when his sister Charlotte and brother Thomas both died from sickle cell disease within five years of each other in the 1980s, Nick felt less connected to being alive. He fell into something that was less like the dark depression he’d seen take hold of his childhood friend John, and more like a rupture. An unhinging. A former friend introduced him to crack cocaine in 1988, and feeling indifferent, Nick gave it a try. Within four years, the drug had taken everything, including his marriage and his career.
