A non-stop trip into one man's land of desperate addicts, failed punk
bands, and brushes with sad fame, as he sells drugs during the Seattle
grunge years.
In American Junkie, Tom Hansen maps his heroin addiction, from the
promise of a young life to the prison of a mattress, from budding
musician to broken down junkie, drowning in syringes and cigarette
butts, shooting heroin into wounds the size of softballs, and
ultimately, a ride to a hospital for a six-month stay and a painful
self-discovery that cuts down to the bone. Through it all he never
really loses his step, never lets go of his smarts, and always projects
quintessential American reason, humor, and hope to make a story not only
about drugs, but a compelling study of vulnerability and toughness.