Cracking Up

Gordon Lownds's career was peaking. He was fearless. Invincible.

But fate-and cocaine-intervened.

A reckless, experimental hit on a crack pipe quickly morphed into a raging, hard-core, shooting-up junkie experience. He became trapped in unfamiliar territory, desperately trying to navigate the sordid, violent drug world-all while coping with a psychotic girlfriend, overdoses, and drug busts.

Lownds barely survived the soul-destroying and death-defying events that unfolded over just 1,000 days. But he managed to crawl out of the gutters of despair-only to find even greater trials ahead in recovery. It took many hard years for him to earn back the respect he'd once had and the trust of those he'd let down.

Cracking Up reveals the darkest side of success and the hidden struggles faced by a distinguished Canadian entrepreneur. It's a brutally honest account of how even the most successful can fall, and of the universal challenges faced by all addicts trying to reclaim their lives.