Young Firecrackers

by Brian Rehn

Marietta, Georgia. The mid-1990s. An affluent suburb with rolling hills, manicured lawns, and top-tier schools. An idyllic community brimming with privilege and promise. But behind closed doors, thirty of our close friends fell to drug addiction.

How did so many in our circle die from drug-related deaths? And how the hell did we survive?

In this raw collection of memoirs, five friends recount their battles with addiction, set against the backdrop of America’s drug crisis. Witness as we unravel the lies behind our suburban safety net and the reckless habits we embraced. What began as teens chasing highs morphed into a full-blown horror show. We squandered it all.

Now, nearing forty, we’re still struggling—but we're here to tell our story. You can bet it was—and is—no easy feat. As any addict knows, true transformation is an inside job. A dormant firecracker still burns within each of us, and it’s our job to ensure it doesn’t accidentally detonate.

If you’re not dead, pick yourself up. The show’s not over.

Kindle Edition

Published April 21, 2025

Reviews

[Rebekah Lovich · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rate this book a 5 not because the writing is amazing but the bravery to publish such honesty. These stories are hard to read but the truth about the world we live in. Money and nice areas do not protect you from addiction and the availability of hard drugs.

[AP · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you guys and girls for taking the time to write this book. As an “east Cobb snob” and recovering heroin addicting myself it was very cool to read about your story and here so many familiar places being mentioned. Despite being 8 years younger than you all we led very similar lives. I couldn’t help but wonder if our paths ever crossed maybe in the bluffs or some seedy hotel waiting to pick up dope. A great compilation of testimonies about recovery and the disease of addiction.

[James R · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will take you to a place that your mind and heart can’t deny. Then smack you in your face. Twice. This is something different than most other (maybe all) addiction based books out there. These 5 co-authors’ ability to write openly, unapologetically, and with satire randomly mixed in, is quite remarkable and interesting to reflect upon after reading. The conversational style of writing is captivating, and the flow will grab you from start to finish. All 5 memoirs have a different vibe, and the co-authors should be proud of what they’ve accomplished. I hope someone will make this book into a tv mini series or full length documentary. I can see it doing well in that medium…maybe even better than the book format. All parents and teens need to read this, especially the ones in the suburbs around America. Might save them some brutal heartaches.

[Kerri Merrill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Young Firecrackers Is a raw and heartbreaking glimpse into the life of 5 middle class (now recovered) addicts. They each tell the gruesome (at times) tale of how they lived their teenage and adult lives as “junkies”.

If you think “it can’t happen to me or my family”, you’re wrong- it did happen to me- they are my family.

Every parent should read this book and maybe even your teens- if they haven’t used drugs yet, MAYBE they’ll think twice. It’s a hard read but a necessary one. This happened right here in our hometown - East Cobb- the epitome of upper middle class. They shed light on a bigger issue in calling out what you think are safe suburbs.

I am immensely proud of them for airing their truths, shedding light on this horrible disease and miraculously finding sobriety.

[Georgette Dobkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must read for so many groups of people: parents who think suburbs=safety for their children, loved ones and acquaintances of those suffering with addiction, young people at the age where drugs will be introduced and opportunity will surround them, and others plagued by addiction seeking shared testimony, inspiration, and hope.
I applaud and am in awe of these authors for inviting us into their individual addiction prisons and hells. Their bravery, honesty, and vulnerability in sharing their stories is beyond admirable.
This book offers both a deeply personal examination of addiction and an unavoidable conclusion that it can happen to anyone, anywhere.
Thank you to the authors for this gift. I hope it is widely read and helps many.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hooooly smokes. This was a wild read. Set in East Cobb, I read about it when it first came out but it sat in my pile, forgotten, until last week. I flew through it and couldn’t stop telling people about it. Five addicts now in their 40s tell their stories about how they became addicts, what their journey was like, and where they are now. Much of it was jaw-dropping but the wildest statistic is that they went to 5x as many funerals of their friends as weddings during those years. Super well-written? Ehh. Not terrible (they are, after all, products of East Cobb schools 😉 iykyk) but the content was nuts.

[Jamie Kaszowicz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raw, emotional, and eye-opening stories about the demons of addiction, the struggles of recovery, and the hard fought and sought after accomplishment of sobriety among a group of teens turned adults. Located in Georgia’s Heroin triangle amidst America’s drug and opioid crisis, these accounts highlight the reality that anyone is susceptible to the disease of addiction and is able to overcome what may seem impossible. These are gruesome, real stories that will give hope to those whose hope may be diminishing.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a healing project! Healing takes time, and the authors of this book went through the process to put their experiences to paper. Retelling stories of how they went from teens in a middle/upper class suburb, to addiction and some big moments that carved their trajectory in life. This is a brave work of art, raw, and while some of the stories hit close to home, the real story here is one of transformation.

[Kate Beckerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a teacher at Pope High School in Marietta, I found these stories both heartbreaking and inspiring. The narrators give insight to the struggles that our kids have growing up in East Cobb.