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Ice Age: A Journey into Crystal Meth Addiction
Shocking. Honest. Engrossing.
Journalist Luke Williams had moved into a house with an old friend and meth dealer in outer-suburban Melbourne researching addiction to crystal methamphetamine when he accidentally became addicted to it himself. Over the next three months, he descended into psychosis.
He believed his parents were trying to poison him, that a pedophile ring was being run from the local café and thought he was bound to become a rap star. He became transfixed with violent fantasy and ended up living on the streets. After that, he moved into Australia’s then most notorious boarding house The Gatwick.
Ice Age tells the story of Luke’s fall as well as the fate of two other addicts – Smithy and Beck (both parents of young children) while simultaneously explaining how and why crystal meth has become a problem in Australia and all over the western world.
Shortlisted for the Nib Waverley Prize
Longlisted Walkley Book Prize
Longlisted for a CWA Dagger Award
Highly Commended Australian Drug Foundation Media Awards
‘[An] unblinking account … shot through with little slivers of acid humour.’ (Andrew Anthony, The Observer)
‘Williams is a talented writer… Ice Age is a vivid, detailed and balanced account of methamphetamine use [and] a remarkable, original and compelling journey. To quote the king of gonzo journalism, Hunter S. Thompson: buy the ticket, take the ride.’ (Andrew McMillen, The Weekend Australian).
‘The intensity of Williams's focus on Australia's meth problem is ultimately not a flaw but a virtue - it's what makes The Ice Age vividly memorable…In documenting his addiction, Williams thrusts the book into the realm of celebrated drug memoirs, from Thomas de Quincey’s Confessions of an English Opium Eater, to William Burroughs’ novelized Junky and Hunter S Thompson’s part-autobiographical, part-fictional Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.’ (Chris Harvey, The Telegraph)
‘The Ice Age finds a steady rhythm between the vivid, surreal, violent and sorrowful memories of what Williams experiences while addicted, and thoroughly researched sections on history, law, policing and psychology that qualify the book as an excellent reference work … At his worst, Williams could lie to himself and everyone else with a flair that may have been natural or drug-inspired, or a mixture of both. In this book, he reaches towards the truth. As both an ex-addict and a journalist, he appears to have found it.’ (Sean Bell, Scotland Herald)
Journalist Luke Williams had moved into a house with an old friend and meth dealer in outer-suburban Melbourne researching addiction to crystal methamphetamine when he accidentally became addicted to it himself. Over the next three months, he descended into psychosis.
He believed his parents were trying to poison him, that a pedophile ring was being run from the local café and thought he was bound to become a rap star. He became transfixed with violent fantasy and ended up living on the streets. After that, he moved into Australia’s then most notorious boarding house The Gatwick.
Ice Age tells the story of Luke’s fall as well as the fate of two other addicts – Smithy and Beck (both parents of young children) while simultaneously explaining how and why crystal meth has become a problem in Australia and all over the western world.
Shortlisted for the Nib Waverley Prize
Longlisted Walkley Book Prize
Longlisted for a CWA Dagger Award
Highly Commended Australian Drug Foundation Media Awards
‘[An] unblinking account … shot through with little slivers of acid humour.’ (Andrew Anthony, The Observer)
‘Williams is a talented writer… Ice Age is a vivid, detailed and balanced account of methamphetamine use [and] a remarkable, original and compelling journey. To quote the king of gonzo journalism, Hunter S. Thompson: buy the ticket, take the ride.’ (Andrew McMillen, The Weekend Australian).
