The Harder They Fall: Celebrities Tell Their Real Life Stories of Addiction and Recovery - Softcover

Stromberg, Gary; Merrill, Jane

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1592854761 ISBN 13: 9781592854769

Publisher: Hazelden, 2007

Synopsis

Now in paperback with updated photos and additional interviews, The Harder They Fall reveals the intimate thoughts, feelings, regrets, and beliefs of celebrities in recovery. Among those profiled are comedian Richard Pryor; musicians Grace Slick, Dr. John, and Chuck Negron; actors Malcolm McDowell and Mariette Hartley; and athletes Dock Ellis and Gerry Cooney. Addiction devoured their pride and accomplishments until each found the courage to ask for help, the honesty to face their disease, and the strength--ultimately--to rebuild a life of extraordinary success. Here, legendary Los Angeles publicist, Gary Stromberg, gives readers an up-close look at fame and addiction, as told by the stars themselves. These are stories of greatness rebuilt--one day at a time.

About this title

About the Author

In 1967, Gary Stromberg co-founded one of the most successful public relations firms in the entertainment business and represented music industry superstars including The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Barbra Streisand, Elton John, The Doors, and Earth, Wind and Fire. He co-produced the motion pictures Car Wash and The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh.

From Publishers Weekly

The celebrities interviewed here--from Ann Lamott to Alice Cooper--are all in recovery from addictions to alcohol or drugs that originated in the 1960s and '70s. Among them are athletes, musicians, actors and even a member of Congress, Jim Ramstad. With the assistance of veteran writer Merrill, Stromberg, who ran a P.R. firm for musicians and produced films (Car Wash), provides a brief introduction to each subject before eliciting his or her first-person story. Stromberg, a former abuser of heroin, cocaine and alcohol, also shares his spectacular success in the 1970s and his equally dramatic drug-addled fall in 1980, when he lost his home, lover and career. Like many of those he interviewed, he became sober through traditional rehab and recovery programs. But Pete Hamill found his path to sobriety alone by deciding "to live my life without anesthesia, and that meant accepting the pain along with the laughs." Top jockey Pat Day describes how he was saved from drug and alcohol dependence through a commitment to born-again Christianity. The strength of these always honest and affecting anecdotes is, in fact, their variety of paths to recovery; the diversity should help this excellent volume appeal to a wide audience. (Apr.)
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About this edition

• Publisher: Hazelden
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1592854761
• ISBN 13: 9781592854769
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 368