Kasher in the Rye: The True Tale of a White Boy from Oakland Who Became a Drug Addict, Criminal, Mental Patient, and Then Turned 16

by Moshe Kasher

I squinted at the pills, willing myself not to hear the thought that was creeping in the side of my head: “This is a really lousy idea.” I chose instead to heed the other much less logical but much more compelling thought, “What the hell, why not? See what happens, it could be awesome. Fuck it.” Fuck it is the great battle cry of the drug addict. It’s the rebel yell we all scream as we charge into the dumb, the ridiculous, the dangerous pool of bullshit that we inevitably drown in. My hands were shaking as I crushed up these pills that had been jacking up my brain chemistry for the past year. Chunks of the protective easy-swallow coating stuck out from the white lines like coral rocks jutting out from a foamy surf, warning, “Bad idea! Pain Ahead!” I grabbed my surfboard and jumped in.