‘The intensity of Williams's focus on Australia's meth problem is ultimately not a flaw but a virtue - it's what makes The Ice Age vividly memorable…In documenting his addiction, Williams thrusts the book into the realm of celebrated drug memoirs, from Thomas de Quincey’s Confessions of an English Opium Eater, to William Burroughs’ novelized Junky and Hunter S Thompson’s part-autobiographical, part-fictional Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.’ (Chris Harvey, The Telegraph)
‘The Ice Age finds a steady rhythm between the vivid, surreal, violent and sorrowful memories of what Williams experiences while addicted, and thoroughly researched sections on history, law, policing and psychology that qualify the book as an excellent reference work … At his worst, Williams could lie to himself and everyone else with a flair that may have been natural or drug-inspired, or a mixture of both. In this book, he reaches towards the truth. As both an ex-addict and a journalist, he appears to have found it.’ (Sean Bell, Scotland Herald)
376 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 27, 2018
86 people are currently reading
327 people want to read
About the author
Luke Williams
2 books2 followersLuke Williams is an Australian journalist. He has worked as a reporter for ABC Radio, written for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian, Brisbane Times, Crikey, The Global Mail, The Weekend Australian and Eureka Street. He is the author of The Ice Age, an account of his experiences with addiction to crystal meth.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
January 16, 2018
Extremely compelling, but structurally could do with some improvement. There was too much repetition and the juxtaposition of statistics with personal memoir seemed jarring at times. The personal anecdotes were fascinating. Overall, an authentic story by a brave author who shared a lot of himself.
June 10, 2016
A good read if someone you love is struggling with this drug - gives a bit if insight into why it has such appeal.
A little heavy on the statistics - some of them are very illuminating, but it gets a bit bogged down.
The vignettes of Williams' own experiences feel a little disjointed because of the swaths of facts, but they do give a flavour of the ice lifestyle.
My biggest complaint is that this book was in desperate need of an editor - to give the narrative more flow, but mostly to correct the many spelling mistakes, repetition of phrases etc that really should not be part of any published book.
A little heavy on the statistics - some of them are very illuminating, but it gets a bit bogged down.
The vignettes of Williams' own experiences feel a little disjointed because of the swaths of facts, but they do give a flavour of the ice lifestyle.
My biggest complaint is that this book was in desperate need of an editor - to give the narrative more flow, but mostly to correct the many spelling mistakes, repetition of phrases etc that really should not be part of any published book.
May 23, 2016
When reading books for review, I have a habit of folding a small triangle in the corner of each page that contains a particularly memorable, funny or insightful moment. I also draw an asterisk beside the section in question, so that I can easily locate it when typing notes afterwards. By the time I got to the end of 'The Ice Age', the bottom right corner of the book was swollen with dog-eared page markers and the margins lined with scrawled asterisks.
It had been a while since I had defaced a book in such a manner; most titles are lucky to contain more than a handful of noteworthy moments. In sum, I folded 32 of its 367 pages. 'The Ice Age' offers something never before attempted by an Australian author: it investigates the allure and popularity of the illicit drug crystal methamphetamine, while simultaneously charting the writer’s spiral into addiction and “full-blown psychosis” at age 34.
It began a couple of years ago, when Luke Williams came up with the idea of moving in with a “junkie and jailbird” friend in Pakenham, an outer suburb of Melbourne. Williams knew his friend dealt drugs from the house, which meant “meth use and meth users were near-constant companions”. In classic gonzo journalism style, he sought to embed himself in a subculture to report on it accurately and fully.
But after he began injecting the drug along with the revolving door of questionable characters who visited the house at all hours, the assignment slipped his mind. “I cooked my brain so badly on meth that, after a few months, I genuinely lost track of the fact I was writing a story,” Williams writes in the first chapter. “I stopped taking notes, and became fixated on a series of non-existent events with myself at the centre. So, yes — as you may have gathered — I got a story, a very good story. Only it wasn’t the one I was expecting; I didn’t bank on becoming a psychotic meth addict myself.”
Williams is a fine writer, and this is the primary appeal of 'The Ice Age': never before have I read such a vivid, detailed and balanced account of methamphetamine use. Many users lack the ability to articulate the effects of the drug and are unable to interrogate their own behaviour by considering how it affects others. Williams does both, and in this sense his is a landmark book. It should be studied closely by those who work in fields where meth use is prominent as well as by those who draft the policy that determines how society treats users.
It is a flawed book, however. Williams too often submerges himself in law enforcement statistics and lengthy policy reports. There are only so many times one can read about trends in police clandestine laboratory detections before eyes glaze over. These wonky discussions are rendered in dry, inert language and jar against the vibrant details that the author summons when writing about his own experiences with the drug.
