Strung Out, Erin Khar
Strung Out, Erin Khar
5 Rating(s)
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Strung Out
One Last Hit and Other Lies That Nearly Killed Me

Author: Erin Khar

Narrator: Jayme Mattler

Unabridged: 10 hr 5 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/25/2020


Synopsis

“This is a story she needed to tell; and the rest of the country needs to listen.”
— New York Times Book Review

“This vital memoir will change how we look at the opioid crisis and how the media talks about it. A deeply moving and emotional read, STRUNG OUT challenges our preconceived ideas of what addiction looks like.”
—Stephanie Land, New York Times bestselling author of Maid

In this deeply personal and illuminating memoir about her fifteen-year struggle with heroin, Khar sheds profound light on the opioid crisis and gives a voice to the over two million people in America currently battling with this addiction.

Growing up in LA, Erin Khar hid behind a picture-perfect childhood filled with excellent grades, a popular group of friends and horseback riding. After first experimenting with her grandmother’s expired painkillers, Khar started using heroin when she was thirteen. The drug allowed her to escape from pressures to be perfect and suppress all the heavy feelings she couldn’t understand.

This fiercely honest memoir explores how heroin shaped every aspect of her life for the next fifteen years and details the various lies she told herself, and others, about her drug use. With enormous heart and wisdom, she shows how the shame and stigma surrounding addiction, which fuels denial and deceit, is so often what keeps addicts from getting help. There is no one path to recovery, and for Khar, it was in motherhood that she found the inner strength and self-forgiveness to quit heroin and fight for her life.

Strung Out is a life-affirming story of resilience while also a gripping investigation into the psychology of addiction and why people turn to opioids in the first place.

About Erin Khar

Erin Khar's debut memoir, Strung Out: One Last Hit and Other Lies that Nearly Killed Me, appeared on most anticipated lists from The Rumpus, SELF, Apple Books, Goodreads, Bitch Media, & others. The New York Times writes, “This is a story she needed to tell; and the rest of the country needs to listen.” She writes the popular advice column, Ask Erin. Her essays have appeared many places, including SELF, Marie Claire, Salon, HuffPost, The Rumpus, & Cosmopolitan.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Theresa on February 18, 2023

“Addiction spares no one. Making it out is akin to winning the lottery, even when you have the resources and access for help.” Erin Khar started smoking heroin when she was thirteen years old and used on and off for years until it become a constant thing in her twenties. She used intravenously for a......more

Goodreads review by Rene on September 03, 2019

This is a brutally honest and yet tender look inside opined addiction. Khar pulls aside the mask of an addict, and neither self-pitying or blaming, delves deep into the personal, social and physical reasons for addiction.......more

Goodreads review by Abby on August 11, 2019

This review is for the free, digital ARC from NetGalley. Some parts may not apply to the final publication. This book was a bit of a letdown. I'm a big fan of memoirs, especially of addiction and mental illness, and at first I enjoyed how it was going: a good jumping off point, well-set scenes, early......more

Goodreads review by Tina on January 28, 2020

I have mixed feelings about this one. The writing is amazing and as always, I admire the author for being brave and telling her story. Although the author brings us to dark places, she rarely seems accountable for her actions, which is a bit of a disconnect for me. She is one lucky addict. She never e......more