THE BITTER TASTE OF DYING
A memoir
by Jason Smith
ISBN-10: 0996402012
ISBN-13: 978-0996402019
Web site: authorjasonsmith.com
Available on Amazon
Available at iBooks
Reviewed by Christa Wojciechowski originally on MySweetDelirium.com
Just a few years ago, Jason Smith was lying in his bathtub, the blood
slowly draining from his slit wrists. Now he is here to tell us how he reached
the point of suicide after his long, dark descent into prescription opiate
abuse. The Bitter Taste Dying is a story of resurrection told by an
author who has literally come back from the black grip of death.
Today’s junkies are not just on the
street corner anymore. Big Pharma are the suppliers, and doctors are the
pushers, cultivating (perhaps inadvertently, but that’s debatable) a massive
population of addicts from all demographics.
After a severe car accident, Smith
has back surgery and is given a perpetual menu of painkillers and muscle
relaxers by his physicians. It doesn’t take long for the high schooler to
realize that by taking more than the recommended dosage, he could obtain the
warm, euphoric mental and physical comfort only opiates can bring. But all too
soon he also discovers the pangs of withdrawal whenever his medication runs
out.
If anyone has difficulty
understanding what an addict feels like, Smith describes it with painful
accuracy.
“You know that feeling of having
your head held under water, the last of your oxygen depleted, where very fiber
of your being screams at you to get to the surface for more air? That’s the
feeling of needing more drugs…”
As Smith grows into a man, his
addiction grows to mammoth proportions and he must go through heroic efforts to
keep himself in pills and Fentanyl patches. Smith tells the story in an
approachable, conversational tone that may have you laughing out loud at some
parts. As horrendous as it is watching how far he would go and how morally low
he would sink to get more drugs, it’s difficult not to marvel at his ingenuity
and boldness.
At the same time, Smith writes with
tender honesty and cutting unabashedness that is rare in any writer, much less
any human being. The reader immediately feels very close to him, making his
shocking confessions feel like blows.
The Bitter Taste of Dying is
an important book that underscores the urgency with which society has to address
the prescription drug abuse epidemic. It allows us to watch with uncomfortable
closeness how easy it is to develop an addiction to pain medication and how
quickly and mercilessly it can devour one’s entire life.
From aspiring football star to
international criminal, Smith shows us step by step how opiate addiction can
happen to anyone you know, and very likely destroy them. Most
importantly, The Bitter Taste of Dying reveals the light at the end of
the tunnel–even the most hopeless addict can make it out alive.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jason Smith is a graduate of the
University of California, Davis, whose work has been published extensively in
both online and print media. Jason Smith is also the Creative Director of TheRealEdition.com, a recently launched
website that allows addicts, recovering addicts, and their loved ones to publish
their stories of addiction. Jason currently lives in northern California with
his wife Megan and two children, Jaden and Isabella.
The Bitter Taste of Dying was
released July 6th, 2015 by Thought Catalog and available in Kindle, iBooks,
and his website http://authorjasonsmith.com.
Jason Smith is available for
interviews, contributions, and appearances. To schedule a media event, order
books, or request review copies, please contact christawojo at
gmail.com.
ABOUT THE
REVIEWER
-----
The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.
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