New York Times reporter David Carr has written the latest “misery memoir,” an expose on his life as a crack junkie, however reports so far point to this one not being a fake.
Carr’s book, The Night of the Gun, is a searing study of his struggles with drug addiction and the impact it had on himself, his girlfriends, his children and the rest of his family and friends. But, in a publishing genre rocked by recent scandals over faked ‘misery memoirs’, Carr took the unusual step of writing his book as a documented investigation, not simply a memoir.
As a result, Carr turned his reporting techniques on his own history. He interviewed more than 60 members of his family, old friends, doctors and police, thus piecing together his own life. He also tracked down and read hundreds of medical, police and personal documents and letters. Just to hammer the point home, he set up a website in which many of the documents can be viewed. They include arrest reports for drunk-driving and details of his stays in rehab.
However after James Frey, Margaret B Jones and JT LeRoy don’t blame me for being a little skeptical, even if The Guardian touts it to be true.