Crystal Lies

by Melody Carlson

A Son’s Addiction. A Mother’s Heartbreak. A Family’s Crisis.

As the wife of a prominent city attorney and the mother of two teenage children on the brink of adulthood, Glennis Harmon lives the kind of successful, high-profile life that many people envy. But when nineteen-year-old Jacob is drawn into substance abuse, Glennis’ “perfect” world shatters like a crystal vase rocked from its once-steady shelf.

Glennis struggles to understand the response of her family as they seek to support Jacob’s recovery. Her husband appears more concerned with protecting his image than with finding help for their troubled son, but Glennis becomes determined to save Jacob no matter what the cost. Stepping into a rescuer role, she unintentionally puts her relationship with her older daughter, Sarah, and her already strained marriage on the line–and a revelation about her husband will push her to the brink of what she can bear.

How far should a mother go to save her child?

A compelling, compassionate, and ultimately hopeful novel about the impact of substance abuse and addiction, Crystal Lies is an intimate portrayal of one mother’s attempt to simultaneously love, trust, and let go.

Genres: Christian Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult, Christian, Novels

336 pages, Paperback

First published October 19, 2004

About the author

Melody Carlson is the award-winning author of over two hundred books, several of them Christmas novellas from Revell, including her much-loved and bestselling book, The Christmas Bus.

She also writes many teen books, including the Diary of a Teenage Girl series, the TrueColors series, and the Carter House Girls series.

Melody was nominated for a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the inspirational market for her books, including the Notes from a Spinning Planet series and Finding Alice, which is in production as a Lifetime Television movie. She and her husband serve on the Young Life adult committee in central Oregon.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book by Melody Carlson. This one felt more like Finding Alice, where it felt a bit like a real story told by someone involved in the situation although I'm sure this book is purely fiction. It was hard to put this one down as well. I still think her best book that I've read is Finding Alice.

[Ellen Hummel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an okay book about a young man's addiction to crystal meth and how it affects his family. I was frustrated with how idiotic the mom was and what a jerk the dad was.

[Samantha]

The book Crystal Lies is mostly about a family that has never seen bad days. It`s about a family that has no problems and lives the American dream. They had money and great kids with bright futures ahead of them. Well at least that’s what they thought. The mother (Glennis) did not have a job; she was a stay home mom. The husband (George) was a very popular husband; he made all the money. The daughter (Sarah) was already off to college, and having a good life. The son (Jacob) was in still in high school and his life isn’t the greatest. This book is about this family falling from cloud 9. Glennis and George`s kids were the best until, Jacob gave up on life. George was a very hard on Jacob and excepted a lot out of Jacob and Glennis never backed up her own son. While Jacob would be beaten for his grades, or he played bad in a sport. Well, a mouth later George wasn’t getting as much money as he use to. There whole family had to move to the bad side of town into a little apartment. Jacob made a lot of new friends. He never told his parents what kind of friends until they noticed that his grades were dropping. Jacob wouldn’t come home at night. Sometimes he wouldn’t show up for days. Once he finally gets home he smells terrible and even looks terrible. Glennis knew there had to be a change, but George didn’t care. He wanted Jacob to rot with the druggies. One day Glennis got so mad she stole money from George’s account and bailed her son out of jail. That same day they moved into an even smaller apartment and left George behind. After a few months like that Glennis is getting her life back. She met up with an old friend that helps her with all of her emotional problems. Than In a blink of an eye Glennis was living in a nice house and Jacob was in rehab getting better. Finally, Glennis has moved on in her life and has found an amazing guy. While Jacob was looking to attend a university to be a teacher. There life finally came together and know they know what real love is and how drugs don’t solve every problem.
This book mostly focuses on Glennis. Her life was almost perfect. The book makes you walk in her shoes and realize how much pain she felt. She didn’t know that she was giving money to her son to buy drugs and help with gas money. Glennis is the type of mom that you would think every child has. She is caring sweet and an amazing personality. She has a huge heart for everyone and always wants to help people. I think she was to kind to Jacob and gave him too much free time. She knew that he wasn’t going to basketball practice anymore, but she still helped him out. Glennis went from the bottom of the sea all the way to the clouds.
I recommend this book to boys and girls, ages 13 and up. Even new mothers should read this, because it can relate to so many people. I feel like older and more mature people will enjoy this book. It does go through things that I didn’t really understand in life. It makes you realize everyday struggles throughout life when you do not have a lot of money. Teenagers would enjoy this book to realize how lucky they are to have a good family. Also, they can see how life can get so hard you just want to fail, but you can`t give up on yourself. Many people can take so much out of this book.
I read this book because I was interested into seeing family problems. I like reading about other people`s problems and how I can avoid them in my life. This book made me think a lot and how lucky I am to not be around bad people. I am happy that I actually want a future and that I am not sitting behind a garbage can doing bad things. It makes me think if we can actually help that are behind that garbage can doing bad things. If we could actually reach out to them and explain that they are not worthless and they were put into this life for a reason. Not to waste their life.

