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Product Description
Review
“Memoirs of an Addicted Brain . . . takes on all of human longing. Unlike many of his brain science colleagues and fellow addicts, Dr. Lewis can write. One moment, he is remembering the details of his life as an addict; the next, he is reconstructing, based on newer scientific findings, what the drugs were doing to his brain. The result is not just a book about a brain on drugs, but a picture of addiction as an unavoidable urge of human nature. . . . It's the way he drapes his scientific understanding of human chemical function over the frame of his own life that makes his memoir compelling.”
—The Globe and Mail
“In his book, Lewis seamlessly integrates the physiology and psychology of addiction with his own vivid, disturbing memories. It’s a fascinating and fact-filled glimpse into the world of needles and need.”
—Georgia Straight
“[Memoirs of an Addicted Brain] is compelling, and for readers grappling with addiction, Mr. Lewis's mechanistic approach might well be novel enough to inspire them to seek the happiness he now enjoys.”
—The Wall Street Journal
“Marc Lewis’s Memoirs of an Addicted Brain is a cracker. . . . The science is up to the minute. Lewis clearly knows his stuff.”
—The Australian
—The Globe and Mail
“In his book, Lewis seamlessly integrates the physiology and psychology of addiction with his own vivid, disturbing memories. It’s a fascinating and fact-filled glimpse into the world of needles and need.”
—Georgia Straight
“[Memoirs of an Addicted Brain] is compelling, and for readers grappling with addiction, Mr. Lewis's mechanistic approach might well be novel enough to inspire them to seek the happiness he now enjoys.”
—The Wall Street Journal
“Marc Lewis’s Memoirs of an Addicted Brain is a cracker. . . . The science is up to the minute. Lewis clearly knows his stuff.”
—The Australian
Book Description
A gripping, ultimately triumphant memoir that's also the most comprehensive and comprehensible study of the neuroscience of addiction written for the general public.
FROM THE INTRODUCTION:
"We are prone to a cycle of craving what we don't have, finding it, using it up or losing it, and then craving it all the more. This cycle is at the root of all addictions, addictions to drugs, sex, love, cigarettes, soap operas, wealth, and wisdom itself. But why should this be so? Why are we desperate for what we don't have, or can't have, often at great cost to what we do have, thereby risking our peace and contentment, our safety, and even our lives?"
The answer, says Dr. Marc Lewis, lies in the structure and function of the human brain.
Marc Lewis is a distinguished neuroscientist. And, for many years, he was a drug addict himself, dependent on a series of dangerous substances, from LSD to heroin. His narrative moves back and forth between the often dark, compellingly recounted story of his relationship with drugs and a revelatory analysis of what was going on in his brain.
He shows how drugs speak to the brain - which is designed to seek rewards and soothe pain - in its own language. He shows in detail the neural mechanics of a variety of powerful drugs and of the onset of addiction, itself a distortion of normal perception.
Dr. Lewis freed himself from addiction and ended up studying it. At the age of 30 he traded in his pharmaceutical supplies for the life of a graduate student, eventually becoming a professor of developmental psychology, and then of neuroscience - his field for the last 12 years. This is the story of his journey, seen from the inside out.
FROM THE INTRODUCTION:
"We are prone to a cycle of craving what we don't have, finding it, using it up or losing it, and then craving it all the more. This cycle is at the root of all addictions, addictions to drugs, sex, love, cigarettes, soap operas, wealth, and wisdom itself. But why should this be so? Why are we desperate for what we don't have, or can't have, often at great cost to what we do have, thereby risking our peace and contentment, our safety, and even our lives?"
The answer, says Dr. Marc Lewis, lies in the structure and function of the human brain.
Marc Lewis is a distinguished neuroscientist. And, for many years, he was a drug addict himself, dependent on a series of dangerous substances, from LSD to heroin. His narrative moves back and forth between the often dark, compellingly recounted story of his relationship with drugs and a revelatory analysis of what was going on in his brain.
