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Smacked : a story of white-collar ambition, addiction, and tragedy / Eilene Zimmerman.
"Eilene Zimmerman's ex-husband, Peter, had it all: He was a partner at a prestigious law firm, lived in a $2 million house by the beach, and had two great kids. Maintaining a friendly relationship, Eilene and Peter talked and saw each other frequently. But a few years after their divorce she started noticing erratic behavior: absenteeism, weight loss, constant exhaustion and sickness. Peter explained it away as stress from the pressures of his job, but Eilene couldn't shake the feeling that something else was wrong. Months later, when she finds him dead, she goes on a journey to investigate how a man she thought she knew had become a drug addict. Zimmerman also takes a wider look at other cases of white-collar drug use and the devastation it leaves behind, showing that addiction can strike anyone. The result is a moving, intimate, and revealing look at both Peter's downward spiral and the drug epidemic among high-powered professionals, its impact on his family, and how a woman reconceives her life in the wake of loss"-- Provided by publisher.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780525511007 (hardcover)
- Physical Description: xiii, 246 pages ; 24 cm
- Edition: First edition.
- Publisher: New York : Random House, [2020]
- Copyright: ©2020
Content descriptions
| Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references. |
Search for related items by subject
| Genre: | Biographies. |
Available copies
- 1 of 1 copy available at Tsuga Consortium.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stroud Branch | 362.290922 Zim | 31681010185890 | NONFIC | Available | - |
- Baker & Taylor
Drawing on extensive research and interviews to paint a picture of drug dependence today in a moneyed, upwardly mobile world, a journalist pieces together the mysteries surrounding her ex-husbandâs unexpected death from drug abuse. - Baker & Taylor
"Eilene Zimmerman's ex-husband, Peter, had it all: He was a partner at a prestigious law firm, lived in a $2 million house by the beach, and had two great kids. Maintaining a friendly relationship, Eilene and Peter talked and saw each other frequently. But a few years after their divorce she started noticing erratic behavior: absenteeism, weight loss, constant exhaustion and sickness. Peter explained it away as stress from the pressures of his job, but Eilene couldn't shake the feeling that something else was wrong. Months later, when she finds him dead, she goes on a journey to investigate how a man she thought she knew had become a drug addict. Zimmerman also takes a wider look at other cases of white-collar drug use and the devastation it leaves behind, showing that addiction can strike anyone. The result is a moving, intimate, and revealing look at both Peter's downward spiral and the drug epidemic among high-powered professionals, its impact on his family, and how a woman reconceives her life in thewake of loss"-- - Random House, Inc.
A journalist pieces together the mysteries surrounding her ex-husbandâs descent into drug addiction while trying to rebuild a life for her family, taking readers on an intimate journey into the world of white-collar drug abuse.
âA rare combination of journalistic rigor, personal courage, and writerly grace.ââBill Clegg, author of Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man
Something was wrong with Peter. Eilene Zimmerman noticed that her ex-husband looked thin, seemed distracted, and was frequently absent from activities with their children. She thought he looked sick and needed to see a doctor, and indeed, he told her he had been diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder. Yet in many ways, Peter seemed to have it all: a beautiful house by the beach, expensive cars, and other luxuries that came with an affluent life. Eilene assumed his odd behavior was due to stress and overworkâhe was a senior partner at a prominent law firm and had been working more than sixty hours a week for the last twenty years.
Although they were divorced, Eilene and Peter had been partners and friends for decades, so when she and her children were unable to reach Peter for several days, Eilene went to his house to see if he was OK.
So begins Smacked, a brilliant and moving memoir of Eileneâs shocking discovery, one that sets her on a journey to find out how a man she knew for nearly thirty years became a drug addict, hiding it so well that neither she nor anyone else in his life suspected what was happening. Eilene discovers that Peter led a secret life, one that started with pills and ended with opioids, cocaine, and methamphetamine. He was also addicted to work; the last call Peter ever made was to dial in to a conference call.
Eilene is determined to learn all she can about Peterâs hidden life, and also about drug addiction among ambitious, high-achieving professionals like him. Through extensive research and interviews, she presents a picture of drug dependence today in that moneyed, upwardly mobile world. She also embarks on a journey to re-create her life in the wake of loss, both of the personâand the relationshipâthat profoundly defined the woman she had become.
