Without presumption, readers are encouraged to journey on an intuitive path of enlightenment as it relates to a non-fictional account of the insanity of addiction. The power is in its simplicity. It answers the proverbial question: Why? Why do people use drugs? Why do they do this to themselves; to me? Why don't they just stop? It offers the reader an intimate understanding of addiction as they are reminded that the addict is God's child. The book is not laden with speculation and breaking tradition, reference to theories is minimal. In contrast to any other source, it collectively brings together the stark reality of addiction including: self esteem, which is inextricably tied to addiction, the insidiousness of powerlessness, the crippling effects of denial, the intricate web of anger, the cyclic nature of depression, and the loss of one's soul through isolation: all experienced through the mindset of addicts. It culminates in a message from the reader to the addict, validating their existence; followed by a challenge for the addict to assume responsibility and embrace a spirit free from addiction. An ultimate message from the addict to any readers who fall prey to skepticism is for them to turn to the beginning of the book and revisit each page: to hear what was unheard, see what was unseen, and understand the imaginable.

The hypocrisy of the American psyche will surely reap the seeds of its destruction. We condemn drug lords but at the same time stand by as pharmaceutical companies recruit unscrupulous doctors to peddle new drugs. Both prescribe by the profit motive, business 101, supply and demand; the first one is always free, with little regard for safety or life. The tobacco industry, the ultimate weapon of mass destruction, kills more Americans than the sum total of all drugs. Our children are inundated with drug innuendoes through mediums of indoctrination such as music, movies, and the media. Our daughters and sons are inserting vodka soaked tampons into their vaginas and rectums, and DWI's continue to soar at alarming rates, yet we deny that alcohol is a drug. Powder cocaine is glamorized and sniffing heroin is sheik, but if we smoke crack and shoot dope we are a "crack head" or a "dope fiend." Condemnation of some equals the inevitable destruction of all. Miseducation: Like a Trojan horse it stands before us; consuming us, spewing invisible rays of destruction and death. We are at war America: It appears to be a war against drugs. In reality it's a war not against, but for our spirits. We are losing our ground because we have become disconnected from our inner strength. We are so comfortable with the immediate gratification of the here now: We have become so allured by the anesthetization of the pain of our past and of our present, that we have resigned ourselves to self defeating behavior. America is plagued with a pandemic of addictive behaviors. The only way we will win the war is to reclaim our spirit and hold steady to our natural inclination of self preservation. The countless souls who are lost share a commonality in spirit and grace. "There is no such thing as 'crack heads' and "dope fiends," only your mother, my father, his son, their daughter. We are all in some way interconnected. Our spirits bind us to a power greater than ourselves. Americans must get honest: We must take a stance. Enough is enough: Stop the madness. From this day forward our mantra will be, "I will no longer allow the ill promises of drugs and other self defeating behaviors that allow me to transcend this place and time consume me. I reclaim my spirit; right here, right now."