Broken: My Story of Addiction and Redemption by William Cope Moyers, Katherine Ketcham, Katherine Ketcham

From Barnes & Noble

William Cope Moyers thought that he had hit rock bottom in 1994 on the floor of an Atlanta crack house. But that was before several relapses and one near-fatal cocaine overdose. In Broken, the son of famed broadcaster Bill Moyers shares the harrowing story of his descent into addiction hell and his slow climb back. The author's realistic description of his incremental engulfment by drugs and alcohol transform what could be read as a surrealistic nightmare into an understandable human experience. Ultimately, this memoir wears a badge of hope.

From the Publisher

From rock bottom to recovery-the son of veteran broadcaster Bill Moyers chronicles his life- shattering battle with addiction and the hard-won fight for recovery

William Cope Moyers has come a long, long way. In 1994, he lay on the floor of an Atlanta crack house. His father had put together a search party. His worried family waited at home where Moyers had left them when he embarked on yet another binge. From that lowly, drug-hazed night, Moyers went on to become an executive at the Hazelden Foundation and travels far and wide to talk about addiction and treatment.

Broken tells the story of what happened between then and now-from growing up the privileged son of Bill Moyers to his descent into alcoholism and drug addiction, his numerous stabs at getting clean, his many relapses, and how he managed to survive. Harrowing and wrenching, Broken paints a picture of a man with every advantage who nonetheless found himself spiraling into a dark and life-threatening abyss. But unlike other memoirs of its kind, Broken emerges into the clear light of Moyers's recovery as he dedicates his life to changing the politics of addiction. Beautifully written with a deep underlying spirituality, this is a missive of hope for the scores of Americans struggling with addiction-and an honest and inspiring account that proves the spiritual insight that we are strongest at the broken places.

Publishers Weekly

Moyers, the son of prominent author, media figure and LBJ adviser Bill Moyers, recounts his heartbreaking struggle with alcohol and cocaine during the '80s and early '90s. Moyers covered his tracks through bold-faced denial until he spiraled out of control and landed in the first of four rehab stints. Moyers's early chapters, detailing his formative years and progression toward addiction, are somewhat plodding. But once embarking on his treatment journey, Moyers deftly tackles the complexities of sobriety, especially acceptance of those broken situations and relationships that cannot be fixed. Audie Award-winning narrator Brick brings an appropriate blend of pathos and grit to the very formidable task at hand, giving compelling voice to a tale of substance abuse without descending into a maudlin soap opera confessional. Brick proves especially masterful in recreating the delicate nuances of the father-son dialogues, as the elder Moyers struggles to convey both unconditional love toward his troubled grown child and unequivocal nonacceptance for that same young man's destructive patterns of behavior. Simultaneous release with the Viking hardcover (Reviews, July 17). (Oct.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Moyers, the son of legendary TV broadcaster Bill Moyers, is a successful journalist in his own right. His gripping account of his struggles with alcohol and crack addiction will have readers rooting for him from the very beginning. The author's idyllic childhood, spent with a loving, attentive extended family in Wilmer, TX, gives way to his first alcoholic run-in with the police in college. The story then chronicles Moyers's wanderings through the valley of the shadow of death in various crack houses and his failed relationship with his first wife, Mary. Eventually, he receives treatment at the acclaimed Hazelden Clinic in Minnesota and moves toward recovery. In his spiritual quest to become a new person, he claims his first name, William. It is somewhat unsatisfactory that the question why someone from such a privileged background would end up a drug addict goes unanswered. But that may be the point: the disease of addiction respects no one. Strongly recommended for all libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 5/15/06.]-Renee Axtell, Independence, MO Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Product Details

• ISBN: 064190116X
  
• ISBN-13: 9780641901164
• Format: Hardcover, 384pp
• Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
• Pub. Date: September 2006
• Edition Description: Bargain
• Sales Rank: 4,429