ROLLING AWAY: My Agony with Ecstasy

Aspiring actress Smith dabbled in recreational drug use after moving to New York City from smalltown Pennsylvania. Sadly, the recent high school graduate quickly went from being a casual user to an addict. Smith's descriptions of "rolling" on ecstasy are appropriately disjointed and haunting. She deftly conveys an ecstasy user's sense of euphoria, especially the bubbling happiness that spreads like a wave through an "E"-fueled dance floor. But in tackling recovery, she falters. Although Smith's experience in treatment was difficult, and her description of it lends some insight into her subsequent triumph, she lingers too long in very well-trod territory. Once Smith is out of the hospital, though, the book regains its footing as Smith details her appearance in an MTV special about ecstasy use, and the difficulty of dealing with her somewhat emotionally unhealthy family. Smith has written a fervent cautionary tale; even when revealing the drug's joyful moments, her tone is one of warning and regret. As a member of the advisory board of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, Smith tours and lectures about ecstasy, and it's likely that this work will find wide readership. The book's greatest strength is its alarming passages about coming down from a high and about the emptiness of living for the next pill-popping moment. (May)