American Junkie is the story of Hansen's life as a musician and heroin
dealer in Seattle during the punk and grunge movements. It's American.
It’s human underground.
If you’ve ever stood in front of the mirror and knew you'd be a better
rock star than anyone ever dreamed, and later that night made it ever more
true by getting drunk and higher than Jesus, then you'll like this book.
If you've ever lined up coke or heroin but didn't have the guts to shoot
it straight to your blood, you'll love this book. If you’ve ever wondered
why people do drugs even when it’s killing them and they know it, this
book will help you understand. And if you think that all junkies are
nothing but degenerates, then this book will change your mind.
In American Junkie, Tom Hansen takes us non-stop into a land of
desperate addicts, failed punk bands, and brushes with sad fame selling
drugs during the Seattle grunge years. It’s a story that takes us from the
promise of a young life to the prison of a mattress, from budding musician
to broken down junkie, drowning in syringes and cigarette butts, shooting
heroin into wounds the size of softballs, and ultimately, a ride to a
hospital for a six-month stay and a painful self-discovery that cuts down
to the bone. Through it all he never really loses his step, never lets go
of his smarts, and always projects quintessential American reason, humor,
and hope to make a story not only about drugs, but a compelling study of
vulnerability and toughness.
REVIEWS
KEXP. Seattle alternative radio station.
DETAILS
March 2010 (U.S. release) / trade paper / ISBN 978-0-9753623-6-5 / 6" x 9" / 262 pages / Biography & Music / $15.00 (U.S.) / editor: Bryan Tomasovich / book design: Jason Gitlin / author photo: Jim Tillman / drawings by: Jason Brinkerhoff.
ABOUT EMERGENCY PRESS
Emergency Press is based in New York and publishes explorative books of fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and emergent forms that fall outside traditional categories. Every year, the press hosts an international contest for book-length examinations of a single topic. EP books are carried by major distributors and wholesalers, and available in bookstores across the nation and through major online booksellers.
CONTACT:
Bryan Tomasovich
Emergency Press
154 W. 27th Street #5W
New York NY 10001
206 331 7477
btomasovich@emergencypress.org
www.emergencypress.org