This seesawing between the distant-historical and present-contemporary is my principal complaint, as it tends to arrest the narrative momentum that Williams skilfully builds. In this sense, 'The Ice Age' can’t quite decide if it wants to be a first-person account of addiction or a worthy examination of the social, political, scientific and economic factors that led to the crystallised form of the drug becoming so popular this century.
Still, its strengths are many: the author makes careful distinctions between powdered amphetamine (speed), powdered methamphetamine (meth) and crystal methamphetamine (ice), and describes the probable factors that saw the latter version taking precedence in recent years.
Another narrative thread is the author’s analysis of the factors in his childhood and adolescence that contributed to his drug use in later years. Chief among them is the social isolation he felt after he discovered his sexuality, as this excerpt illustrates:
"This was the dawn of a new era in my life — I would know now what it was like to be the lowest-ranking male. To use the metaphor of a diseased tree, the problem was that I was blossoming into an adult that some considered to be threatening to the population; an adult that needed to be cut down, turned into sawdust, and buried in a hole to ensure it didn’t spread weakness, perversion, and infection. I am, in fact, talking here about the life of a gay teenager in post-AIDS 1990s country Australia."
This led to anxiety and depression, and then the regular use of stimulants such as ecstasy and what he thought was speed but turned out to be meth. From this came the author’s first psychotic breakdown, at the age of 20 or so. It was an unpleasant outcome that prompted him to quit drugs for five years, but psychosis revisited him when he moved into the Pakenham house to begin living out this tale.
A former Triple J radio reporter and an accomplished freelance journalist — his front-page story for The Saturday Paper on his crystal meth addiction was a finalist for a Walkley Award in feature writing in 2014 — Williams has a fine eye for the details that make stories lodge themselves in the brains of readers. These details are rendered in such stark, unflinching terms that it is almost impossible to look away.
While the book could have benefited from a firmer edit, it sounds as if the publishers had their hands full with what the author delivered. “The drafts of the final chapters to this book were sent back from Scribe with the message: ‘I have never seen anything like this in all my years of editing,’ ” Williams writes 12 pages from the end. Yet the fact remains 'The Ice Age' is a remarkable, original and compelling journey. To quote the king of gonzo journalism, Hunter S. Thompson: buy the ticket, take the ride.
Review originally published in The Weekend Australian, 21 May 2016: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/...
It had been a while since I had defaced a book in such a manner; most titles are lucky to contain more than a handful of noteworthy moments. In sum, I folded 32 of its 367 pages. 'The Ice Age' offers something never before attempted by an Australian author: it investigates the allure and popularity of the illicit drug crystal methamphetamine, while simultaneously charting the writer’s spiral into addiction and “full-blown psychosis” at age 34.
It began a couple of years ago, when Luke Williams came up with the idea of moving in with a “junkie and jailbird” friend in Pakenham, an outer suburb of Melbourne. Williams knew his friend dealt drugs from the house, which meant “meth use and meth users were near-constant companions”. In classic gonzo journalism style, he sought to embed himself in a subculture to report on it accurately and fully.
But after he began injecting the drug along with the revolving door of questionable characters who visited the house at all hours, the assignment slipped his mind. “I cooked my brain so badly on meth that, after a few months, I genuinely lost track of the fact I was writing a story,” Williams writes in the first chapter. “I stopped taking notes, and became fixated on a series of non-existent events with myself at the centre. So, yes — as you may have gathered — I got a story, a very good story. Only it wasn’t the one I was expecting; I didn’t bank on becoming a psychotic meth addict myself.”
Williams is a fine writer, and this is the primary appeal of 'The Ice Age': never before have I read such a vivid, detailed and balanced account of methamphetamine use. Many users lack the ability to articulate the effects of the drug and are unable to interrogate their own behaviour by considering how it affects others. Williams does both, and in this sense his is a landmark book. It should be studied closely by those who work in fields where meth use is prominent as well as by those who draft the policy that determines how society treats users.
