stuff", "she wanted the attention, she admitted herself she wanted to be famous, well she's got what she wanted" NO ONE deserves what Daniella went through; and those that say these things just show their own ignorance to the strength of the drug, and to the insecurities she must have felt the first time she took cocaine. To do something like this just to have someone like you, just shows how insecure she felt.
This is a story that will warn you against taking drugs, it is a story that will give you the courage to overcome difficulties and any humiliation you are feeling, if you are willing to take a walk in someone else's shoes that is. It is a story to share with your teenage children to show them the dangers of peer pressure, the dangers of drugs if you are an addictive person. It will provide you with inspiration and courage to face your own demons.
Thankfully Danniella has been clean for many years. I have also not touched the stuff I was addicted to for many years. We have both come out the other side, but I had the blessing of not having a public profile. I have had the blessing that my addiction was only for 4 years.
Danniella writes that she has nothing more to prove and she is so right. She is a brave, strong and inspiring person who deserves a wonderful future. I personally wish her and her family, all the very best for the future. Good on you Danniella! :)
I have used drugs and I have loved taking them. I have gone through times when I have thought I could not get through the day without a spliff. I have been in a very low period of my life when they helped numb the deep pain and heartache I was suffering. I have partied for up to 3 weeks at a time with only 100 hours sleep over a 3 week period. I have taken so many that my periods stopped and my skin was grey and I was skeletal. I have lived in a house where the people who lived there thought it was OK for someone to vomit in their bath tub and for it to be left there for days. Thanks to a friend who slapped me around the face and asked me what the hell I thought I was doing to myself, I snapped out of the daze I was in and stopped... for 6 months, never to go back to that desperate state again. I came close to it many times, but thankfully I too was rescued by the desire to turn my life around and the love of a great man.
BUT even though I have experienced those things, I have never come close to the depths of despair that Danniella has, nor am I likely to God willing. I have nothing but compassion for her and although many people will say "well she deserves it for taking the stuff", "she wanted the attention, she admitted herself she wanted to be famous, well she's got what she wanted" NO ONE deserves what Daniella went through; and those that say these things just show their own ignorance to the strength of the drug, and to the insecurities she must have felt the first time she took cocaine. To do something like this just to have someone like you, just shows how insecure she felt.
This is a story that will warn you against taking drugs, it is a story that will give you the courage to overcome difficulties and any humiliation you are feeling, if you are willing to take a walk in someone else's shoes that is. It is a story to share with your teenage children to show them the dangers of peer pressure, the dangers of drugs if you are an addictive person. It will provide you with inspiration and courage to face your own demons.
Thankfully Danniella has been clean for many years. I have also not touched the stuff I was addicted to for many years. We have both come out the other side, but I had the blessing of not having a public profile. I have had the blessing that my addiction was only for 4 years.
Danniella writes that she has nothing more to prove and she is so right. She is a brave, strong and inspiring person who deserves a wonderful future. I personally wish her and her family, all the very best for the future. Good on you Danniella! :)
April 28, 2014
I didn't know who she was and I have never watched East Enders but I'm glad I read this book. Though the story is tragic for most part, I'm glad that it had a happy ending for Daniella. It speaks of second chances, something I am big about. I'm glad Daniella got her second chance at life. I'm also glad that she got a chance to come clean and tell her side of the story, because that is what matters.That is the story the world needed to hear.
My favourite excerpt from the book..." My name is Daniella, and I am a cocaine addict. But I am a lot of other things too. I am a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, an aunt and a friend, and when I die eventually that is how I would like to be remembered. As someone who went through the battle with addiction but survived it, to come back and reclaim her life. As someone who made it to the other side of nowhere."
My favourite excerpt from the book..." My name is Daniella, and I am a cocaine addict. But I am a lot of other things too. I am a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, an aunt and a friend, and when I die eventually that is how I would like to be remembered. As someone who went through the battle with addiction but survived it, to come back and reclaim her life. As someone who made it to the other side of nowhere."
October 1, 2011
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. It is very honest and an emotional account of her drug taking years, and how she came to stop her addiction. I would recomend this to any ex-drug addict, or current one as this book is fantastic for showing you the things you can do to your family,friends and to yourself. I also think people who's family members have drug issues should read it, to try to get into their mind and see what they are thinking.
I would have gave this book a 4 if it wasn't for the fact it did get a tad repitive but still it is a fanatstic book which I would recomend to anyone.
I would have gave this book a 4 if it wasn't for the fact it did get a tad repitive but still it is a fanatstic book which I would recomend to anyone.
July 31, 2013
Drugs. Ponies. Daddy. Eastenders. Drugs. Addiction. Celebrity. Fame. Drugs. Break Up. Rejection. Drugs. Eastenders. Suicide. Drugs. Nose. Surgery. Abuse. Childhood. Drugs. Sex. Rehab. Drugs. There’s no wonder she was driven to wearing that much Burberry.
First Line reads “I don’t know why.”
Neither do we, princess. Spoilt, arrogant and intensly unlikeable from the offset. A huge delusion of grandeur as a child that turned into a neolithic self obsession with no common sense or regards for the poor saps closest to her. I couldn't even bring myself to finish this. I got halfway through and just stopped myself just short of throwing this book at the cat. Hated it. Sorry.
First Line reads “I don’t know why.”
Neither do we, princess. Spoilt, arrogant and intensly unlikeable from the offset. A huge delusion of grandeur as a child that turned into a neolithic self obsession with no common sense or regards for the poor saps closest to her. I couldn't even bring myself to finish this. I got halfway through and just stopped myself just short of throwing this book at the cat. Hated it. Sorry.
June 2, 2016
I had been recommended this memoir and when I saw it in a charity shop for a few pounds, I snapped it up. It definitely piqued my interest and I would class it as an well-written, accessible, page-turner. The subject matter is anything but light though as Danniella talks honestly about her sometimes horrific battles with drug addiction. As far as celebrity memoirs go, this is a refreshing stand-out book that breaks the mould and offers a down-to-earth look at addiction.
September 6, 2015
What an absolutely brilliant book. I just couldn't put it down. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was so well written (apart from the numerous typing errors). It really did provide us with an insight into Danniella's life. It was a lot better than I thought and I would definitely recommend it to anybody as a brilliant read.
December 1, 2010
An interesting and at times harrowing insight into the life of a heroin addict - who also happens to be a famous actress.
April 4, 2011
A interesing insight to the world of a actress & her very honest & raw account of her coccaine addiction
August 31, 2011
Wow, this book blew me away, just couldn't put it down.
August 2, 2011
Amazing how someone with such a good upbringing can fall so far. Bit repetitive and quite depressing.
September 20, 2012
An incredible read. This book made me cry as it portrayed an emotional and moving journey. It helped save my life as it helped me get clean. I've now read it so many times I've lost count.
November 18, 2012
A great insight into the life of a TV Celeb the pressures that's put on you to take drugs. I really enjoyed this.
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February 1, 2013I Think this is a very good and people who have a drug problem or a family with a drug problem should read it. I also think she was very brave to tell everyone her story.
July 7, 2014
quite an open and honest account of her struggle in the world of hard drugs.
I wasn't a fan but I wanted to see how honest she was and I take my hat off to her
I wasn't a fan but I wanted to see how honest she was and I take my hat off to her
November 15, 2022
Wow wow wow what an amazing read. Definitely one of my favourites
May 24, 2013
A really good book about fighing an addiction to Cocaine.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews