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Although addiction itself is often shrouded in secrecy and deeply protected by those who are suffering from addiction, as a topic, it is becoming part of modern conversation. There are shows dedicated to various forms of addiction, intervention, and treatment. Newspapers, magazines, websites, and tabloids splash headlines about celebrities who are suffering from addictions of many kinds and chronicle every piece of information that can possibly be found out about celebrities who have gone into rehab or detox.
Also, addiction has become a very popular topic in memoir and nonfiction writing. There was, for example, the controversial A Million Little Pieces by James Frey which, it was later revealed, may or may not have been based on fact. A Million Little Pieces chronicled, in excruciating detail, the experiences of an addict in rehab including a scene in a dentist’s office that leave most readers chilled and disgusted for days.
Other popular addiction memoirs include Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man by Bill Clegg and Dry by Augusten Burroughs. But these two titles are just the very tip of the iceberg. There are addiction memoirs about drinking, about taking pills, about crack, about cocaine, heroin, meth, you name it. There are memoirs about multiple family members who were addicted at the same time, to the same drugs or same group of drugs. There are memoirs written from the perspective of a sober writer reflecting on the addiction of a friend, child, parent, or spouse. It goes on and on.
So while addiction may be something to be protected, hidden, secreted away from light, it seems that in the process of recovery, the lines of communication become totally open. Although the recovery may be painful, may be just completely awful, it seems that people are willing to talk about it, they are willing to talk about every terrible second.
