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The Taste of Cigarettes: A Memoir of a Heroin Addict
The true story of one man’s struggle to escape himself. After three decades of living in the sandy suburbs of Huntington Beach, Jon Vreeland’s heroin addiction has finally destroyed his once promising music career, and estranged him from his wife and his two daughters. Now Vreeland broods over his daughter’s absence while living in his old, broken-down tour van. He and Zooey Leigh—his brand new lover and longtime junkie—sell and shoot heroin in the van. They move from place to place, from crime to crime, and rob the undeserving in a brazen attempt to escape their hypodermic reality. No matter where they go or who they stay with, they always circle back to the shores of Huntington Beach, where the dark nights are their lonely playground. But Jon isn’t meant for this life. He wants nothing more than to rid himself of this nightmare, and return to his estranged family and career. This is the story of how he began to get out.
113 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 12, 2018
About the author
Jon Vreeland
1 book12 followersJon Vreeland is a writer of prose, poetry, plays, and journalism. His memoir “The Taste of Cigarettes” published May 22, 2018, under Vine Leaves Press of Australia, and can now be purchased through all major bookstores and outlets.
Vreeland's writing focuses on addiction and its harsh consequence and reality. His stories mostly take place in Huntington Beach, where he lived for thirty years. Vreeland is 38 years old and has been clean from drugs and alcohol for 4 years. Since getting clean he’s published stories with Rebelle Society, Santa Barbara New Press, he currently writes a colum for the Santa Barbara Sentinel and Montecito Journal. His poetry’s been published in a number of journals and three different printed anthologies, two of them published by University Professor's Press. He’s has one play produced by Dramatic Women which ran for one-week at Center Stage in Santa Barbara. His current publisher, Vine Leaves Press, who published “The Taste of Cigarettes,” plans to publish more of Vreeland’s work in the future.
You can read more of Vreeland’s work and follow his blog of poems and excerpts on his website. How did he recover? He wrote and he never stopped, and he never will.
Vreeland's writing focuses on addiction and its harsh consequence and reality. His stories mostly take place in Huntington Beach, where he lived for thirty years. Vreeland is 38 years old and has been clean from drugs and alcohol for 4 years. Since getting clean he’s published stories with Rebelle Society, Santa Barbara New Press, he currently writes a colum for the Santa Barbara Sentinel and Montecito Journal. His poetry’s been published in a number of journals and three different printed anthologies, two of them published by University Professor's Press. He’s has one play produced by Dramatic Women which ran for one-week at Center Stage in Santa Barbara. His current publisher, Vine Leaves Press, who published “The Taste of Cigarettes,” plans to publish more of Vreeland’s work in the future.
You can read more of Vreeland’s work and follow his blog of poems and excerpts on his website. How did he recover? He wrote and he never stopped, and he never will.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
June 3, 2018
If you are looking for literature close to Charles Bukowski, John Fante, and Ernest Hemingway, this is like their newborn cousin. There is quality and truth to the words by this author. He speaks the truth in a genuine and entertaining manner that gets you hooked in every page, paragraph, and sentence. As Bukowski once said, it's about the juice in every sentence, and this felt as sentences had a character and some form of life.
The subject matter of the book deals with heroin addiction, and a man's struggle to survive day by day. Living for the moment, for the second, for the fix, this life portrayed in the book is synonymous to hell on earth. The state of rock bottom that a human can be is shown, and in the end, it reflects that in that state, even though one can loose his sense of humanity, there is still a part of you that is fighting. This memoir reflects the battlefield that life is and that things can get worse than they are, it is raw, unapologetic and real.
Literature like this is important for people of all backgrounds, it was reality check for me, it gives a different perspective of life. I would really recommend this book.
The subject matter of the book deals with heroin addiction, and a man's struggle to survive day by day. Living for the moment, for the second, for the fix, this life portrayed in the book is synonymous to hell on earth. The state of rock bottom that a human can be is shown, and in the end, it reflects that in that state, even though one can loose his sense of humanity, there is still a part of you that is fighting. This memoir reflects the battlefield that life is and that things can get worse than they are, it is raw, unapologetic and real.
Literature like this is important for people of all backgrounds, it was reality check for me, it gives a different perspective of life. I would really recommend this book.
May 25, 2018
I liked this one a lot... I don't usually read memoirs because I can't stand them, especially addiction memoirs. The last one I read was "lit" by Mary Karr years ago... which was very good, but I liked Jon's book better. It is a harrowing first person account of what it's like to be a heroin addict, but the author is able to spin a unique and sometimes funny, sometimes terrifying yarn. Jon writes so well that I felt as if I were there as the main protagonist in each scene - and the book is concise enough to allow me to read it slowly and think about what it's like. I could really feel the desperation of each of the author's situations, not just read them. I imagine these are just a few stories from this narrator's life, and I really look forward to reading more in the future! Kudos to the author, and I hope there is more to come!
February 13, 2019
I wanted to love this book, I really did. Sadly, it fell short for me.
May 20, 2018
This is one of the best books I've ever read! I could not put it down. It's a real page turner. Be prepared. This is not light reading. However, it will make you laugh at times as well as cry. It's a front row seat into the day to day existence of a heroin addict. You will see first hand what it's like to suffer from the disease of addiction and the devastating effects it has on it's victims and their families. This book would be especially helpful for family and friends of those suffering from heroin addiction as well as police officers, firefighters and paramedics who are tasked with confronting this growing epidemic and helping the victims of this deadly disease. This book will change your outlook on drug addiction and help you to see the person inside the addict.
May 28, 2018
Soars with Poetry, Sears With Pain -- Jon Vreeland’s memoir, The Taste of Cigarettes: A Memoir of Heroin Addiction, is a detailed and vivid description of a junkie’s nightmare existence. Just when readers think his body can’t take more abuse, we descend into yet another graphic tale of life off the rails and in the gutter. Such is the nature of addiction and Vreeland renders the endless search for the next fix in language that soars with poetry and sears with pain. Only the haunting anguish of permanent separation from his young daughters finally pushes him across the line from overdose to recovery, from obsession to redemption. Vreeland has written a hell of a book that ends on a rushing updraft of hope.
January 14, 2019
This book was everything I hoped it to be. And even more. At once stark and quick yet poetic in a tragic sense. It felt familiar; different drug, same desperation. I wish it was longer as I finished it in one sitting and I wanted to know what happened beyond the bus stop he waited at.
For anyone who has gone through addiction, whether they are the addict or a loved one who struggles with understanding an addict, this book is a must read. It's beautiful and ugly, honest yet hopeful. Jon's writing is unique and almost musical at times and I look forward to reading more from this author.
For anyone who has gone through addiction, whether they are the addict or a loved one who struggles with understanding an addict, this book is a must read. It's beautiful and ugly, honest yet hopeful. Jon's writing is unique and almost musical at times and I look forward to reading more from this author.
July 10, 2018
At first you think heroin use is being romanticized, but then realize he’s taking you through the phases an addict goes through, from the blissful beginning through the ugly downward spiral. As a “normie” I cant wrap my head around a heroin addicts decisions & choices, so I very much appreciated stepping inside the mind of a junkie and learning where their minds go.
May 30, 2018
A Must Read.
Jon Vreeland is the new Bukowski meets John Fante. Visceral and haunting, mesmerizing and enlightening. Fasten your mind belt and get onto this wild wild wild ride! Bravo Jon!
Jon Vreeland is the new Bukowski meets John Fante. Visceral and haunting, mesmerizing and enlightening. Fasten your mind belt and get onto this wild wild wild ride! Bravo Jon!
April 24, 2018
The title didn't do anything for me, but the book is well written, sometimes fast-paced sometimes sad. Full of characters you love to hate. well worth the read, excellent.
December 11, 2020
Solid book, I live near where a lot of the story took place so its interesting hearing about the seedier side of the some of these spots.
Voicing was a bit inconsistent but there was definitely a unique voice there, the author app died recently but had been working on some new material...I'm curious to see how he would have developed his craft with time.
Voicing was a bit inconsistent but there was definitely a unique voice there, the author app died recently but had been working on some new material...I'm curious to see how he would have developed his craft with time.
February 7, 2019
The prose in this memoir is so strong that I had trouble falling asleep each night, thinking I needed my next fix. I stepped into a junkie's shoes, and I felt it all. Jon has incredible talent and I can't wait to see what he does next.
July 9, 2020
Chilling
Really hope there are more books after this! I need closure, need to know what happens next and how it turns out for him and his copper tone girls!
Really hope there are more books after this! I need closure, need to know what happens next and how it turns out for him and his copper tone girls!
December 12, 2020
The most difficult aspect of reading this memoir was knowing, before I read the first page, that Jon had died. That shadow was between each line of his story relating his addiction to heroin and his time spent on Huntington Beach, living out of his car.
It is a bleak read. It is an honest, stark, and unromanticised account of life as a heroin addict. It is frank in its admissions and Jon is honest in his awareness of the lack of his relationship with his daughters which he so dearly wants, but he wants the hit even more.
There is a poignancy in reading the last paragraphs of this work, knowing the decisions he had made, the choices he was making for himself and for his daughters, that lingers, making its own scar on me as the reader.
It is a bleak read. It is an honest, stark, and unromanticised account of life as a heroin addict. It is frank in its admissions and Jon is honest in his awareness of the lack of his relationship with his daughters which he so dearly wants, but he wants the hit even more.
There is a poignancy in reading the last paragraphs of this work, knowing the decisions he had made, the choices he was making for himself and for his daughters, that lingers, making its own scar on me as the reader.
September 9, 2020
4.5 stars. This showed up as a recommendation in my kindle and I have to say I really enjoyed it. Jon writes really well and while you found his behavior gross and abhorrent you somehow still wanted him to come out of this okay. I liked the open ended way the book was finished but I do wish we got to find out how he got back in good graces with his family, and what happened to Zooey at the end of the book.
October 22, 2020
Excellent read!
I read this book in a day! It was a very interesting walk in the life of an addict. Jon is such a kind person it broke my heart when he ran after his mother’s car after seeing his daughters. I’m so happy that Jon survived and has his life back. What a wonderful person and such a great story. I hope more people read this to gain more understanding.
I read this book in a day! It was a very interesting walk in the life of an addict. Jon is such a kind person it broke my heart when he ran after his mother’s car after seeing his daughters. I’m so happy that Jon survived and has his life back. What a wonderful person and such a great story. I hope more people read this to gain more understanding.
September 23, 2023
So intense
this author really tells it the way it is when it comes to the insanity of addiction, no pussy footing around it. It has broadened my understanding and allowed me to see its devastating effects on even the most rational of individuals who are truly powerless over this disease.
this author really tells it the way it is when it comes to the insanity of addiction, no pussy footing around it. It has broadened my understanding and allowed me to see its devastating effects on even the most rational of individuals who are truly powerless over this disease.
January 17, 2021
R.i.p. Jon Vreeland
Thank you for your honest writings of being a junkie. Jon's struggles of addiction are relatable and real. Recommend for anyone who wants to understand the mind of a junkie and why it is so hard to quit despite having a loving family.
Thank you for your honest writings of being a junkie. Jon's struggles of addiction are relatable and real. Recommend for anyone who wants to understand the mind of a junkie and why it is so hard to quit despite having a loving family.
January 3, 2023
This book took me about 35 pages to really get in to and then I couldn’t put it down. The ending was great and I would love to know the follow up. It’s an amazing peek in to what Vreeland went through and worth the read.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews