Rolling Away: My Agony with Ecstasy

by Lynn Marie Smith

Lynn Marie Smith never wanted to be an addict. A popular straight-A student from small-town Pennsylvania, she moved to New York City to pursue her dream of acting. In the city, she came in contact with new people, new ideas, and a completely new way of life- a way that exposed her to drugs. She tried pot, acid, and cocaine, but it was the "love drug" Ecstasy that won her heart.
Rolling Away is the story of Lynn's frenzied flight into addiction and her long struggle to come back down to earth. At once harrowing and inspiring, Rolling Away is a triumphant narrative about sex, drugs, and rock-bottom survival- and how a second chance can save your life.

Genres: Memoir, Addiction, Nonfiction, Mental Health, Biography Memoir, Drugs

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Stefanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay, full disclosure: I am for reforming our drug laws and regulating currently illegal substances like ecstasy. I read this book because it's one of the few out there (that I know of) on the subject of ecstasy addiction. Ecstasy, by the way, is not physically addicting in the same way alcohol, cocaine or heroin is (e.g. withdrawal symptoms), but certainly it can be habit forming in the same way any substance or activity is when it makes you forget your problems.

I was hoping this book might offer a nuanced tale of a woman getting swept up in an attractive drug use culture but ultimately deciding to face her problems head on. Instead, it's a simplistic "it's the drug's fault not mine" anti-drug skree, where she seems to come out more hateful than she began. And more to the point, it's clear Lynn has some mental issues compounding her choices.

Ultimately I feel sorry that she did not have any true friends to rein her in when she was making these destructive choices, but I'm even more angered that she allowed her entirely valid story of addiction and recovery to be used as a misleading anti-drug cautionary tale. And did anyone happen to note that the publisher is Altria, parent company of Phillip Morris?? Yeah, that's not ironic.

[Daylight · Rating 2 out of 5]

extremely quick read. was purchased during my "i can't get enough of memoirs" phase. i bought quite a lot of books that fit into that category.

this one is not particularly wrenching, nor does it leave you completely satisfied. But good enough to read through if you don't have much time nor brain capacity to tackle something tough.

[Suede · Rating 1 out of 5]

Beatrice Sparks? Is that you hiding behind a new pseudonym? It sure sounds like you, you little minx.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another drug memoir. Good for Lynn Smith that she got her shit together but I do wonder at blaming the drugs for the fact that she lost the plot.
I am not sure
But the result is a goodone and she does seem to be making a difference because of her experience
and this book is about her experience and so has complete integrity from her point of view

I just hope she did things other than stop the drugs to get her head space sorted out
sounded to me like there was loads of other shit going on too


Drugs books so often have the same problem - in describing the fall from the good place drugs originally took the user to, it is almost impossible not to make it all sound fabulous. Cos it was at that stage. It is only after the fall that the falseness of the high is apparent. Half way through this book all I could think about was how awesome it all sounded - rather than what a terribly dangerous pursuit drug taking is.
Not sure drug memoirs get around this - if it is even possible.

[Krissy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was awesome!! I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would, as you can see, I read in about two days. Although parts of it were sad, I can definitely relate to Lynn in some ways and I am so happy to hear that she is doing so well. This book really opens your eyes to the dangers of ecstasy, even though you tend to hear that it's not so bad of a drug.

[Sabrina Rutter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put this book down once I started it!
If you have watched MTV's TrueLife you might have watched her on that show as she found out the damage she had done to her brain.
This is not a pity me type of memoir, she wrote this book to expose the ugly side of drug addiction and I think she did a great job.

[Kristine Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very insightful if you have either a personal or professional interest in addiction. It was nice to read an autobiography about this subject that is both inspiring and uplifting. I feel like I know Lynn personally now.

[Gina Oviedo · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book talks about E, which is not a frequently discussed drug in literature, this particular books plays into so many of the fallacies that are passed around about ecstasy such as it causing holes in your brain, running your serotonin out, and causing psychosis. The book also comes off as whiny and entitled, the girl couldn't find an acting job so she bartended and partied nonstop.
I have read a significant chunk of drug literature, and while I appreciate the effort to talk about E, this book has an agenda.

[AntiMommyBlogger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had mixed feelings picking up Lynn Marie Smith’s biography Rolling Away: My Agony with Ecstasy. As a recreational drug user, I was very interested in reading about someone else’s experiences; on the flipside, I was afraid it would be boring, patronizing or poorly written. Full disclosure before I continue: I’ve used Ecstasy only a handful of times—I came to the scene when people were moving away from Ecstasy, and towards MDMA.

You'll find the rest of my review here: http://www.antimommyblogger.com/2016/...

[Lauren (strangled) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Downfall: incredibly willing to blame the drug, but not her own stupid, uninformed decisions. She was using up to hundreds of times the 'recommended dose' ... the consequences of which have helped her to decide that this drug is so terrible - yet, had she OD'd that severely on almost any other drug, she probably would not be alive and functioning today.

[Megan Cantrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick interesting read. It made me realize how serious this drug is and the damage it can do to your body. I did not know much about ecstacy before reading this book and Lynns journey made me see how devastating it can be.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though it was slow at times, I found it to be an interesting look at dealing with drug addiction.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very easy quick read. I only wish I could have seen the MTV show that she was on as well to actually see her struggles.

[Michael T. McComb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really could relate to what this girl went through. I read this book in about a day. I am grateful to Lynn for sharing her story of despair, hope and accomplishment.

[Jeannie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an ok read but not as in depth as I had hoped for. I just never really got a feel for the author.

[Terrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning read as did other drug-addict's memoirs, but the part about hospitalization and recovery was interesting.

[Renee Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although Lynn Smith's drug use lasted only a brief time, she paid dearly with psychosis and brain damage. Glad she speaks out. Glad she wrote the book.

[Katzen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read, scary and interesting at the same time. I would have liked to read a little more than the short 'afterwards' regarding her recovery.

[Tanny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book quite easy to read but a bit lacking in substance.

[Karen Kerr]

Picked this up at the library trying to get some insight into the drug epidemic. Found it to be an honest and brave retelling of how easy it is to start taking drugs and how quickly life can unravel.