The Lowdown: 

There’s something ugly and fascinating about reading such intimate tales of debasement and depression and failure and self-doubt. Every addict in Denizet-Lewis’ book speaks intelligently about his or her disease (this is to be expected; otherwise, there wouldn’t be much of a book). They also all show a desire to do the years­long work in therapy and treatment and 12­stepping required — which is what makes their stories both heroic and at the same time kind of insufferable. The repetitive, self-obsessed language and terminology employed by any recovering addict is multiplied eightfold. While each of Denizet-Lewis’ subjects have compelling enough tales of their own, the format that America Anonymous takes — cutting back and forth between stories — creates a numbing, circular feeling as many of the addicts go to treatment, relapse, self-flagellate, and then begin the process anew. If the author was purposefully trying to mimic the maddening cycle of addiction in the book’s structure, he succeeded. 

The good work here, however, is accomplished in Denizet-Lewis’ attempt to expand the definition of addiction, to truly show it as the disease its victims see it to be rather than as a failing of morals or of willpower. Of course he’s far from disinterested, as he uses part of the book to discuss his own addiction. Still, he ends on a thought-provoking note. Again, the words come from Jody, the afflicted, conflicted addiction counselor. “We don’t have nearly enough people out there screaming until something changes, until we start devoting real money and resources to fighting this disease … When will we wake up and flip the f___ing script?”