It is a flawed book, however. Williams too often submerges himself in law enforcement statistics and lengthy policy reports. There are only so many times one can read about trends in police clandestine laboratory detections before eyes glaze over. These wonky discussions are rendered in dry, inert language and jar against the vibrant details that the author summons when writing about his own experiences with the drug.
This seesawing between the distant-historical and present-contemporary is my principal complaint, as it tends to arrest the narrative momentum that Williams skilfully builds. In this sense, 'The Ice Age' can’t quite decide if it wants to be a first-person account of addiction or a worthy examination of the social, political, scientific and economic factors that led to the crystallised form of the drug becoming so popular this century.
Still, its strengths are many: the author makes careful distinctions between powdered amphetamine (speed), powdered methamphetamine (meth) and crystal methamphetamine (ice), and describes the probable factors that saw the latter version taking precedence in recent years.
Another narrative thread is the author’s analysis of the factors in his childhood and adolescence that contributed to his drug use in later years. Chief among them is the social isolation he felt after he discovered his sexuality, as this excerpt illustrates:
"This was the dawn of a new era in my life — I would know now what it was like to be the lowest-ranking male. To use the metaphor of a diseased tree, the problem was that I was blossoming into an adult that some considered to be threatening to the population; an adult that needed to be cut down, turned into sawdust, and buried in a hole to ensure it didn’t spread weakness, perversion, and infection. I am, in fact, talking here about the life of a gay teenager in post-AIDS 1990s country Australia."
This led to anxiety and depression, and then the regular use of stimulants such as ecstasy and what he thought was speed but turned out to be meth. From this came the author’s first psychotic breakdown, at the age of 20 or so. It was an unpleasant outcome that prompted him to quit drugs for five years, but psychosis revisited him when he moved into the Pakenham house to begin living out this tale.
A former Triple J radio reporter and an accomplished freelance journalist — his front-page story for The Saturday Paper on his crystal meth addiction was a finalist for a Walkley Award in feature writing in 2014 — Williams has a fine eye for the details that make stories lodge themselves in the brains of readers. These details are rendered in such stark, unflinching terms that it is almost impossible to look away.
While the book could have benefited from a firmer edit, it sounds as if the publishers had their hands full with what the author delivered. “The drafts of the final chapters to this book were sent back from Scribe with the message: ‘I have never seen anything like this in all my years of editing,’ ” Williams writes 12 pages from the end. Yet the fact remains 'The Ice Age' is a remarkable, original and compelling journey. To quote the king of gonzo journalism, Hunter S. Thompson: buy the ticket, take the ride.
Review originally published in The Weekend Australian, 21 May 2016: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/...
June 17, 2016
Whilst at times extremely self-indulgent and chaotic, there is some good information in this book, and I'm just glad a real-life, unpoliticised account of ice use is available to educate people.
Read
November 6, 2022"You realise that people take drugs because it's the only real adventure left to them in their time constrained, law and order, property lined world."
March 5, 2018
I don't know what made me want to read this book when ages ago I put on my Goodreads bookshelf. curiosity. Luke has really captured my attention in The Ice Age purely from what his done as an author/ journalist and his grasping the inside world of ICE, a story so formidable and his own wellbeing was compromised. It shows an insight into the body and addiction, proving addiction is far stronger then moral consequences and further into depth about Australian community, lifestyle, upbringing. Luke explores drug history all over the world, pharmaceutical issues, social issues and of course his own personal issues involving people around him. I really enjoyed all aspects of the book and how he intwines facts, realisations, testimonies, politics, abuse, and real life ‘in the moment’ moments. I was not expecting the spiritual turn at the end, and I’m so happy he got his awakening moment in life.
August 13, 2016
Luke Williams was a freelance journalist and former drug addict researching addiction to crystallised methamphetamine (commonly known as crystal meth or ice) when the worst possible thing happened — he became addicted to it himself. Over the next three months, he was seduced by the drug and descended into psychosis.
