AWCH Book Reviews 2004

A teenaged daughter addicted to cannabis required Ms. Lindberg’s complete attention. At the time, she was working at home as well as holding down a time-consuming volunteer job. She soon realized that there was no real help for worried parents, that she was alone with this problem and that she must concentrate solely on her daughter, Krissy. The drug centers, friends and family downplayed the dangers of marijuana.

The book is divided into three parts. The first part explains the difference between cannabis, hash or grass, compares these with other drugs, and describes the user’s feelings and signs of addiction. The second part consists of tips for worried parents, details on support agencies and especially what to avoid to make a bad situation worse. The third part, interspersed between chapters, is a very personal diary of the road Krissy took from her first joint at age 14 to personality changes to total recovery at age 24.

Ms. Lindberg writes excellently and clearly in German. Even if your German is limited, the contact addresses listed in the back could be of great help. Lisa Lindberg has gone public with a private matter in order to help others and has appeared on television several times as well as in the Hamburger Abendblatt in a one-page interview. Lindberg is a pseudonym for Lisa Nagel, a former long-time member of the AWCH, where she was especially active and helpful as advertising manager of Currents.

The book is available at local bookstores or through Amazon.de by clicking on the book image above (if you order through Amazon.de, you earn a rebate for our club).