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The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star Paperback – October 28, 2008

by Nikki Sixx (Author)

4.7 8,629 ratings

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In one of the most unique memoirs of addiction ever published, Mötley Crüe's Nikki Sixx shares mesmerizing diary entries from the year he spiraled out of control in a haze of heroin and cocaine, presented alongside riveting commentary from people who were there at the time, and from Nikki himself.

When Mötley Crüe was at the height of its fame, there wasn't any drug Nikki Sixx wouldn't do. He spent days -- sometimes alone, sometimes with other addicts, friends, and lovers -- in a coke and heroin-fueled daze. The highs were high, and Nikki's journal entries reveal some euphoria and joy. But the lows were lower, often ending with Nikki in his closet, surrounded by drug paraphernalia and wrapped in paranoid delusions.

Here, Nikki shares those diary entries -- some poetic, some scatterbrained, some bizarre -- and reflects on that time. Joining him are Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, Mick Mars, Slash, Rick Nielsen, Bob Rock, and a host of ex-managers, ex-lovers, and more.

Brutally honest, utterly riveting, and shockingly moving, The Heroin Diaries follows Nikki during the year he plunged to rock bottom -- and his courageous decision to pick himself up and start living again.

Print length

432 pages
Language

English
Publisher

MTV Books
Publication date

October 28, 2008
Dimensions

6.13 x 0.7 x 8 inches
ISBN-10

1416511946
ISBN-13

978-1416511946
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Get to know this book

What's it about?
"The Heroin Diaries" is a gripping memoir by Nikki Sixx, detailing his battle with heroin addiction during Mötley Crüe's peak, offering a raw and emotional look at his lowest moments and his journey towards recovery.
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Like Hemingway said, the only thing that could spoil a day was people.
233 Kindle readers highlighted this
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If ya wanna live life on your own terms You gotta be willing to crash and burn
213 Kindle readers highlighted this
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Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round heads in the square holes. The ones who see things differently.
148 Kindle readers highlighted this

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

International rock icon Nikki Sixx is one of the founding members of Mötley Crüe and Sixx:A.M., a two-time New York Times bestselling author of The Heroin Diaries and This Is Gonna Hurt, co-founder of rock couture fashion line Royal Underground, philanthropist, photographer, and host of the nationally syndicated radio show Sixx Sense, which airs on over 115 stations, and The Side Show Countdown. As the creative force behind a multitude of projects, Sixx never stops inventing new ways to express himself and continues to unveil his unusual points of view with new projects. In addition to selling over 100 million albums with Mötley Crüe and Sixx:A.M., songs written by Sixx have been used in national commercials, his photographs have been published by the New York Post, and he’s raised several hundred thousand dollars through his Running Wild In The Night charity for Covenant House California.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ MTV Books (October 28, 2008)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 432 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1416511946
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1416511946
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.37 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.13 x 0.7 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #150,733 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #508 in Rock Music (Books)
- #557 in Rock Band Biographies
- #5,294 in Memoirs (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.7 8,629 ratings

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Nikki Sixx
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Born Frank Feranna, Nikki Sixx grew up in Seattle and moved to Los Angeles at the age of seventeen. There, in 1981, he became the bassist for M??tley Cr??e, the legendary rock band he started with friend Tommy Lee. Today he is a family man with many projects on the side, including songwriting, film, a new band, a clothing line, as well as ongoing work with the Cr??e.
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4.7 out of 5

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Rachel Lopes

Heartfelt

Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2024

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I recommend this book to anyone with depression issues as well as addiction... this book is very informative and helpful...

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T. LaPonte

Insight into the life of a shattered rockstar...

Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2007

Verified Purchase

In 1987 Motley Crue recorded Girls, Girls, Girls, toured with the then unknown Guns 'n Roses, sold out shows around the country (and world) and partied like they always had a day left to live. The previous book to tell the tale of this excess, The Dirt, felt more like a glorification of the excesses of the band, even though it addressed all the drug abuse Nikki Sixx subjected himself to, subsequent overdoses that almost killed him and reemergence towards a cleaner lifestyle. Basically, you take those chapters of The Dirt and make them their own book and you have The Heroin Diaries.

The book is set up like a diary. In fact, it is a diary: the book accounts the year (Christmas 1986 to Christmas 1987) that Nikki spiraled down a deep hole of addiction and depression and kept insanely careful track of it in a notebook. In addition to his entries (cleaned up a bit so we can understand them), Nikki includes commentary from himself as well as those who were close to him at the time (it's clear that a lot of care and work was undertaken to get all of these voices lined up to tell this story).

I'm reminded of one entry where Nikki says in passing that he had a blast at a radio interview the other night, but probably got the DJ fired. The commentary afterwards is the DJ's account of the debauchery that went down that night (and, yes, he did indeed get fired).

Nikki doesn't pull any punches and asked all of his contributors to do the same. They are brutally honest and help paint a magnificent picture of what it is like to find yourself on a speeding train charging forward into a brick wall. If you ever wanted to know what the rock and roll lifestyle was like, or what it feels like to be addicted to drugs, this is the memoir for you.

It's actually amazing to me that there could possibly have been any lucid entries. We assume of course that a number of them were cleaned up by the editor, but there are times when you are stunned at Sixx's foresight into the future of the industry (the eventual downfall of the hair metal genre by the flood of copycat bands), the future of the band (that they'd make their next record a #1 album) and even his own dim foreboding of the consequences of his lifestyle.

He talks to the diary as if it were a person, as if it were his wife and only confidant in the world during that year (and it probably was). He addresses it with things like, "I have to go to the show now, but I'll see you when I get back tonight." When he departs without an entry for several days (sometimes simply because he is sober and sane) he is always apologetic and makes jokes about how he only writes to it when he is on drugs.