This confronting and illuminating story charts Luke's recovery from the drug, and his investigation into its usage and prevalence in Australia and the western world. In examining what led to his addiction, Luke also explores the social problems that surround ice, scrutinising whether its abuse is in fact an epidemic, with what we're experiencing now merely the tip of the proverbial iceberg, or yet another moral panic about the underclass. Luke traces the history of methamphetamine from its legal usage in the early 20th century to its contemporary relevance as one of the most foreboding and talked-about illicit drugs in the world. His search for answers sees him exploring meth labs, interviewing addicts and law-enforcement officials, and witnessing firsthand the effects of the drug on individuals, families, and the healthcare system.
Combining memoir with reportage, The Ice Age is a vital, compelling first-person account, and an investigation into a drug that is fast becoming the subject of national discussion throughout the western world.
So my reading preferences are - NA and True Crime. Weird combo huh....when I read the blurb for this book I was so excited because what an in...and what I mean by that is, here we had someone (Luke Williams) who was a journalist, who got a first hand look into addiction because unfortunately, he became addicted himself.
I was excited to see how a journalist would go about presenting the world of drugs. What I got, was half medical diagnosis crap. Which I'm probably being a bit harsh.....so let me explain. I wanted to read about Luke's personal stories, his struggles in this world. I did not want to spend so long learning about the statistics of the drug world. I know I'm not everybody, and some may have really enjoyed that aspect. And in saying that, I think that it had a place in this book.....In my humble opinion, the book would have been better to read if it was sectioned in two. One section for first person experiences, and a separate section for the stats on drugs....Because the book was so disjointed, I stopped reading.
This confronting and illuminating story charts Luke's recovery from the drug, and his investigation into its usage and prevalence in Australia and the western world. In examining what led to his addiction, Luke also explores the social problems that surround ice, scrutinising whether its abuse is in fact an epidemic, with what we're experiencing now merely the tip of the proverbial iceberg, or yet another moral panic about the underclass. Luke traces the history of methamphetamine from its legal usage in the early 20th century to its contemporary relevance as one of the most foreboding and talked-about illicit drugs in the world. His search for answers sees him exploring meth labs, interviewing addicts and law-enforcement officials, and witnessing firsthand the effects of the drug on individuals, families, and the healthcare system.
Combining memoir with reportage, The Ice Age is a vital, compelling first-person account, and an investigation into a drug that is fast becoming the subject of national discussion throughout the western world.
So my reading preferences are - NA and True Crime. Weird combo huh....when I read the blurb for this book I was so excited because what an in...and what I mean by that is, here we had someone (Luke Williams) who was a journalist, who got a first hand look into addiction because unfortunately, he became addicted himself.
I was excited to see how a journalist would go about presenting the world of drugs. What I got, was half medical diagnosis crap. Which I'm probably being a bit harsh.....so let me explain. I wanted to read about Luke's personal stories, his struggles in this world. I did not want to spend so long learning about the statistics of the drug world. I know I'm not everybody, and some may have really enjoyed that aspect. And in saying that, I think that it had a place in this book.....In my humble opinion, the book would have been better to read if it was sectioned in two. One section for first person experiences, and a separate section for the stats on drugs....Because the book was so disjointed, I stopped reading.
March 5, 2017
The blurb on the back says that Williams begins an investigative journalism piece into ice and then becomes an ice addict himself. What it doesn't say is that Williams is a former drug addict, and that the house he moves into are the drug-using friends he knew from a former lifetime.
So without sounding harsh, it's not all too surprising that Williams succumbs.
Williams interweaves cold hard facts about ice use in Australia with investigative journalism as well as his own memoir of his downward spiral into drug use. I don't know that it works successfully. Whilst Williams can clearly describe why ice is so appealing at first, you get the sense that he does maintain a certain amount of protective veneer about his own addiction. I didn't get a real sense of his raw emotion and innermost feelings - a result of his journalistic training? I'm not sure. An interesting read nevertheless, but not as (voyeuristically?) satisfying as I thought it would be.
So without sounding harsh, it's not all too surprising that Williams succumbs.
