Chasing the High

Kyle Keegan is a professional diver. He lives in New York with his wife and daughters. Howard B. Moss, MD, is Associate Director for Clinical and Translational Research with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health.

"Chasing the High is an excellent resource on substance abuse for adolescents and their families. Keegan's personal story captures the experience of addiction and recovery in a compelling manner. The authors even make the neurobiology of addiction clear and accessible. It is difficult to find good resources about addictive drugs for adolescents and this book fills the gap."--Charles Dackis, M.D., Director, Charles O'Brien Center for AddictionTreatment, University of Pennsylvania"Chasing the High is honest and intense, yet also extremely informative. Kyle Keegan has written a brave cautionary tale that takes his readers deep inside the belly of addiction. This book speaks to anyone who has ever felt the deadly grip of drugs and alcohol take hold, but also to those who have watched someone they love disappear into a dark cloud of chemicals. Bravo to Kyle for having the courage to share his painful and inspiring story with theworld."--Lynn Marie Smith, author of Rolling Away: My Agony with Ecstasy"While the perils of addiction are often lost in detailed data, there remains a lacuna of information on the personal tolls of substance abuse. In Chasing the High we are given an intriguing and very personal snapshot of the initiation, maintenance, and subsequent battling of severe chemical dependency-intermixed with factual and useful information about additions. Along with the author, we experience the tribulations of the addition- from the crashesto the euphoria to the rehabilitation and optimism of experiencing life without drugs. Chasing the High provides a unique inside perspective on addiction that is often lost in academic texts."--Timothy E.Wilens, M.D., Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School"Chasing the High by Keegan and Moss is wonderful first-hand account of a young person's development with addiction. With powerful descriptions of the events that led to drug use, abuse, and addiction the authors succeed in weaving a primer on addiction within the developing saga. Engaging and easy to read, this book should be an enormous help for those individuals and families struggling with this disorder to understand addiction. Particularlypoignant for this researcher is the repeated focus on the "dark side" of addiction. The author states, 'In fact, you're taking drugs now not so much to feel good as to keep from feeling bad.' The authors illustrate soclearly that seeking drugs to fill emotional holes creates even bigger emotional holes that in turn need to be filled. This phenomenon is the core feature of addiction."--George F. Koob, Ph.D., Professor, Committee on the Neurobiology of Addictive Disorders, The Scripps Research Institute

• 1. Crash and Rescue ; 2. The Early Days of Using ; 3. The Noose Tightens ; 4. Trying to Get Help ; 5. Recovery ; 6. Looking Back, Looking Ahead