Sonya grows up in an upper middle class home with an alcoholic father. She acquires a taste for alcohol and drinks her first bottle of champagne when she is just twelve. Despite her dysfunctional family life, Sonya has the necessary tools to lead a productive life and leaves home for college. Living alone and left to her own devices, the choices she makes are not all good. Sonya is promiscuous, dating both men and women, while seemingly oblivious to any relationship she is currently in. She spends money lavishly, ventures to other countries on her own, and overindulges in alcohol and drugs. even going as far as to sell them. She brushes off everyone's warnings-telling herself she's still young and just having fun. Ultimately, Sonya realizes her choices have turned to need and threaten to ruin a relationship she values the most. Thus begins her long road to recovery. The road is unforgiving. She suffers many losses, and stumbles often only to get back up and start again. The last obstacle she faces may prove to be the most difficult. Sonya's father has always been brutally outspoken concerning her sexual preferences. In death, the final message he sends threatens to put Sonya over the edge...

Dope Double Agent is a war on drugs story, one that starts in the 60s and only ends with the last lines of the book. More than this, it is the story of a young Berkeley student--and occasional drug user--who turns into an insider expert in the drug war with a personal agenda to subvert and correct it. He checks in as a heroin patient, works the streets of New York, dips into worlds of PCP and LSD, and seeks the sources of crack, heroin and ecstasy. The delusions of the experts, the public and the politicians amaze him and make him think the double agent job will be easy. Instead it is impossible. He fails, spectacularly so on such hallowed ground as the National Academy of Sciences and the National Institutes of Health. Come behind the scenes and watch the drug policy emperor march along for decades thinking he wears a new suit of clothes.

New York. Winter. 1980. Behind the glitter of the disco era, the city streets run wild. In countless secret spaces, high stakes poker games fuel an underground economy flush with cocaine, champagne, and call girls. Winners are on top of the world. But no one wins forever, and when aspiring novelist and inveterate card player Danny Ferraro goes "all in"--and then some--he winds up owing the mob big money. And when you owe the mob, you pay--or else. With nowhere to run, Danny is forced to commit unspeakable acts just to stay even. Richard Vetere's gritty novel strips the gloss of the "Godfather" era and lays bare the gritty reality of the subversive blackmarket as Ferraro struggles to free himself of its grip. Vetere (The Third Miracle, The Writers Afterlife) delivers his most riveting work to date, with page-turning action and an insider's view of a hidden culture.

This timely second edition remains essentially the same in overall organization and chapter layout and titles. New to the book is updated data and facts from empirical research and government and agency reports. Some information in some chapters was retained from the first edition if it was deemed still relevant and interesting. The definition of deviance has been modified to be more in line with standard understandings of the term which frequently describe deviance as violations of social norms. The word “differences” remains part of the definition and implies differences in attitudes, lifestyles, values, and choices that exist among individuals and groups in society. The concept of deviance is no longer treated as a label in itself, also placing the definition of the term more in alignment with its standard usage. The title of the book remains the same and “tradition” still implies the book covers areas that have long been addressed in deviance texts such as addictions, crime, and sexual behaviors, to name a few. The term “stigma” is retained for two reasons: it is in honor of Erving Goffman, a giant in the discipline of sociology who offered much to the study of differences, and it is used to accentuate the importance of societal reaction in a heterogeneous society. In this updated edition, every attempt has been made to respond to input from colleagues and students concerning text content and writing style. Chapters still include “In Recognition” or comments that honor scholars whose research and professional interests are related to the chapters under study. Effective case studies are again included in the chapters. Considerable effort went into decisions of what was to be added, changed, maintained, and deleted from the first edition, resulting in meaningful modifications throughout the book.

Examines the history of cocaine from its first medical uses to the worldwide issues it presents today.

My first experience with "death" happened on the night of July 2, 1984. Since then, books, movies, and television documentaries have popularized the term "near-death experience" to describe an event that has been experienced by millions of people who have been at death's door. But back in 1984 I was alone with my experience. I couldn't share it with anyone. From the book: "Coming back from death is a powerful and life-changing experience. Before I came back from death, I was told that I was coming back with a mission in life. My mission was not clearly defined for me at first, but I now find that each and every day it is being defined for me more clearly. The experience has set me upon a path of self-discovery and spiritual enlightenment that continues to provide me with glimpses into the afterlife--glimpses that I would now like to share with you. Prior to finding myself at death's door, I was not by nature inclined to share anything with anybody, but now I believe it is important that I share my experiences with you.

The decades between the late 1960s counterculture and the advent of steroid use in the late 1980s bought tumult to Major League Baseball. Dock Ellis (Pirates, Yankees) and Dick Allen (Phillies, Cardinals, Dodgers, White Sox) epitomized the era with recreational drug use (Ellis), labor strife (Allen), and the questioning of authority. Both men were Black Power advocates at a time when the movement was growing in baseball. In the 1970s and 1980s, Marvin Miller and the Major League Baseball Players Association fought numerous, mostly victorious battles with MLB and team owners. This book chronicles a turbulent period in baseball, and in American life, that led directly to the performance-enhancing drug era and the dramatically changed nature of the game.