Christiane Felscherinow narrates her descent into heroin addiction in 1970s West Berlin, beginning with her experimentation with hashish and pills at age twelve. The account details her daily life revolving around the Bahnhof Zoo railway station, where she and a group of adolescent peers engaged in sex work to fund their drug habits. It documents the failure of detoxification programs, the death of friends by overdose, and the grim reality of living in high-rise social housing projects like Gropiusstadt. The narrative focuses on the physical mechanics of withdrawal and the social isolation of the drug scene.
This memoir serves researchers of urban sociology and readers interested in the visceral history of the European drug epidemic. It provides a technical look at how systemic neglect and lack of youth infrastructure contributed to the rise of heavy narcotic use among minors. Readers gain a clinical understanding of the cycle of dependency and the specific environmental triggers that lead to relapse. It offers a stark documentation of the limitations of the West German juvenile justice and healthcare systems during that decade.
Inward-looking and contemplative; an easy read.
Best for readers like The Empathetic Explorer. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1978
- Language
- EN