He shows how drugs speak to the brain - which is designed to seek rewards and soothe pain - in its own language. He shows in detail the neural mechanics of a variety of powerful drugs and of the onset of addiction, itself a distortion of normal perception.
Dr. Lewis freed himself from addiction and ended up studying it. At the age of 30 he traded in his pharmaceutical supplies for the life of a graduate student, eventually becoming a professor of developmental psychology, and then of neuroscience - his field for the last 12 years. This is the story of his journey, seen from the inside out.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
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Most helpful customer reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Expect it under the tree -- it is a book everyone should read,
By Athena Sade "Polly" (Alberta Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Memoirs of an Addicted Brain: A Neuroscientist Examines his Former Life on Drugs (Hardcover)
I am a recovering addict who used drugs for 24 years and has been clean for 17. I have worked in the field of addiction for 15 years, and I have read many books on addiction, but of all the books I have read none has had the impact on me that this book did. Marc Lewis provides a vulnerable tale of struggle and the effort to cope. He demonstrates in a way that is easy to visualize how certain chemicals become agents of coping. Whether you have struggled with addiction yourself or you know someone facing this challenge, you truly will begin to understand and perhaps let go of your judgment. The trauma/addictions field is changing rapidly with the knowledge we are gaining from the field of neuroscience. Until now there has been a huge chasm between the science and the ability to communicate it to those who need to understand it most. Thank you Marc for your courage to share your story and your astonishing talent for making the science available to us all... You have created a bridge that has the potential to change the way in which we demonize addicts.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting read!,
This review is from: Memoirs of an Addicted Brain: A Neuroscientist Examines his Former Life on Drugs (Hardcover)
I enjoyed reading this book about an addicts perspective on addiction and how it affects our brain chemistry. The only drawback is that you need a basis in brain biology in order to fully understand what he is explaining. The book could have been shorter in my opinion, as some chapters were too long, and not of great importance to the story. A good read, but it left me wanting more. It would make a great movie, and it would be easier to understand how brain chemistry changes, when using drugs! Even though he talks a few pages on recovery, I found there was not enough information on how to stop using drugs, and make a new start.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.8 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews) 9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Must read to understand addiction,
By Peter - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Memoirs of an Addicted Brain: A Neuroscientist Examines His Former Life on Drugs (Hardcover)
Memoirs of an Addicted Brain: A Neuroscientist Examines his Former Life on DrugsA must read for anyone interested in learning more about their own addictive behaviours. This book is relevant for any kind of addiction;drugs, booze, sex....anything. If you are trying to give up your current addiction, Dr Lewis' text will bring you right up to date with the current science. He describes a lot of great things useful if you're trying to develop effective tools for recovery. This book would also be a great reference for addiction councelors too. Not only is the book chock full of useful information, but it's also a compelling story. Anyone will empathize with the despair, yearning, craving and looming self destruction Dr Lewis describes. It's a good read. Pretty compelling stuff. 7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
So interesting and well written,
By Brian - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
The writing in this book is simple, elegant, and totally compelling. The description of the author's inner feelings as he searches for his own version of inner peace and calm through drugs is captivating. I also really enjoyed the clinical descriptions of the effects the various drugs he took have on the human brain. The author makes the science accessible to someone not versed in neuroscience and neuroanatomy.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thoroughly engaging!,
By Jayrichards - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Memoirs of an Addicted Brain: A Neuroscientist Examines His Former Life on Drugs (Hardcover)
Dr. Lewis has done a unique job of taking the experience of the addict and combining it with that of the perspective of science. Too often we are left with either one or the other - the experience of the addict that the professional cannot relate to or else the vernacular of the scientist which is out of reach of the recovering person. As an 18 year recovering person as well as a 16 year Addiction Counselor I can attest that I have learned much about the addict in terms of his life experience as well as what goes on chemically inside his brain from reading Dr. Lewis's book that (I confess)I had little knowledge of beforehand. I will be recommending this book to my recovering friends as well as fellow colleagues!
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