My Fair Junkie: A Memoir of Getting Dirty and Staying Clean

As of this writing, Amy Dresner's My Fair Junkie has 145 reviews with a 5 star average, and hardly needs my .02 cents to boost its standing. And yet it's too good a read and too important a book to not leave a few words of admiration and appreciation.We know more about addiction's causes and treatments than we used to, yet still not nearly enough. What I loved about Amy's book was that it illuminated something that's not talked about much: that it's possible to be given every advantage in life, yet still succumb to and get stuck in, addiction because you have no inner resources with which to turn your spiral around. Privileged addicts can be just as genuinely helpless as those from disadvantaged backgrounds. And if we don't start telling those stories, we'll never have the conversation we need to have, which is the one about raising our kids with real coping skills, life strategies, sense of identity, and the willingness to try and fail. And then to get up and try again.Coupled with her unique perspective, is Amy's engaging writing style. The girl is authentic, raw and uncensored to the extreme, and I mean that in the best way possible. She speaks from the heart without artifice, affectation, or agenda (in her book and interviews). It's beyond refreshing, truly inspiring.

This fantastic book should required reading, now, in the midst of the addiction crisis decimating our nation. The unsparing truth, the sharp wit, and the deep insight into the addicted mind gives a voice to those who still lack the capacity express the seemingly inexplicable drive to burn down their lives and so hurt those who love them, and lets them know that they're not alone, and not beyond hope.So very many families are torn apart, and so many loved ones seek desperately to help, even when they are incapable of truly understanding. "My Fair Junkie" provides for them that glimpse into the insanity and despair, and lets these hopeless observers know that they, too, are not alone, they're not beyond hope, and tget there are many paths to bring those they love home, healthy and happy.And it should be required reading for those healthcare professionals who, despite the years of training and experience in healing addicts, remain fundamentally baffled by the peculiarities of the addicted brain.It's not a recovery manual or a self-help book. It's one person's experience, and it's the most pure expression of that harrowing experience I've ever seen.

I'm an alcoholic/addict and I know I need to sober up. I've made countless empty promises to do so, so I won't add to it here. But I just got an Amazon HD tablet for my birthday and decided to buy a book about the struggles of addiction to read on my new Kindle app. I read this book in three days! In this book, Amy Dresner discusses her addictions and although I can't fully relate to her sex addiction, I couldn't get enough. Funny, brutally honest and completely relatable to any addict, she tells it like it is. I was actually was when I finished reading this. Great book for anyone needing that bit of hope or inspiration in the midst of trying to kick an addiction.

I'm an avid reader, writer, and woman in recovery, so I've read hundreds of recovery memoirs. Dresner's memoir stands out as one of the most authentic and captivating because she tells it straight, no chaser, no bs. With a magical mastery of humor and knack for dialogue, Dresner uniquely recollects relatable touchstones for people with addiction: arrest, going to jail, shooting coke in her neck, working community service, relapse/ the vicious cycle of addiction, and rehab. Dresner's writing invites us along the roller-coaster journey so we experience these moments right alongside her. It's gripping. It's powerful. It's plot line is so engaging it almost reads like a thriller or action/ adventure in its structure. She captivates us not because of the shock value of her stories (although they are indeed shocking), or because of the string of traumatic experiences she endured, but because we truly connect with her. As a narrator, Dresner refuses to be likeable, refuses to censor herself or dress her prose up into something overly pretty or flowery, which actually makes her even MORE relatable and likeable in my opinion. I devoured this book quickly and with abandon, and recommended it to many friends who also loved it. Please check out this book! I also encourage the audio edition, because the author herself narrates it with such an engaging voice. Must read.

If you've ever struggled with addiction (of any kind), or loved someone who has, or you just LOVE reading books with a strong, clear, captivating, hilarious, raw, brutally honest voice, THIS is one you absolutely shouldn't miss. From page 1, you're strapped in with the author on the wild rollercoaster ride she's taken over the last two decades or so. She is as merciless on you, the reader, as she is on herself; pulls no punches, holds nothing back. Sex, drugs, rock & roll (tee shirts); beauty, brains, and more lives than a cat, despite being hell-bent on self-destruction. Dresner's literary voice is feisty, ribald, guttural, intense; her comedic timing and wit are razor-sharp. We all know someone like this - beautiful, brilliant, broken, tormented; we see what they do not - who and what they really are. And when one day, the clouds finally part and the sun starts breaking through for them and they begin to see what we see, we cheer for them because we always knew they'd triumph. There wasn't another option. You may well feel just that way by the end of this book. You will NOT be able to put it down. I couldn't, and I'm already jonesing for the next hit of Dresner.

Great read, written seemingly honestly and revealing. True to the crazy life of an addict and the gifted young lady that both inhabit the same body and soul. When true life far exceeds fiction.

The best thing I have read in a long time. Funny, harrowing and touching, My Fair Junkie has captured the essence of addiction. It speeds straight to your heart, honest, no BS, totally unpretentious and real. Definitely looking forward to more from Ms. Dresner. This lady gets it.

Incredible book - an astonishing, candid, raw, funny tale of Amy Dresner. A powerful auto-biographical ride through the storm of life with moving and painful insights into the mind of an addict. The rehab, 12-Step, recovery and halfway house stories are gems - bitchy and brusque to counterpoint how low a human can go. Jeez she had it tough (a fair whack of her own making) but this has helped give me a (helpful) perspective on my own world. But it's no manual. it's a warning and a memoir in one.I've read drug autobiogs before - they can be clunky. Not this. Like Mishka Shubaly, it's racy and easy, crafted with a writer's wit and pace. Warning: Dresner does not let up the dirty details. And, for that, it's an awesome read.

Once I started I couldn't stop. This book is a must for anybody and especially if recovery memoirs are your thing!

Just turned 3 years sober and finished this book - HP at work. So much fear, pain and addiction has been shared by the author - much gratitude. Respect for the grace, willingness and sometimes fierce determination to turn life around. Vulnerability and building attachments can eat away at resilience and hope - following the footsteps of those before me allows me to hand it over.Thank you.ODAAT