I never wanted to be an addict. I don't think any of us do. One day you think you are normal, living a normal life, and then one day there is concrete proof that you are not.

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Ecstasy overdose

Lubbock police expect to wrap up their investigation into the death of teenager Thomas Mallory sometime next week. Mallory died of a suspected ecstasy overdose earlier this month.
Click here to read the article

Thursday, June 09, 2005

Listen to my radio interview

Here is my eight minute radio interview from Bill Thompson's Eyeonbooks. I am thrilled to be featured on Bill's Website as few new authors are chosen for the show.

Click here to listen

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

New review from barnesandnobel.com

Warren Guthrie, someone interested in helping kids., June 6, 2005,
A 'can't put it down' for anyone, everyone.
I loved this book. The slide into drugs was understandable, but the partying was extreme for anyone. Belying that, was Lynn's accessible storytelling, that made the shocking tale seem like it could happen to you or me. Just when I'd had enough drug tales, the book changed. Her relapse read like a Grisham novel. Her family story took the book to a higher, even more engaging human level. By the time she found her 'voice' speaking at a prison, I was cheering for this girl, as I felt I knew her. A great, multi-dimensional, fast-read book. Go Lynn!

Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Bart Simpson likes it!

"This very personal account of one young woman's journey is gripping and in-your-face. Smith "talks" right to you, as if you are there with her, at the raves, at the clubs and with her "friends". Don't doubt for one minute that it is impossible to actually "change" your life with one decision. Smith did and anyone who is lost and desperately in need of help can too. You just have to decide."

- Nancy Cartwright, voice of Bart Simpson and author of My Life as a Ten Year-Old Boy

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Community Educator

Dear Lynn,
I am a community educator for a Drug and Alcohol Council and teach prevention to kids and adults. Someone taped the segment you did for MTV and showed it to me. I often think about you and wonder how your doing. I show this tape to others and it really makes an impact. So many people just don't know what these drugs can do. I want to thank you for sharing your story. I believe you have saved many lives and will save many more. I pray you will do well in every aspect of your life.

For more posts and emails click here

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

Addicted too

God bless you, Lynn.
I was once addicted to ecstasy too. The drug had almost completely enslaved me, and I was scared I would never quit. Thankfully, I did. It still really troubles me, though, to see so many others trying this drug who are completely oblivious to its power to consume a person's life.
Thanks again for your testimony and your strength. It has encouraged me, and I hope it will encourage others who are still held captive to it.

For more posts and emails click here

Monday, May 23, 2005

Library Journal review

Library Journal
Smith's revealing debut features prose that rolls by as smoothly as the book's catchy title ("rolling" on Ecstasy is the present-day equivalent of "tripping" on LSD). Taking readers on a journey from rural Pennsylvania to the concrete jungle of Manhattan, Smith relays her folly in succumbing to the thrills of Ecstasy and its attendant club scene. After graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, she takes her newly minted degree precisely nowhere. Rather than seeking acting roles, she tries on the hat of addict, at which she excels. Her life rapidly spirals out of control, and Smith suffers a psychotic breakdown that prompts a rescue mission by her mother and a return to Pennsylvania. Ultimately, Smith succeeds in staying clean and resumes life, complete with a triumphant return to New York City. A brutally honest memoir and testimonial to the courage of recovery; recommended for public libraries with holdings such as Go Ask Alice. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Saturday, May 21, 2005


A book tour photo at MTV Studios Posted by Hello

Thursday, May 19, 2005

Latest Review from Booklist

Fresh out of high school, Smith arrived at the Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City with big plans and dreams. She longed to be an actress, but she fell in with a bad crowd and found herself experimenting with ecstasy, cocaine, and acid. A bad acid trip isn't enough to scare her off from the lifestyle, and after graduating she gets involved with Mason, a charismatic and handsome drug dealer who quickly draws Lynn into his aimless, ecstasy-filled existence. The constant drug use finally leads to a breakdown, and Lynn's concerned mother brings her to a hospital and checks Lynn into a rehab program back in her hometown of Danville, Pennsylvania. Smith manages to complete the program only to come home to more challenges (her father is an alcoholic) and unexpected opportunities (MTV wants to do a story on her struggle with addiction). Smith's memoir is a must-read for anyone who views drugs as glamorous--her descriptions of bad trips are very vivid and frightening, and the effort she made to turn her life around is admirable. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Thursday, May 12, 2005

My Brain Scan


Three weeks after I took my last hit of ecstasy, I had a 3-D brain scan to help doctors diagnose my psychiatric problems. Doctors told me that my brain scan looked like some one who was 60 to 70-years old and had suffered multiple strokes.
 Posted by Hello

Friday, April 29, 2005


Available now Posted by Hello

Thursday, April 21, 2005

Bart Simpson likes it!