[Ashli · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be honest, I'm not exactly sure how I feel about this book. I know that I liked it but didn't love it. I think it's more like I don't know what to think. I've wanting to read it for the longest time, and I'm not sure if I'm disappointed or not. I think I may have liked it a little bit better if it was told in the point of view of the addict, Jacob. Either way, it was interesting to read from the mother's perspective.
[Note: I'm not sure what rating to give this book. I love the way it was written and it was interesting, but pretty much all the characters were annoying and I found my mind drift a little. Oh, and the ending was a little rushed].

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Melody Carlson writes good Christian fiction, mostly because she hits on hard topics. This one, as you'd probably guess from the title, is on drug abuse. Carlson always manages to tell a good story in a sensitive, but thoughtful manner. She always leaves me wanting a bit more, though...

[Danielle Turko · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Glennis notices her son Jacob acting different, she at first believes it's a teenage thing and he'll turn back into his sweet self any day now. When her husband gives Jacob an ultimatum, she decides to leave and finds herself living in an apartment across the city with her husband and daughter not talking to her and her son talking to her when he needs something. Always afraid for the worst, she finally reaches out for help, but will it be too late for Jacob by then? His addiction to crystal meth takes them both on a wild journey that leaves them both unsure of the ending.
This book was much darker than the books I normally read in her adult fiction line. This if far more along the lines of the diary of a teenage girl books, or the colours series. Most of the adult fiction I've read by her has been more hallmark channel than this one, which is more lifetime channel, but it was still a really good book

[Taylor Triebenbach · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book with interest in addiction and what the emotional effects are on family members. This really showed that side of it. It didn't give much of a perspective from the addicts side though.

It was a drug out book that I thought could've been done in 250 pages or less.

I also did not enjoy how much Christianity was brought into it. There should have been a side note that it involved the mother laying her son's progressive addiction into "God's" hands. Overall it was a pretty dull book. Not my favorite but still intriguing.

[Stacie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was really hard for me to read, and I dont mean that is wasn't good. It hit home pretty hard with my current past that is still haunting me. My ex was a meth addict and I lived through it for many years. So the pain this mother felt I can understand. But mine was a different kind. For anyone suffering though a loved one going through addiction, this fictional novel may help a little. Knowing that the addict is the only one that can help themselves is really hard to come to terms with when you are codependent. I just pray that what I went through will never be repeated again.

[Cortney · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a different kind of read. Not good or bad…but interesting.

The mother felt raw and real. Not being directly affected by addiction, I still could feel her pain and guilt. It was heavy.
Just as you could feel the sadness, you could also feel the hope and relief.

I loved how raw every aspect truly was from marriage, motherhood, friendship and addiction.

[Presley Richards · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was an easy read. The story was about a mother trying to save her some from substance abuse, and how addiction affects your loved ones. This book had a great message, but it was a bit too repetitive and the ending was anticlimactic.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book and shows the reality of drugs and what it does to a family.

[Tempeste Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't experienced this situation first hand, but I can see how this boy's addiction could certainly put stress on every member of the family. I'd like to read more from this author.

[Georgine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic story.
realistic. went through some of the same things with my son.
would recommend this book

[Rebecca D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an easy read. Hard to put it down!

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very accurate, and very heartbreaking to read.

[Deb]

