Non fiction novels are great ways to make people aware of real life issues that happen everyday. People face poverty issues, racial issues, and environmental issues everyday of their life and are affected more than others. For example the environment is affected because of the different things people do in their everyday lives, like things that deal with fossil fuels and gas. Another example is race and how people are treated because of their specific race or religion. Issues like these are happening all around the world and most likely can be found in a nearby non-fiction novel.
While in rehab, Madeline meets other addicts who are emotionally damaged for a variety of different reasons. She struggles to stay sober in the world of high school, where alcohol and marijuana are easily available at every teen party. The point is made that unexpressed problems lead to addiction, and once an addict stops using, those problems are still there and must be addressed. This story also shows the real difficulty for an addict to stay sober. Sobriety is a “two steps forward, one step back” process that takes dedication, work, and patience. The consequences of bad choices are loud and clear. The world of drug use is not glamorized in any way. The ending of this book is ultimately hopeful as we see one character transform
The story of Ronald Gene Simmons. On the 22nd of December, 1987 the worst mass murder in Arkansas history took place. A man by the name of Ronald Gene Simmons went on a killing spree. He started off by killing his wife, kids, and his three year old granddaughter, but it didn’t stop there. He killed his family and quite a few harmless townspeople because he went insane, because why else would you kill harmless people?
David Sheff’s memoir contains emotional appeal to achieve its purpose. It is packed with heart-wrenching moments that make the reader feel his pain. For instance, Sheff is always worried sick when his son disappears without saying where he’s going. One particular time, when Jasper asks where his older brother is, Sheff responds, “with more emotion than I intended to betray: ‘We don’t know.’ Jasper begins to cry” (Sheff 101). This moment makes the audience feel for Sheff and his family, because it is a new side of the common addiction story that has more impact emotionally than one may think. People hear the side of the addict themselves so much more often, that the parents’ point of view is more shocking and emotional. Thus, they are able to understand better because they can relate to his normal family, that is going through an abnormal
Losing a battle to illness is devastating and utterly heartbreaking. With addiction, it is quite often that people fail and fall into their old habits. Others simply don’t want to be sober. In How to Help Someone with an Opioid Addiction, published by the Chicago Sun Times, the author lists ways for friends and family members to assist in the process of sobriety. But, what if it doesn’t work? This question is addressed in the third section of the article. For that reason, the author writes with a rhetoric of pathos to encourage the reader to persevere and also purchase Naloxone, a drug which can alter the effects of opioids in case of emergency.
He does a commendable job of avoiding prejudicial tropes of the era and does not demonize the drugs themselves, noting that the drug “was neither diabolical nor divine” (63). By outlining the physical, psychological, and social effects of addiction, Stevenson presents a realistic portrayal of this problem without demonizing the person suffering from addiction, and in couching as a metaphor he successfully avoids exploiting addicts as well. The narrative, especially at the time of its publication, was suspenseful, terrifying, and enthralling, and though these elements may not have aged well as the work seems rather tame by today’s standards, the story of addiction has only increased in
This essay will tackle the topic of substance use disorder as a psychology topic. The film that will be reviewed for the topic is 28 Days. This is a film written by Susannah Grant and written by Betty Thomas. The film stars Sandra Bullock as a columnist for a New York newspaper (Thomas). In the film, Bullock acts as Gwen Cummings, an alcoholic forced to attend rehab for 28 days. This is because of her escapades of the day that ended up with her crushing a stolen wedding limo into a house (Thomas). The film explores substance use disorder through the eyes and life of Cummings and the people she meets in the rehab. It also explores the challenges they go through in trying to get clean. This essay will show how substance abuse and its related disorder is being portrayed in the film.