Williams interweaves cold hard facts about ice use in Australia with investigative journalism as well as his own memoir of his downward spiral into drug use. I don't know that it works successfully. Whilst Williams can clearly describe why ice is so appealing at first, you get the sense that he does maintain a certain amount of protective veneer about his own addiction. I didn't get a real sense of his raw emotion and innermost feelings - a result of his journalistic training? I'm not sure. An interesting read nevertheless, but not as (voyeuristically?) satisfying as I thought it would be.
August 4, 2016
This was an interesting read. Luke Williams is a talented writer who provides not only first hand experience and commentary as an "Ice" addict, but also, historical, geographical, scientific and political information regarding this drug. Along with many personal scenarios and many other peoples' encounters and behaviour relating to crystal meth. I enjoyed the many perspectives he shared.
November 20, 2018
It’s rare that I don’t finish a book, but I had to put this one down. There’s absolutely no structure; rendering it difficult to follow.
One minute you’re in the mind of the author while high, and the next you’re bogged down in incredibly dense statistics. Neither of these can really be understood because the details are so dense in parts; and badly structured into chapters.
One minute you’re in the mind of the author while high, and the next you’re bogged down in incredibly dense statistics. Neither of these can really be understood because the details are so dense in parts; and badly structured into chapters.
September 13, 2019
Brutally honest account of what goes on in methland, although somewhat irritatingly written as a mix between John Birmingham's He Died With A Felafel In His Hand, a gay memoir, and a university thesis, and they don't blend particularly smoothly. I found myself skipping chunks of statistics and figures again and again to get back to the juicy story.
June 19, 2016
AWESOME book. Luke is such an engaging writer. He combines deeply personal (and often unflattering) stories of his own meth madness with research about the broader social, cultural and political impacts of meth. This is one of the best books about drug addiction that I have ever read.
January 21, 2024
I have read The Ice Age and Down and Out in Paradise around the same time, so have decided to write a review for both books together as I feel they are connected.
The Ice Age I have read to understand what meth does to a person and how users feel on it as synthetic drugs are making a havoc on our society. I enjoyed the statistics and policy framework added to the biography and also the history of the drug. It makes it an all-round book, for Australia anyway.
I learned more about ice in another book by Sam Quinones, called the least of us, about meth and fentanyl.
It is well written and I was happy to read he found some peace with himself at the end of the book.
Down and Out in Paradise I found easier to read as it doesn't contain much information like the Ice Age and is more of a travel journey. I was saddened to read that Luke was in a bad place again, but healing takes time and effort and I hope he found some balance in life after all.
The Ice Age I have read to understand what meth does to a person and how users feel on it as synthetic drugs are making a havoc on our society. I enjoyed the statistics and policy framework added to the biography and also the history of the drug. It makes it an all-round book, for Australia anyway.
I learned more about ice in another book by Sam Quinones, called the least of us, about meth and fentanyl.
It is well written and I was happy to read he found some peace with himself at the end of the book.
Down and Out in Paradise I found easier to read as it doesn't contain much information like the Ice Age and is more of a travel journey. I was saddened to read that Luke was in a bad place again, but healing takes time and effort and I hope he found some balance in life after all.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 31, 2017
Poorly written by an ex junkie who professes to know the ins and outs of the seedy world of the notorious drug 'ice'. Hard to comprehend/believe all that is written particularly as his recollections of weeks of being 'high' are so vivid....maybe distorted recollections.?!?! Was not at all enamoured with the fact that it seems the author plays on his sexuality (he claims to be gay - who cares after all this is the year 2017 when most don't discriminate against anyone due to their sexual preferences) seemingly in order to 'entice' the reader to continue reading. Not a book I'd recommend
December 25, 2017
“In a world where choice is apparently so prevalent, but finding a genuine counter-culture is rare (...)”, an addiction is born. I am torn between three and four stars: found the book very interesting, yet was bored with the amount of the various statistics relating to meth. The context is pretty depressing: we live in an era of commercialised human values and accessible means of dangerous fun; however, the message somewhat fills with confidence - having broader perspective and support structure can come to one’s rescue.
May 3, 2022
Compelling read about a drug that ravages our society. I appreciated the work Luke put in to researching this but felt between that and his personal accounts he could have had two books . Skipping between the heavily researched facts components and his personal life and descent into psychosis a bit off putting.
