Absolutely not at all what I was expecting. The first half was broken-man memoir, belonged in Literary Biography; the second half philosophical musings on existence and addiction, heavy on the references, belonged in A-Z Philosophy. It was a pleasant surprise.
An excellent book, I found it very inspirational and so many sentences just made me pause and think. Even if you don't have an addiction, this is an engaging and worth-while read.
Excellent read, Barney Hoskyns is my favourite music writer by a long way and his personal story here is gripping. And where else could you get quotes from Primo Levi and Judee Sill on the same page?