Junkie Love

By: Joe Clifford

Narrated by: Timothy McKean

Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

From the cow fields of Connecticut to the streets of San Francisco, Joe Clifford's Junkie Love traverses the lost highways of America, down the rocky roads of mental illness to the dead ends of addiction. Based on Clifford's own harrowing experience with drugs as a rock 'n' roll wannabe in the 1990s, the audiobook draws on the best of Kerouac and the Beats, injecting a heavy dose of pulp fiction as it threads a rollicking narrative through a doomed love triangle, lit up by the many strange characters he meets along the way.

Part road story, part resurrection tale, Junkie Love finds a way to laugh in one's darkest hour, while never abandoning its heart in search of a home.

©2013 Joe Clifford (P)2017 Cherry Hill Publishing

Harrowing look into the eyes of addiction

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in getting a real-life glimpse into addiction. I think we all know someone that is an addict in one way or another. While I don't know anyone that is addicted to anything that you need a needle to use, I do know people who have struggled with alcoholism and cocaine addiction. It was an interesting insight into the mind of an addict.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The main character was my favorite character as it's a story about his life and experiences. There are secondary characters, but you really get to feel like you know the main character. It was a unique look into his past life and experiences. It's crazy to think that people actually live like he and his "friends" did.

Have you listened to any of Timothy McKean’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't listened to any of Mr. McKean's other performances before, but I think he did a great job with this title. I would absolutely have no problem listening to another book that he has narrated.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, it wasn't. While it was an eye-opening listen, it's pretty heavy. I definitely took a few breaks while listening to it just to get back to my reality before returning to the life of a junkie.

Any additional comments?

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

i really enjoyed listening to this story

i can relate in some ways so i really love this. comes from the heart of the life long struggle.

Gritty, Raw, Page-Turner

Absolutely amazing story that I could not stop reading/listening to. You could not get more raw and truthful than this amazingly written story. I am amazed by the true to life story the author has written I actually feel like I was high at certain points in the story. This is written with such grittyness that you can actually visualize it if you close your eyes. I would suggest this book to anyone that wants to know how it is to live in the grips of addiction and heartache, homeless and broke... It's actually so close to nonfiction that I thought, at times, that I was listening to a biography. Cheers to this author and I will be looking into more titles by him.

Telling it like it is.

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review. The story was heavy, just like life of an addict is. Got down to the nitty gritty. Interesting read, would recommend to anyone with an addiction problem or who knows someone with an addiction problem.

Nothin hits harder than the Truth

I couldnt stop listening. As a struggling addict, I could relate on a deep level.

True or not, this listen was so real!

Any additional comments?

I listened to this book and the entire time I kept asking myself, is this a true story? At times, I decided that it couldn't be, Then it resonated so real that I was back believing that it must be. At the end, it really didn't matter. It read true and that made it true.

There are some really unpleasant things that happens in this book.. Most of it at the hands of the main character, Joe. Joe made some very bad decisions. They were rational, well, junkie rational, but bad nonetheless. That's what made the book so real. None of the things that happened to Joe or the reasons behind them seemed forced or unnatural. None of the situations he found himself in, as bizarre as they were, seemed unrealistic, even the rat poop.

This book is also incredibly well-narrated. I listen to quite a few audiobooks and I'm not sure that anyone I've listened to in the past could have handled this material. It took a deft hand (tongue?) to make Joe real, to make his struggle real, to make his pain real. Maybe the narrator had a lot to do with why this listen felt real.

Whatever the reasons behind it, this is a really good, uncomfortable, hard-to-believe listen and is well worth your time.

Nothing interesting

What is the point of writing this book. Why would some loser even write this. Is there a point to this story. It’s not interesting, not funny and not even sexy.

A journey out of despair and into deliverance

This memoir is a raw presentation of dreams, destruction, despair, and finally deliverance from the living hell that is addiction to heroin or any other substance, for that matter. Only a person who has walked in those shoes could so accurately portrait the day-to-day, year-after-year, struggle that addicts (particularly those hooked on the needle) must endure.

Relayed to us in the steady and smooth narration of Timothy McKean, the listener is taken deep into the levels of despair, to the brink of suicide, that is the life of a junkie. Dealing with shattered dreams, lost families, crime, homelessness, sexual exploitation, deteriorating health, and complete hopelessness become an everyday occurrence unto the point that death seems to be the only escape. All of these maladies, many self-incurred, are described in excruciatingly honest detail by the author who obviously lived through it. It is obvious that Joe Clifford lived through these things, not only because he is still around to tell of them, but with the feelings that could only be invoked by one whom has experienced them first hand. As a matter of fact, the author addresses this very topic in his "note from the author" section by speaking to the challenge of mining precise memories along the continuum of time though the haze of opium induced years. However, as he states, "the really disturbing scenes, the ones that make you gasp and shutter and feel that you need to take a shower . . . or say 'no way that's true," 99.9% of the time happened just the way I said it."

While this is certainly not a book that I could say they enjoyed, I would highly recommend it for anyone that has, or had, a friend or loved one deal with the perils of addiction in order to get an accurate glimpse into their life, their struggles, their defeats, and hopefully their victory. Also, anyone that has walked through the battle with drugs and/or alcohol will certainly be able to empathize with the author.

In the end, this is a story about one person's search for that which was missing in their life. It is the story of the search that we all deal with; some (myself included) just look in all the wrong places to find that missing piece. The search does not end until one finds redemption and peace in their soul . . .

I was afforded a complimentary copy of this audiobook by the narrator in exchange for my honest review of this book. That being said, I would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in this subject matter; the honesty and transparency of the author make the book a compelling listen/read.

I hope this review is found to be helpful to those considering whether to purchase this book.

Riveting - Hard to Put Down...just WOW!

How to begin??? WOW! This story is a hard read/listen and even harder to put down!!! Incredibly well written and expertly narrated by Timothy McKean. Junkie Love is not the typical romantic love story but a hard-core look at life thru the eyes of an addict. Their relationships with addiction, those they love, those who love them, and everyone in-between, including themselves. I appreciate Joe Clifford’s sharing his personal story, raw, gut-wrenching and unforgiving, I needed to hear it…we ALL need to hear it! My eyes have been opened to the enormous involvedness of addiction and my heart aches for all who are touched by it.

I recommend this book to absolutely everyone…

A True Journey

I feel like I stepped into a world that is so distant to my own and learned what it is like to be no one, nowhere, for no reason. Great read.