[.ca] Symptoms of Withdrawal: A Memoir of Snapshots and Redemption (ISBN 0061131237)

Delusions of grandeur:
Christopher Lawford, nephew of President John F. Kennedy, has written his life story which is notable only because of his relatives. He was born into a glamorous life of movie stars and political power, and threw it all away for a life of drugs. For at least the first half of the book, I was angry at the author for being such a name-dropper and for wasting all the advantages he was given. Every touch conversation, football game, or ski trip he ever had with RFK or Uncle Teddy or his cousins was described in excrutciating detail. He then described descent into the sewer of drug addiction. This was the most interesting part of the book for me. The final chapters recount his divorce and, again, I was angry at him; this time for walking out on his wife and children just because he had a wandering eye. The book is written in a very humorous, self-deprecating style that kept me turning the pages. It's is an interesting, if unnecessary, memoir by a real hanger-on who is cashing in on his family ties.