Even though Oren Elow had never tried heroin, hed always heard that it was a gift from the goddess. So he didnt hesitate to try it when his buddies offered him his first hit of heroina hit that would make him a heroin slave and one that would define so many of his following years. In this memoir, Elow shares his lifes narrativefrom growing up in Louisiana with an alcoholic father and loving mother who later divorced, to his years on Bostons streets as a heroin addict, to his time spent behind bars for a variety of transgressions, and to the effect his addiction had on his wife and children.

Through anecdotes and stories, Heroin addresses the stark realities of life as a junkie and a convict and provides insight into the mindset of an addict. Elow narrates a broad view of his lifefighting addiction and triumphing over it.