"This very personal account of one young woman's journey is gripping and in-your-face. Smith "talks" right to you, as if you are there with her, at the raves, at the clubs and with her "friends". Don't doubt for one minute that it is impossible to actually "change" your life with one decision. Smith did and anyone who is lost and desperately in need of help can too. You just have to decide."

- Nancy Cartwright, voice of Bart Simpson and author of My Life as a Ten Year-Old Boy

1st page of My Book: Am I Dead?

As I rise from the couch, something inside my mind snaps. My thoughts begin to race as I fight for air. Am I having a heart attack? I stare at the bodies around me. How the hell did I get here? Everything seems strangely familiar. My skin begins to itch. I stagger into the bathroom and plunge my fingers down my throat. Nothing.
I plead to Mason. "Get me out of this. Make it stop, please."
From the stunned look on his face he has no idea what is manifesting inside of me. Neither do I.
"Have a cigarette" mutters Sara, "get some rest".
They don’t give a shit about me. The last thing in the world I can do is rest. I pace frantically in my bedroom, changing in and out of clothes believing it will alter my state. I stumble into my pajamas, clench my eyes, and plead for sleep. My heart feels like it’s beating for a thousand people. The decay of the apartment charges through my nostrils as I inhale months of cigarette smoke that clings to the walls. My head throbs with confusion. Voices, footsteps, and sirens scream in my ears. I begin to pray, something I have not done in years. I have deprived myself of so many things that I once loved. I want to fall asleep instantly, wake up, and feel normal …whatever the fuck that is. If I could just split my skull open and reach inside to turn the switch off, I could make it stop. This is Hell. I suddenly glimpse myself from above. I must be dying. Am I dead?

Book Description

Growing up in small-town Pennsylvania, Lynn Marie Smith was a straight-A student and a straight-arrow girl. None of her classes, though, had prepared her for the Manhattan fast lane. After moving to the city to pursue her acting ambitions, Lynn Marie rapidly slipped headfirst into a new life style. She tried pot, acid, and cocaine, but it was the party drug Ecstasy that finally ensnared her. Seduced by the drug, she stopped auditioning and began a five-month binge, popping pills and dancing all night long until she was nearly paralyzed by piercing headaches and attacks of paranoia. Finally, a harrowing hallucination drove her to make a desperate call for help. This terrifying memoir exposes the hellish underside of the "love drug."

Sunday, April 10, 2005

Latest Reviews

"A fervent cautionary tale…The book’s greatest strength is its alarming passages about coming down from a high and about the emptiness of living for the next pill-popping moment."
-Publishers Weekly

"Her descriptions of how good the highs feel are riveting…likely to be a hit with teenagers and 20-somethings."
-Kirkus Reviews

Wednesday, April 06, 2005

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Lynn Marie Smith has written a gripping narrative that is both intensely personal and yet also very informative. From beginning to end, Lynn's brave and unflinching examination of herself, her actions, and the mistakes that led her from a straight-A cheerleader at school to a crazed, half-dead drug addict shows us the kind of determination and fight it took for this young woman to stay clean. In the end, the hardness of her drug tale is lifted by her honesty and spunk, and love of family, friends, and life."
-- Loung Ung, author of Lucky Child

"Rolling Away is sensitive and bold....it speaks to anyone who ever wanted to pop that pill (or did) and got bound up in that toxic love affair. Bravo to Lynn Smith for getting out of it and channeling her fears and passions into thoughtful and revelatory prose."
-- Jenny Lauren, author of Homesick

"I wish that all aspiring party girls would read Rolling Away, Lynn Marie Smith's cautionary tale, to understand how damaging and empty drug abuse really is."
-- Lizzie Simon, author of Detour

Author Photo  Posted by Hello