Customer Reviews

Cracked: Putting Broken Lives Together Again

5 star:		(185)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(28)

 

 

This is a very important book. A must read for physicians, treatment counselors, psychotherapists, and families of loved ones with addiction, and for people that do not understand addiction. It is simple enough for a high schooler to read, and powerful enough for a physician to better understand and treat, or get help for an addicted patient.
I am a mother of 5, ranging in age 20-30 and am now raising a grandchild born to his addicted mother. I have listened to Loveline for a number of years. I got on the waiting list at Amazon.com, as soon Dr. Drew announced he had written a book.Coming from a family of alcoholics, I felt one of the most important points Dr. Drew stresses is compassion. An addict/alcoholic is in so much pain, which is hard to understand, as they can create a pile of pain. I have felt the judgement from others, over our situation, and it is difficult trying to explain to someone that does not understand the disease, that the affected person can actually be a very sensitive, caring, generous person, but the disease has a horrific power and until they "get it" nothing is more important than their drug of choice, which numbs the feelings, keeping reality at bay.This book is helpful to anyone who wants a clear idea of how an addict struggles, and the biology that makes that struggle so difficult. The book stayed with me for days.
It gave me added strength, to do the right thing, be firm, loving, accept that this is a life long journey for all involved, and to further address my co-dependancy.
This is a powerful book. And I have recommended it to many people.
Please keep writing Dr. Drew, and Thank you.

Addictions are uniquely crippling because, once the mechanism that mediates happiness is hijacked, what the hell do you have to go by? Logic? That hardly compares.

A little background: Eight years ago I was file clerk in the medical records department of a hospital, working the graveyard shift and listening to LoveLine on the radio. I had my share of self-destructive habits at that point, and hung around in a crowd where that was the norm. I found Dr. Drew to be uptight, dry, conservative and opinionated, but I also found Adam to be hysterical and the show to be entertaining enough to keep me listening. Eventually the reality that Dr. Drew presented night after night broke through my defenses and helped me get my act together.

Dr. Pinsky is fighting the good fight in his radio show and through his other media ventures. Is this book a GREAT book? No, not great by literary standards, I suppose. But good. And very readable. And, most critically, it is an important book. Dr. Pinsky describes in interviews how he turned the corner on this project when he let himself really pour his heart into it. And it shows. It is a labor of love, and I applaud his effort.

And, the show continues to be very entertaining. Adam is still very funny night after night. It's hard to know how many people have been positively affected by the show, but I suspect it's a much larger number than anyone suspects. I hope Adam and Dr. Drew continue on and are not tempted away by other projects and opportunities that will certainly arise.

When I picked up this book in the library, I had never heard of Dr. Drew Pinsky. It turns out that he is the host of "Strictly Sex with Dr. Drew" on the Discovery Health Channel and the co-host of a radio call-in show, "Loveline," in which Dr. Pinsky helps mostly young adults with relationship, sexuality, and drug problems. The doctor is a board-certified internist and the Medical Director of the Department of Chemical Dependency Services at Pasadena's Las Encinas Hospital. "Cracked" is told in the first person (with help from Todd Gold). The doctor discusses the causes of addiction, why it is a chronic disease, and how his professional experiences as an addictionologist have been both rewarding and incredibly frustrating. He also presents some case studies (patients' names and details are disguised to insure privacy) and describes how and why certain individuals improved or failed to benefit from their stay at his treatment facility.

Writing in a conversational style, Dr. Pinsky walks the reader through his days and weeks at Las Encinas, where he puts in long hours together with hardworking nurses, counselors, and other dedicated colleagues. When an addict is admitted, he or she is usually severely disoriented and in unbearable pain. The drugs of choice include alcohol, marijuana, Vicodin, Oxycontin, Klonopin, cocaine, heroin, Ecstacy, or a combination of the above. Many of the addicts admitted to Las Encinas were abused by parents or other relatives, and they are unable to trust or make meaningful human connections. When they feel threatened, addicts take drugs to relieve their discomfort and withdraw from reality. In order to help his patients, Dr. Pinsky administers a carefully calibrated dose of medications to aid in detoxification and relieve some of the discomfort that accompanies this brutal process. Only after the patients have completed withdrawal can they begin to do the emotional work that will help them stay sober, one day at a time.

"Cracked" is difficult to read because the patients we meet are tremendously vulnerable and self-destructive. Dr. Pinsky admits that he often identifies too closely with his clients (he has "rescue issues"), and he has had to learn to step back in order to do his work more effectively. In the pages of "Cracked," the doctor introduces Amber, a beautiful and tortured woman with an abusive boyfriend, Esther, an elderly alcoholic with emphysema who knows that she is killing herself, and Hector, a long-time heroin user whose father is in prison and whose mother died of a heroin overdose when he was only nine.

I recommend "Cracked" for teenagers who are exposed to the drug culture and need an extra push to help them say "no," for drug users and those who care about them, and for anyone who wants to understand the biological and psychological aspects of addiction and recovery. This book is a fascinating and frightening look into a very dark abyss from which few people emerge successfully.

It is unfortunate that a few previous reviewers lambasted others based on their hero-worship of Dr. Drew. I am not a Love-Line or Dr. Drew fan, but found this book to be very insightful. With a family full of alcoholics and drug addicts (we all agree that I am not), it helped me to understand what those close to me are dealing with, and to further recognize my co-dependence. The book is not flawless, but it made a difference in my life. A relative who was in prison asked me for it; because the paperback edition was not available at that time and hard-back books are disallowed, I bought a copy, Xeroxed a few chapters at a time, and mailed them to him. He said there was a waiting list to read the Xeroxed chapters. I gave him the original upon his release, almost a year ago. He is clean and sober, employed, self-supporting for the first time in his life, and amazingly turned around. How a person can "get it" varies by individual, as Dr. Pinsky rightly points out, but this was it for at least one of my relatives. A few more have chosen to read it since then. I found the purchase to be WELL worth it.

