Addicted: Kids Talking about Drugs in Their Own Words

In these ``war stories'' there is a depressing sameness to the narratives of 10 teenage drug abusers who describe the progress of their addictions. The interviews, conducted by Engel ( It's O.K. to Grow Up ) at various rehabilitation services throughout Southern California, reveal adolescents ranging in age from 15 to 21 as ``trying desperately to anesthetize themselves against pain, both real and imagined.'' Although there are recurring themes, such as divorce, peer pressure, a history of abuse within the family that may account for a turning to drugs, what is striking, no matter the social status of the young abuser, is the lack of parental awareness until a crisis occurs. These are harrowing tales, told in convoluted teenage idiom, which could prove effective as cautionary and preventive for other young people. (Aug.)