I definitely learnt some things and can’t believe how easily accessible and cheap meth is. So frightening.
I definitely learnt some things and can’t believe how easily accessible and cheap meth is. So frightening.
June 6, 2017
Wow, what a book. I used to live with a small-time drug dealer (only ever weed) and had the interesting experience of meeting some p-heads. They told me stories of people clawing their arms up due to seeing bugs on their arms, and other horrible things.
Its super addictive and I'd say in certain environments very hard to avoid. This was a great book, with some scary starts and personal stories.
Its super addictive and I'd say in certain environments very hard to avoid. This was a great book, with some scary starts and personal stories.
August 6, 2019
Fascinating insight into the drug issue that Australia needs to grapple with.
This book is well written and researched, and gives an insight to meth addiction, particularly in Australia. It suffers only from a lack of proof reading, as there are the occasional missing or extra word which does hamper the flow of the book. But that aside was a gripping read.
This book is well written and researched, and gives an insight to meth addiction, particularly in Australia. It suffers only from a lack of proof reading, as there are the occasional missing or extra word which does hamper the flow of the book. But that aside was a gripping read.
May 6, 2023
Thoroughly enjoyed reading about his personal experiences, would like to have known more about his life after becoming sober, I was also under the impression that he was only addicted to meth for a short period of months but from what I could gather he was on and off the substance for majority of his adult/younger adult life, so I throught the narrative as it read could be a bit confusing at times in regards to the timeline. I also would have preferred to read only about personal experience, I did not care for the statistics and linguistics of it all. 3.75/5 stars, an interesting reflection and also gives myself who has never experimented with any drug a different perspective on those who do.
March 13, 2017
An interesting and comprehensive book looking at drug addiction, hopelessness and a complete governmental failure to tackle the issues relating to crystal meth abuse in Australia. Kind of 'niche' reading, but factually astonishing and some desperately heart wrenching real life stories too.
July 26, 2021
Unabashed, very hard-hitting and gritty
Far too many stats and "research" that just seems like cutting and pasting news stories, but nonetheless this is an intense and powerful book and a huge undertaking, plenty long, covering vast expanses. It's really very impressive overall.
Far too many stats and "research" that just seems like cutting and pasting news stories, but nonetheless this is an intense and powerful book and a huge undertaking, plenty long, covering vast expanses. It's really very impressive overall.
July 5, 2017
A very interesting and thought provoking read ...
January 5, 2019
Dismal on a downloaded chapter at a time through the library, note to read in future
Read
April 17, 2019Shame you had to do this... people can change you know.. disgusting how you used, abused drugs and people to write a book!!!
Shame on you.
Shame on you.
July 3, 2019
Found the writing to be very disjointed at times - switching between anecdote and statistics. Does however provide a definite insight into lives affected by crystal meth.
November 2, 2021
Shocking and a must read to understand the Ice epidemic.
Easy to read. Lots of statistics but a very interesting book from the inside of addiction, written by a user himself.
Easy to read. Lots of statistics but a very interesting book from the inside of addiction, written by a user himself.
November 16, 2024
Worth reading, compelling, but not what I consider a pleasurable read.
March 15, 2017
Williams is a talented boy. His style is incisive. He was to pinpoint and trace in slide into drug triggered psychosis. It was full of authenthic insights. Williams lived the meth life and recorded it beautifully. Bravo boy.
June 8, 2018
Heavy going, but like a train wreck, you can't look away. It was horrifying and harrowing to read, particularly the author's personal story and that of his acquaintances. While Williams makes a good case for funding for drug addiction prevention strategies (which I agree with), I still found it quite hard to feel compassion for the addicts in the book. There is something to be said for the blinding honesty with which Williams tells his story, it certainly is an ugly one. A well researched but really unsettling read. It left me with the age old question - how is it that some people who have suffered enormously in their childhoods or throughout their life fall victim to addiction and some don't? [As a side note - the book also needs a thorough edit as there were a number of errors to be cleaned up].
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews