It Won't Happen to Me - Softcover

Grade 6 Up The pitfalls of seemingly innocent and harmless alcohol and drug use are openly and honestly portrayed in nine hard-hitting first-person accounts of adolescent druggers and drinkers who began the path to addiction as early as age nine. The motivations for initiating drug use are explored, and the resulting individual nightmares graphically demonstrate what it is like to be a drinker or drugger. Each true story is amply illustrated with black-and-white photographs and is followed by a concise and straightforward encapsulation of facts. A follow-up ``Think About'' section concludes each case study with suggestions and empirical data for use by readers as they consider the risks and hazards of drug use. These items will provide excellent discussion starters for counseling sessions or ``Just Say No'' groups. Newman deglamourizes the allure of chemicals that usually leads to polyaddiction and provides a clear picture of life in the alcohol/drug world. A multiplicity of books on substance abuse are available, including several titles each by Margaret Hyde and Geraldine Woods, Daniel and Susan Cohen's A Six-Pack and a Fake I.D. (Evans, 1986) and Laurel Graeber's Are You Dying for a Drink? (Messner, 1985), but this one should be added to the shelves of any library serving young adult readers. Bold print scenarios that precede each case history will quickly capture the attention of browsers, and the objective data that concludes each chapter will provide easily read but vital information to understand the ``loaded gun'' inherent in non-prescriptive drugs use. Sue Diehl, Robertsville Junior High School, Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Newman follows her bestselling You Can Say No to a Drink or a Drug and Never Say Yes to a Stranger with this collection of nine case histories, told in the first-person, of young drug and alcohol abusers, ages nine to 15. Terry tells how he began drinking in the seventh grade and became an alcoholic before learning that his father was also an alcoholic. Kimberly states, "I became known as 'speed queen' by the kids at school." Courtney wound up in the alcohol rehab center, joined Alcoholics Anonymous and saw a psychiatrist daily: "I was only drinking beer and smoking pot when I hit bottom. If only I had known." In case any young readers miss the point, Newman drives it home with two pages of "You Should Know" and "Think About" notes at the end of each chapter. More than 80 of Tiboni's photos are used to show moments of joy and despair in the lives of these young people. The book is carefully calculated to deliver a message that teens (and their parents) will not reject.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.