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| The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star | 
 enlarge | Author: Nikki Sixx
Publisher: Pocket Books
Category: Book
List Price: $32.50
Buy Used: $12.08
You Save: $20.42 (63%)
New (40) Used (33) from $12.08
Avg. Customer Rating:  267 reviews
Sales Rank: 7116
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 432
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.1
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 6.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 0743486285
Dewey Decimal Number: 782.42166092
EAN: 9780743486286
ASIN: 0743486285
Publication Date: September 18, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Book is in fine condition but NO DJ, some cover wear, THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING WITH AMAZON!
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| Customer Reviews:
 Pity Party... October 10, 2007
16 out of 39 found this review helpful
Why do we feel such admiration and respect for idiots that use drugs, get hooked, waste a few years of their life, waste money, treat others like garbage and then go to rehab? Whats the deal? How many other "stars" have followed the same formula. "Oh, I'm so rich and famous and my mommy didn't love me enough, poor me...I think I'll use heroin and crack so I get more attention..." Lame!
I'm not buying into this pity party or Nicole Richie's or Britney Spears' or Danny Bonaduchie's or Charlie Sheen's or Lindsey Lohan's. No, I will simply be content with my paltry $60,000.00 a year salary, fairly attractive girlfriend and my occasionally disfunctional family...And you know what, I won't even whine about it or jam a dirty disease infested needle in my arm..
I enjoyed the "Dirt" but I think this book is a contrived, self pitying mess. I don't even think there was any diary. I think this "diary" was written recently and made to look like it was a diary. Too many entrys and terms were self serving and revisionist... Nikki, get back in the studio and try and write some decent music. You appear to have way too much free time...
 The Heroin Diaries September 12, 2007
13 out of 15 found this review helpful
By Rev. John of PC LIVE!
One of the most memorable moments from VH-1's "Behind the Music" was Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx telling the story of his outer body experience. He had just overdosed, was presumed dead, yet revived at the last minute...and he saw all this from above. What BTM doesn't tell you was that Slash from Guns n' Roses was with him at the time. It doesn't tell you of the chaos amongst his bandmates wondering if he was alive or not. It also doesn't tell you the depression and drug addiction that haunted Sixx in the year preceding this most recent overdose. These are all some of the things Nikki shares with gruesome detail in "The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rockstar."
"The Heroin Diaries" is a journal Nikki started on Christmas Day 1986 to, among other reasons, remember what he did the day before. This was a fascinating entry point for me personally because it was right before the writing and recording of the "Girls, Girls, Girls," album and was my introduction to Motley Crue. Twelve year old me looked at Motley as the coolest band on the planet, and even planned to use "Wild Side" when I made my debut as a pro wrestler (don't laugh, I was twelve). Thirty-two year old me was surprised to read just how depressed and suicidal Nikki was at the time.
I was even more surprised to read that "Wild Side" was actually a bastardization of The Lord's Prayer, and inspired by his friend's daughter, a seventeen year old Catholic school girl who used to stop by between classes for reasons that had nothing to do with prayer (though, she may have still been on her knees).
The twenty year difference between when you first discovered the band and reading "The Heroin Diaries" now is the most interesting aspect of the book. As a kid growing up in the 80's, "Shout at the Devil" back patch in all, The Crue were gods. They rocked. They partied. They had all the girls. This was the life you wanted to live. This was what it was all about.
Who knew that, while we were idolizing the man, Nikki Sixx was sitting on the floor in the closet in his bedroom, alone, shooting up as much heroin as he could get his hands on and wanting to die? The lifestyle we all grew up wanting as teenagers suddenly stopped looking so glamorous. It actually looks pretty sad.
That was 1987 for Nikki Sixx. Throughout the recording and touring of "Girls, Girls, Girls," that was his life. Save for fifteen days in May when he was clean and sober (except for the alcohol and the cocaine), it was doing as much drugs as he needed too just to make it through the day. There was still the debauchery you would expect; he was a rockstar after all. But at the end of the day there was just a junkie all alone, both physically and emotionally.
The "Diaries" weren't all about the drugs. Nikki also went into his feelings about the recording industry, all the other bands that were biting off of Motley's style, his management, and even his bandmates. I also had no idea that Slash was a friend of his from before "Appetite for Destruction" was released. There was a day in August when Axl Rose had actually called Nikki to tell him that Slash was all "strung out" and wanted to know if Nikki could help him or say something to him. Think about that one.
If it sounds like I'm down on him, I'm not. I'm still a Motley Crue fan, and even more so of Nikki personally. Even when you strip away all the bells and whistles that go along with being one of the biggest bands in the world, there's a guy who remains passionate about what he does, and more importantly, remains passionate about music.
But he didn't publish these diaries to say "look at me and look how cool it was to be in Motley Crue." He published them for the future rockers and/or junkies as a guide book of what not to do. He's been there and done that. He knows all the excuses and he knows all the tricks. He's also lucky to be alive. "The Heroin Diaries" is his way of telling people not to make the same mistakes.
Get the soundtrack too! September 14, 2007
12 out of 14 found this review helpful
I confess that I knew of Motley Crue, but didn't know who Nikki Sixx was, before last week. I was lucky enough to receive his book and CD at a function where he was talking about his recovery from addiction. The book is great, and it is 10 times better when you also listen to the soundtrack. Amazing lyrics and music.
If you've ever wanted to undersand someone who's been depressed or addicted to anything, this book unflinchingly expresses what some of those thoughts and feelings are like. And, if you have ever been depressed or addicted yourself, you will be reminded that you are not alone. Ultimately, this is a hopeful story of survival and healing.
For those who wonder how an adult can still be dealing with childhood pain, all I can say is that unresolved stuff can stay with you for a lifetime, whether you're conscious of it or not. Hats off to anyone who has the courage to face their hurts and anxieties, and who helps others do the same.
The soundtrack is absolutely cathartic. The more you listen to the words and music, the more you feel for what Nikki and others have gone through. If you are taken aback by casual sex and profanity, this book is not for you. But if you want to glimpse the human feelings underneath, I recommend the book and especially the soundtrack.
Why go half way when you can go ALL the way? September 13, 2007
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
As an author (Selections from the Serial Killer Cookbook (The Handbook for America's Youth)) that goes to great lengths pull skeletons out of my own closets, it is nice to see another do the same. I read through this in a few short sittings and had a really hard time putting it down. Compelling, honest, with warts and all included. Many in the position of Mr. Sixx would laugh at the idea of sharing their sordid past with the public but most are more concerned with their relationship with the press than with their fans. Sixx does a great job of making his fans, addicts, recovering addicts, and his readers aware of where his head was (or wasn't) at during this dark period in his life.
The Heroin Diaries is written in such a human way that it is very easy for anyone to relate to. It is also nice to have the commentary by those other than Nikki that were present throughout this journey. Their comments, good and bad, really make the reader wake up to the horrors of this kind of situation. A great read, and The Heroin Diaries soundtrack is a good listen as well.
 Life inside the teenage wasteland September 20, 2007
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
There's an authentic hallowness to this read that forced me to sit up and take full notice. Nikki Stixx pulls no punches here in this un-put-downable life in the dead-zone. With all the `addict' memoirs out there these days, this one is the real deal. (Reminds me of the classic Jon Carroll read of the same ilk). What compelled me here was the eerie way Sixx talks to his diary, almost strokes it, at times, and includes `apologies' for not keeping up with the commitment Sixx seemed to set for himself in, at least, being true to this task. I think this could be excellent required reading for young people, especially. (I was in college when I became a huge fan of the band).
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