glennis' life is falling apart. her son jacob has been drug into the world of a crystal meth addict, and she is doing everything she can to pull him out of it. unfortunately, her husband does not agree with her efforts to help and wants to sweep the whole thing under the rug. glennis is in so much pain that she just has to leave one day and moves into an apartment across town. jacob comes to crash at her place, but through the efforts of some friends and counseling glennis realizes that she cannot be an enabler to his habit. so she has to kick him out, all while her husband is divorcing her for another woman.[return][return][return][return][return][return][return]style characterisics: pacing, clarity, structure, narrative devices, etc.[return]strong first person narration helps the reader grasp the reality of dealing with an addict along with glennis. told with a bit of a flash back, the story sucks the reader in as they want to see if jacob and glennis will ever be able to climb out of the pit they are in. pretty good secondary characters, though the characterization is a bit shallow for them. good information though from the counselor character and the recovering alcoholic character. and glennis' faith journey shows the hope that come come in the midst of sorrow. i especially like the scene where after a failed thanksgiving dinner where her son is a now show she goes and invites all the neighbors.[return][return]how good is it?[return][return]this is a book to read when you are in the mood for something serious that will help you learn about what it is like to be in the pit of despair yet still find some hope. and also to understand more about the issue of drug addiction.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The storyline was good and interesting and the characters seemed true in my oppinion but it was they way the story was told that made me not like it very much. The author gave the information straight forward to which kept me from fully feeling the events and emotions in the story. It also dwelt a long time on the woman's divorce in the beginning and, when we got to see her interacting with her son, I wish there had been more to it in the end. It did pull at my heart strings during the divorce stuff because I know people who have been through those tough divorces or those kind of people around them so I got that easily. I also have an appriciation for the ending. Dispite the fact I pray I still worry and try to control things on my own, like Glennis did, so that really taught me something in the end. But, I have come to discover Melody Carlson doesn't write in the style I like so I probably wont read another one of her books.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Melody Carlson is a Christian writer who writes good Christian books. However, at the library this book wasn't labeled as "Christian." This book was, however, written very well and offers an inside to a mothers' emotions in dealing with a son that is addicted to meth. It is an interesting read because it sheds light onto the "drug of choice" that you hear about so much these days (ie, why you can't buy more than two cold medicines at one store). This book definitely takes your emotions on a ride, but is worth reading. It helps put a understanding and human side into an addiction that is both dirty and despicable.

[Monica Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book so compelling on a very personal level. I have a brother who is an addict. We went through 5 tumultuous years of staggering heart break while he painfully undertook rehabilitation. I felt I was reading through my father's own emotional turmoil, in relationship to loving and attempting to help and support an addict. I know we lived by prayers and patience, repeated over, over, and over again. May the Lord bless all families who find themselves faced with similar unrestrained heartaches. Peace will come.

[Emily Brooker · Rating 1 out of 5]

Being the Mother of a now recovering Crystal Meth addict, I decided to read this uninformed claptrap. This book shows absolutely no insight to such addiction. I sooooo wish dealing with addiction were this easy. This is a book that says "Drugs r bad" (as per South Park) but offers nothing of the actual filth and violence, depression, depravity and degradation that Meth addiction forces on the addict and those close to them. If you want a real depiction of the devastation this drug leaves in its wake then don't bother with this.

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carlson's books are always so excellent. The reader is drawn into the codependent existence of a young man's mother. She doesn't want to believe he's using drugs, and wants to believe that she can cure him. She's ready to give up everything else--and finds out that some things, she never really had in the first place. The story was heartbreaking and well-told. A+.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really touches me as a mom. We can do all the "right" things but in the end, we have no control over our children's choices. It was easy to relate to because any woman could be Glennis. This story beautifully depicts a woman's conflicted journey through her son's addiction and how it negatively affects their family.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

In light of recent issues, not drug related, w/our first born. This really made
me remember to often pray for each of my children. And realize that you can't
make them be on fire for God. It has to come from within but someone w/a
tendency to have an addictive personality, needs lots of prayer and Godly
examples in their lives before they get exposed to the bad stuff.

[Nita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished this great book on a family dealing with Crystal Meth issues. It is a mothers look at what she has to decide to do or not, and whether her son is worth "throwing " away the whole family for. Excellent read for any family dealing with these issues.

[Jeanne S · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rated this book as 5 stars and it was definitely amazing! But probably not in the way you think... this book will haunt me the rest of my life but it opened my eyes to the world of a crystal meth addict. It is very disturbing, but I believe that as Christians these things should disturb us.

[Hayley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really great book. I've struggled with addiction myself & it's so easy to get caught up in how addiction effects the addict. To often did I forget that I wasn't the only one affected by addiction. This book helped to remind me of the other victims.

[Mary Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, never did someone put into words what it is like to be the mom of a drug addict. Heart breaking, the story could be any mom's worst nightmare. So close to the truth. A hard book to read, but so worth it. The mom learns to be ok, even if her son is not. A hard lesson for all moms.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I typically do not read Christian fiction because it is predictable & everything works out in the end. I felt this book reflected the real struggle of the effects of a drug addict on the entire family.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crystal Lies is a great book. It shows how when someone has a drug problem, it affects everyone around them. It also shows how far a family can go until you have to let go of that person and move on with your own life.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. Realistic storyline. Empathized with the main character and couldn't help but feel sad for the many negative situations she endured. This book sucked me in and it stayed with me for days after finishing