This book is an excellent account of not only how all kinds of addiction affects people, but also of how society as a whole influences behavior. The format of the book is excellent - it goes into Dr. Pinsky's life, and it touches on almost every type of addiction that he deals with in his medical practice as well as going into the events in the person's life that lead up or created the addiction. If you're a Love Line listener, you'll see almost every noteworthy issue they deal with on the radio addressed in this book in much greater detail. One other thing that's interesting is that Drew speaks of his experience as a medical professional and he includes his interpersonal thoughts along with the treatment of his patients - I think this is the only time I've seen a doctor actual portrayed as a human being discussing his most personal feelings evoked by his work.

Entertaining because it's not that deep. I agree with some of the people here that say Dr. Drew is a bit arrogant and thinks he's so much above everyone else, which probably makes his patients feel worse about themselves. I remember Dr. Drew on the radio when he was just starting out and he seemed so earnest and kind back then. Now he assumes he knows it all. If he cares so much about helping people, as he says in the book, why does he delight in joining Adam Carolla in making fun of them on the radio? When Adam does it, I admit it's funny because he is a professional comedian - when Dr. Drew joins in it's just sad. What must people think when a doctor makes fun of teenagers because they've grown up in less sophisticated circumstances and areas of the country than he did! You can really tell the difference when there's a guest doctor on. Someone like Dr. Bruce acts like he really cares about the callers' lives. Anyhow, I'm off track. I think before he wrote this book he should have gotten a psychology degree so he could put some scientific truths into it rather than his opinions which are based on only his experiences.

I approached this book with apprehension. Since the author has a radio show that is supposed to address sex and drug issues from callers, but actually takes few callers and is simply a lot of dull talk about car racing and carpentry. Imagine my delight when i found that this book IS about human beings and their problems and issues. It is actually a very well done, well presented, and worth your time read. Now, if only his radio show took an interest in callers, he would be batting .1000

This book is so worth reading! I found myself getting caught up in the recovery process for each patient Dr. Drew introduces us to. I thought I'd be reading something a bit more clinical but found that the stories told in this book are both intriguing and additive. Cracked reads like a scandalous novel but sadly the stories of addition are true. If only every addict had someone like Dr. Drew pulling for them.

This was book is a very well thought out exploration of addiction in our modern times. The book uses real depictions of Dr. Pinsky's patients throughout his carrer running an addiction clinic. The reader is thrown clear into the heart of Dr. Pinsky's world and the frightening world of his addicted patients. We struggle along with him, his staff and the patiets as each member fights this very real and very unnerving diesease that is addiction. If anyone has every wondered where addiction comes from or why it has such a strangling hold, this book wil open your eyes into the grim world. On a personal not, as a medical student, I truely enjoyed how Dr. Pinsky opened up his mind and showed the reader his own frustrations with the medical system of today, and how he copes with failure and loss. Again, if the potenttial reader has ever wondered what goes on in a doctor's mind as they treat someone then this book with show you the human side of medicine. All in all this is a great book for anyone to read. It is easy to read and has a great story arc which helps to illustrate the main themes of the book.I highly encourage people to read this book.

I was a patient of Dr. Pinsky's back in 1999 at Las Encinas. I was an in/out patient for nine months. Never during that time did he need to pull out my chart to review my case. He has a knack of remembering each and every patient, the milligrams of meds they are on, their husbands and how many children they have. You are never hurried out of his office, if you need him he's there for you. Even if he's in another state filming a tv show he's only a phone call away. He can find out the root of your problem in about five minutes. This is the most gifted man in the world. I only wish that everybody could be his patient. Even though I wasn't an actual addict, I just needed to detox from way too much prescription medication, he always made me feel as if I belonged. He would ask me every few days if I was ok being there among heroin, crack, prescription etc. addicts and alcoholics because he didn't want me to feel "out of place". I was perfectly fine. There were musicians, doctors, actors, homeless people, college students, garbage truck drivers, homemakers, police officers, teachers, you name it sitting in the same group sessions as me. I was really no different than they were. I had a bad childhood too which is normally the beginning of the root of addiction. I have friends that I met there that will be my friends forever thanks to the program. I believe that anybody could benefit from this program even if they've never taken a drug or drink in their life. What you learn is how to cope with life. We all have our problems and I can't begin to tell you what it did for my life.

I was an executive, married with a 2 and 4 year old daughter. My doctors had me so messed up on drugs that I actually do not remember about six months of my life prior to meeting Dr. Pinsky. My marriage was falling apart, we actually split up for a while. If I would have gone another two weeks without him I would have died. Dr. Pinsky saved my life and gave me back my family. I know how dedicated he is to his patients. The heartbreak from having friends relapse is devastating. I can't imagine how it breaks his heart.

This book speaks the ultimate truth about life. Not just if your an addict but just a human being. It should be required reading for everyone, especially parents. It's all about being prepared for what your children are going to put you through as the years go by. I have a stepson who is a sex addict (pornography). It's no different than heroin or alcohol. It happens for the same reasons.

If you only read one book in your entire lifetime, please make it this one. It could save you or someone you know. I know it's not a "self-help" book but with Dr. Pinsky at the wheel it's all you'll need. He speaks from his heart and I know that for fact. As I read above about Dr. Phil who I admire and respect, he has nothing on Dr. Pinsky.

Thank you Dr. Pinsky, always, Shawne