The book is about addiction(s) and their influence on our behavior and damage to our health and to those we love.  We will cover most recognized addictions.  Smoking, alcohol, and opiates (the big three) are the most visible of the problematic addictions, and therefore are used as a basic model for illustration and educational purposes.  This is a fictional story written for the purposes of entertainment and self-help as well as personal and public education.  You will be better equipped to win your battle over addiction or to help a friend or loved one.

Addictive substances are generally seductive, much as sex itself can be addictive.  Intense, immediate pleasure is often the hook that tethers us to that addictive source of pleasure.  It will seem so innocent, and feel so delightfully powerful, that our minds are captured.  This combination is irresistible to many, unleashing a passion within us, igniting an unquenchable fire of desire.  With some addictions this is even instantaneous, but with others, time and denial collude to eventually addict us.  We are lulled into believing that we have control of the fire.  We forget that fires can also deceptively and slowly destroy us. 

With bravado, we swing our sticks of fire much as cavemen might have swung their fire weapons attempting to impress their women or peers.

Tobacco releases tars, nicotine, and other chemicals into the body.  Nicotine is a powerful nervous system stimulant.  Tars are carcinogenic irritants to the oropharynx, larynx, trachea, and lungs.  Statistics attribute 440,000 deaths annually in the US alone directly to smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke.  The statistics regarding other addictions are equally disturbing (please see Appendix I). 

Treatment is available for all addictive disorders.  The storyline engages these, thereby teaching us about them.  After reading the book, see Appendix II for further sources of information. 

Ignorance plus addiction equals destruction, generally through early and discomforting illnesses that range from tooth decay and loss, impotence, and personality changes to more serious ones that frequently cause premature death.  Knowledge helps one to understand and remove the addictive control, thereby avoiding ill-health, and postponing death until its natural fate and time.

This book is for those of you who are personally addicted, know someone who is, or would appreciate being more informed.  You will begin to know and identify addicted people, their struggles, addiction, its consequences and, most important, recovery and the maintenance thereof.  It sparks the motivation, hope, and desire for recovery and gives the formula to win the battle.