The book pages are broken up with scribblings, notes that presumably came out of the original dairy (To Do lists, lost lyric ideas, notes and the like), drug abuse inspired art and photographs of the people and places addressed, as well as song lyrics from a whole career of Sixx's songwriting. There are Motley Crue songs, songs from his 58 solo album, and songs from bands Nikki has adored in his life and reflect his lifestyle then and now.

Each chapter is a month in the year, with an introduction, intermission and afterward included to set us up, take a break to reflect and plow forward into the future. The afterward in particular is interesting, because in it Sixx explains what happened in his life after that year: getting on and off the drugs, his failed marriages, his struggling band, his solo projects; everything (he calls it his Life After Death). It goes up to and beyond everything covered in The Dirt, and answers a number of niggling questions leftover from that book, like what was going on during the Girls Tour, what did some of the people mentioned in that book think about things discussed (Slash talking about his interactions with Nikki back then and his own struggling band and drug addictions), or whatever had become of certain events (like all that drama with Vanity).

I found myself taking the ups (yes, there were good days) and downs along with Nikki on his ride of drug use, paranoia, rage, attempts at detox, thrills and pitfalls of touring, women, joys of songwriting and love of music, falling off the wagon, struggling on, wondering if he was killing himself, hoping for a way out, dying and coming back to life. I found myself reading an entry, wondering a question about it, and having it answered by the commentary. I also found myself wondering if the now clean and sober Vanity, turned Evangelist, is really any less insane than she was back then. Sure the drugs are gone, but the woman seems like she has a few permanent screws loose (there's one entry where she rambles on about the devil, leaving you thinking, "huh?," and then there's Nikki's commentary under hers going "Huh?" as well: fantastic!).

The book has a message and Nikki Sixx has a hope that by writing this, that by laying his weaknesses bare for the world to see, that maybe that message can get through to people: the tunnel is dark but there is a light at the end, and even though it's probably better if you don't get into that tunnel in the first place, just because you are there doesn't mean there is no hope for you.

I'm definitely sold on this book, as I was already sold on the sountrack weeks ago. I highly recommend it to fans of the band, fans of rock and roll, people interested in learning about the dangers of excess and any open-minded and curious individuals in general. It's a good read all around.

319 people found this helpful

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Cadyann

Great book

Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2024

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This book is amazing. It’s hard to believe that anybody could survive the lifestyle he had. I loved how all of the pages were so detailed and full of different doodles & photos.

My favorite book for sure in terms of appearance & in terms of how crazy his story is.

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Amy Gesell

Brutally Honest Story...

Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2021

Verified Purchase

One of the things that I usually find a little problematic with rock starts memoirs is that, even with ghostwriters, they still come across as a little dense or dim witted. Rarely do you see any growth or introspection and when you do, it’s usually kind of ham fisted or performative.

That’s not the case here.

This book is a grueling, honest look at what that “rock n’ roll” lifestyle can do to a human being. It’s shocking, sordid, sad, and often disgusting...but it’s beautiful in its truth.

Because of personal experience with addicts, I am often unforgiving of them, but this book reveals the truth of the phrase “hurt people hurt people,” and to see the “real-time” thoughts of someone in the throes of addition gives my judgment a shake and brings about a lot more empathy for people in this kind of pain.

I always assumed that all rock stars were kind of the same: that it was all an act; that when the show was over or the video wrapped, they wiped off the make up and went home to a “normal” life. This book shatters that assumption completely! The filth, the grit, the sex and the drugs...all there.

The author is a creative, intelligent and artistic person who has walked on both sides of the light and dark places and has written a valuable book about addiction. A person gets everything they ever thought they wanted...but still can’t fill up that empty space, so they keep trying to fill it with excess. It’s crazy. Hats off to the author for being sober as a judge without losing any of his cool and for sharing the fact that his heart and perspective have grown.

3 people found this helpful

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Maiden Chic 666

Going to be a Great Read.

Reviewed in Canada on May 3, 2024

Verified Purchase

Book arrived quickly and in fairly good condition (was used) I am looking forward to reading it as I have been told repeatedly it is very good. I have leafed through it a little bit and it does look like its going to be good.

Lisa

Tolles Buch!

Reviewed in Germany on June 3, 2024

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Tragische Geschichten, die von ihm rückblickend kommentiert wurden. Ist echt super lesen, unterhaltsam und abschreckend zugleich. Tolle grafische Gestaltung des Buches!

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Alejandra

Perfecto

Reviewed in Mexico on December 31, 2023

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Perfecto

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Client d'Amazon

Nice

Reviewed in France on May 14, 2020

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Very good book that gives you a look into the 80's rock scenes and into the mind of a drug addict.

Cliente Amazon

Nikki Sixx come non ve lo sareste immaginati

Reviewed in Italy on September 4, 2017

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A dieci anni dalla prima pubblicazioni la bellissima bio concentrata su un anno cruciale della pazza rockband dei Mötley Crüe raccontata attraverso il diario del fondatore e bassista Nikki Sixx ha sempre il suo fascino. Il libro è arricchito da integrazioni dell'autore, precisazioni di molti protagonisti dell'epoca e degli altri componenti del gruppo, versi e testi di alcune canzoni scritte da Nikki stesso quale principale autore di tutte le canzoni e testi delle canzoni dei Mötley Crüe. Dall'account ufficiale di Nikki Sixx sui social pare sia in uscita una versione riedita per festeggiare l'anniversario decennale. Consiglio la lettura anche perché gli introiti vanno tutti in beneficienza ad un'associazione che si occupa di portare i ragazzi via dalla strada e dalla droga.

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