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Living in the House of Drugs
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As a child in 1980s, Chicago Willie stole to help feed his brothers, sister, and himself. In grade school his teacher told him to have his parents help him with his homework, but his mother, the only parent around, didn’t know how. As a young man Willie started smoking pot, which easily turned into harder drugs. This eventually led Willie to a life under someone’s front po
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I have read many memoirs and this one is, by far, the most...well...memorable. Willie wants the world to know his story, maybe so he can clear his conscience or maybe so he can help others avoid the mistakes he made. But Willie has a big problem. He can barely tell his story in proper English, let alone write it down.
Enter Christine Keleny, author and compassionate soul. She spends countless hours with Willie to decipher his attempts at his own notes and listens to his stories. The result is thi ...more
Enter Christine Keleny, author and compassionate soul. She spends countless hours with Willie to decipher his attempts at his own notes and listens to his stories. The result is thi ...more
I had the chance to briefly speak with this author at an arts and crafts fair where she was selling her book. While I respect the fact that she wrote this book, really I found a lot of issues with it. It is the story of Willie Triplett, a down on his luck, sex and drug addict. Throughout the story, Willie makes bad choice after bad choice. What I would frustrating throughout the novel are two things: First, the author interjects herself into the story in a variety of ways. Just one example is in
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Jul 22, 2013
Wendy
rated it
really liked it
Recommended to Wendy by:
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memoir
"Living in the House of Drugs" which I won from Goodreads Giveaways is a gritty, unabashed story of a recovering addict and alcoholic Willie Lee Triplett told through his words and writings, and given voice through his interaction with the writer. Willie candidly recounts his battle with addiction which began from the earliest years of his childhood when he was introduced to beer and " a funny cigarette" by his uncle. Living in a poor neighborhood with an uneducated mother who couldn't help him
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Living in the House of Drugs
Christine Keleny
(Due to language and content, would recommend this for adults or very mature teens only.)
Please meet Willie Lee Triplett. To say he is a character is a bit of an understatement. He is a genuine soul with a wry sense of humor, a tell-it-like-it-is attitude and is wise well beyond his fifty years. Willie has been homeless, been in jail, in prison and lived in halfway houses. He is a classy dresser, a hard worker and likes the ladies. He grew up in a fam ...more
Christine Keleny
(Due to language and content, would recommend this for adults or very mature teens only.)
Please meet Willie Lee Triplett. To say he is a character is a bit of an understatement. He is a genuine soul with a wry sense of humor, a tell-it-like-it-is attitude and is wise well beyond his fifty years. Willie has been homeless, been in jail, in prison and lived in halfway houses. He is a classy dresser, a hard worker and likes the ladies. He grew up in a fam ...more
This is a true story about a Wisconsin man who has cycled through the prison system for most of his adult life because of addictions. Christine Keleny has done a remarkable job telling Willie Triplett's story, not just because she's a good writer, but because she is able to bring understanding and compassion to a very difficult subject. Willie is the kind of person we love to hate - uneducated, drug addict, offender, homeless person - but Christine has reached down, past all those labels, to exp
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Willie Lee Triplett wanted his story told and Christine Keleny answered his call. Willie never had much of a chance in life. Growing up, he observed the adults in his life make drugs and alcohol their priority. Children tend to model their behaviour based on what they observe. Willie began to use alcohol and drugs at a young age which set the pattern for his life.
The book alternates between Christine's observations of Willie and Willie's own words. He is barely literate and the language and con ...more
The book alternates between Christine's observations of Willie and Willie's own words. He is barely literate and the language and con ...more
Great read! I am slightly biased knowing Willy personally. It was rather shocking to read some of the stories but Christine does an amazing job of telling his story. I can actually hear Willy saying most of this when I read the book!
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I am a writer, reader, author, editor, book designer and publisher. I am a mother of two, grown, children and a wife. I like working with my hands, so when the need or desire arises, I crochet, sew, tile, paint, cross stitch, frame pictures, stain furniture, cut and split fire wood, x-country ski, train and ride horses…
But my main loves are writing and helping others publish the book of their d ...more
But my main loves are writing and helping others publish the book of their d ...more
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