Have you ever felt trapped unable to escape a certain situation, as if stuck in a room with no doors? It is easy to get lost in this feeling living in this type of world. Living in a world full of endless possibilities people tend to get trapped in their own vice. A professor of psychology by the name of Dr. Stone once said “We are not trapped by our thoughts. What we generally do, however, is create thoughts that trap us” (Stone 162). This correlates directly to the character in the novel by William Gibson called Neuromancer. The novel depicts a hacker, by the name of Case, who steals from his employers. When caught his employers poison him with a Russian mycotoxin, from there he constantly abuses his body with drugs and dangerous activities.
“A bookworm with strong homoerotic urges, a fascination with guns and crime and a natural inclination to break every rule he could find, there seemed to be no way [William] Burroughs could ever fit into normal society” (Asher). The Midwestern (St. Louis) and upper class lifestyle did not fit who Burroughs really was. After graduating from Harvard, Burroughs’ parents accepted their son’s need to find his place in society, so they “continued to support him financially as he experimented with various lifestyles” (Asher). Burroughs was a rebel figure who had trouble finding his way. He traveled around a lot and fell into drugs and substance abuse to free himself from the built-up conventions of society. Burroughs began writing after he met Jack
On June 8, 2010, eleven year old, Jorge Tarin, told a school counselor he was going to kill himself after school. Because he could not bear being hit by his father anymore. Jorge’s school sent him home due to the lack of power they possessed to keep him and the lack of knowledge on his family history. The same day a social worker and a police officer visited the Tarin family, the home was declared safe to keep a child in, without any real knowledge of the family. They left the home without knowing Jorge had previously spent fifteen months in foster care due to past abuse from his father, who no longer maintained rights to see or live in the same house as his child. A few hours later he walked into his mother 's closet and hung himself with
Addiction is a condition in which a person is compelled to continue an act even if it interferes with ordinary life responsibilities. Life with addiction can become overwhelming and even stressful because there is such a need for a specific item. Addictions cause harm, abuse, fatality, behavioral problems such as, aggressiveness, loss of self-control and paranoia. In “Sonny’s Blues” we see a different type of addiction than what we see in “A River Runs Through It.” In “Sonny’s Blues” Sonny was addicted to heroine, a drug that triggers a release of dopamine into the brain. In the story “A River Runs Through It” Paul was caught in the wrath of alcohol and gambling. Addiction overtakes Paul’s life in “A River Runs Through It” by excessive drinking
Ellen Hopkins’ Crank is an epic poem geared toward warning young people of the various consequences of using dangerous drugs. However important its message, it provides a single story, a stereotypical tale influenced by pop culture about addiction and the people it affects. In the poem, the heroine, Kristina Snow, gets addicted to methamphetamines, otherwise known as “crank”. Her life takes a downward turn that includes pregnancy and dropping out of school. The poem depicts just one experience with drug abuse and links it to what is perceived to be the most likely thing to happen if you get addicted to drugs, providing a false single story for the young people it targets. The stereotypical race of Kristina for the specific drug, the pregnancy,
In the following days of a pregnant woman being found dead in her Georgia home, police arrested Tyrail Arrenzo Wynn, 25, and charged him with burglary, aggravated assault, feticide, murder and child cruelty. At the Carroll County Sheriff 's Office, Captain Jeff Richards responded that Wynn will appear in court on Friday.
As a family of an addict “creates a dysfunctional homeostasis so does an addict” Stevens & Smith, pg. 283). A question posed concerning a possible oversight of recovery therapy. It was regarding a correlation between joylessness and recovery” (Stevens & Smith, pg. 283). It’s well known that people turn to drugs for their ability to provide a relief from stress, bring about euphoria and as a coping technique” (Stevens & Smith, pg. 283). How can this happen when their source of joy is a
After reading the novel, Righteous Dopefiend, I have a different lens in which I can view substance abuse and individuals who suffer from substance abuse disorders. All of the characters in the novel offered a unique perspective to different aspects of substance abuse disorders and the challenges associated with substance abuse and homelessness. However, despite all of the interesting aspects of each individual in the novel, the character Tina stuck out most to me and had the greatest impact on how I will view and engage with individuals who may suffer from substance abuse disorders.