CRYSTAL LIES
Melody Carlson
WaterBrook Press
ISBN 1-57856-840-4
November 2004
Inspirational
CRYSTAL LIES is the harrowing story of a mother and her attempts to deal with her son’s addiction to crystal meth. Glennis Harmon is a forty-eight year old Christian mother of two living the “good life” in Seattle, Washington. Her world begins to unravel when she realizes that her son, Jacob, is abusing drugs, her husband has been having a long term affair with a co-worker, and her college-age daughter has become accusatory and critical.
This is not a story for the faint of heart. In this first person narrative, Glennis describes her separation from her husband and home, her move to a shabby apartment, and her heroic attempts to deal with Jacob and his worsening drug addiction. It is a story of co-dependence and Glennis’ attempts to come to terms with her own life in relation to her son’s spiraling out of control existence.
Secondary characters include Glennis’ husband, Geoffrey, a prominent attorney, her daughter Sarah, her friend Sherry, Marcus, the psychiatrist from the rehabilitation center, and her new neighbors in her apartment. Each plays figuratively in this story about addiction and recovery.
In the preface to the book, Melody Carlson notes that she is the parent of a drug addicted son. It is obvious, as I read the book, that she knows what she is writing about. Her descriptions of addiction, the lifestyle issues, and the pure pain of watching your child disintegrate before your eyes were riveting and poignant.
I have to admit that mid-way through the book I felt annoyed with Glennis and her angst about her life and her extreme need to change her son. By the end of the book her personal growth and the road to recovery were triumphant and uplifting. Parts of this book, particularly at the conclusion, moved me to tears.
This novel will be of particular interest to parents dealing with drug addiction in their children. While not exactly a romance novel, it is extremely well-written and documents a realistic road through drug addiction and recovery. Sadly, this road is too familiar to many families, regardless of socioeconomic status, race or culture.
