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The cover of Down and Out in Paradise by Luke Williams.

31 Aug, 2019

‘I’ve spent almost all my time as an adult high on drugs. Travelling in Asia saved my life’

In an attempt to escape a life of hard drugs, Luke Williams travelled in Asia for three years. He writes about his wild experiences and his family history of mental illness in his new book, Down and Out in Paradise

I saw public cremation in India. I got offered Valium by a psychiatrist in Jakarta who promised it – along with antipsychotics, testosterone, hypnosis and looking at pictures of Lady Gaga – would cure me of being gay. I declined the Valium, only to become addicted to it, buying off street dealers in Bali a few weeks later, only – in turn – to find I had the presence of mind to flush them and never use them again.

By the time I arrived in the Philippines I had turned 38 and had got hold of my grandfather’s medical file. Pop had catatonic schizophrenia. The same morning I got his file, I did an interview for my book with a Vietnam veteran. He talked about being in a group of soldiers and shooting a Vietnamese man so many times that the man’s body fell in half. He started to cry, but pretended he was coughing.

It seems trite to say you can’t run from your problems. Because when I write about all my adventures I can’t stop smiling. Even the bit about jail. The whole trip warms me from head to toe every time I think back. I’ve grown. I learned. I stopped using drugs. I had some of the most amazing experiences of my entire life. I recovered. I have certainly lived.

Full https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-cul ... travelling

Why would anyone want to read that?

The Seawolf wrote: ↑Sun Sep 01, 2019 6:37 pm Why would anyone want to read that?

Not sure if you read the piece but the guy is a Walkley award nominated writer. The Wakley is Australia's most prestigious award for journalism. I imagine some may see that as a cause for picking it up.

Maybe so but from the few paragraphs above I can't see myself running out and buying a copy. Besides the down and out in SEA has been done so many times it's almost a cliché.

A gay dude getting hooked on Valium in SEA?
Take my money.

So this back - door person was addicted to Valium ,wow so hard - core.He would not be in the same league as Scottish Allan Wymess ( who was whipped whist naked in the street in Phnom Penh ).No doubt he will rest up back at his usual doss - house if he has money ,Jun **n guesthouse .One of the " enablers " to his descent into madness are the other guests & staff at this grotesque "flop house", they lend him money and place to hide which perpetualates ,hastens his downward desent . If you don't O D ,at this place ,you have a good chance of ending up like Allan ,shame !

If i don't like it
it ain't worth a piece of shit.
Read me on CEO instead. Award winning stuff.

I don't know how books like this get published as they are dime a dozen memoirs of being a fuck up and then unfucking yourself up and looking back going boy I was a mess dude. Do I want to spend at least 8 hours of my life in the company of a valium addled rent boy on the game in Pattaya?

Hell no!

I guess due to his journalism awards he had some contacts in the publishing game which is why he got the book published. But when it comes to drug/fuck up books its all been done a million and one times before.

Better off reading William Burroughs (Junkie), Iceberg Slim (Pimp) or, best of all, the entire Charles Bukowski canon.

And there is another book with paradise in the title about some junkie bank robber that is good but cant remember it's name or author. A million little pieces (another drug fuck up book) ripped it off.

have to agree, just reading from the link, its not a book i'd wish to waste 10 minutes on. If he won awards, the bar must be very low.

Now this, ( beside Burroughs) is a good read about down and out

https://www.amazon.com/Shantaram-Gregor ... 349117543/