Author: Lorelie Rozzano

Publisher: rebel ink press

ISBN: 978-1-940315-39-3

In her most recent novel, Jagged Little Lies, Lorelie Rozzano sensitively explores the devastating impact of how drug dependency affected the lives of four individuals, Declan, his girlfriend Miranda, his mother Susan and Lyndsey. It should be mentioned that Rozzano herself has personal experience with drug addiction and has been clean and sober for seventeen years. She also has been working with both patients and their families since 1998.

The novel is structured around the personal accounts of these four characters who are meticulously and finely thrown together. Through these deftly portrayed human beings Rozzano captures the formidable struggle they endure. Each are permitted to present their own unique perspectives concerning their addiction and the destructive power it has over their lives and their families. Questions as to why and how did drugs hook them continually surface throughout the narrative.

We read about Declan's horrendous experiences behind prison bars, his mother's refusal to admit that both he and she have a serious drug problem and that he can do no wrong, Miranda, who is obsessively in love with Declan, will do anything to help him satisfy his drug appetite, and Lyndsey, who has “been there and done that” and has heard it all before.

Readers are reminded that the behavior of addicts is wholly irrational and above all they love excuses, blaming somebody else or something else for their downfall and unless they understand that they are completely powerless over their addiction and seek out structured help, they have no chance of overcoming their enslavement.

I have to admit that this moving work is not exactly a beach read as Rozzano leaves very little to the imagination with her candid and vivid observations. In addition, she certainly does not overstate and embellish the condition these individuals find themselves trapped in as she demonstrates a strong grasp of the complexities of drug addicts.

Jagged Little Lies is an intelligent novel filled with high expertise concerning drug addiction and its consequences. Rozzano effectively demonstrates her talent to write persuasively about a highly emotional issue without sermonizing. The message conveyed is very clear- there is nothing glamorous in becoming an addict wherein accidents, crime, domestic violence, illness, lost opportunity, unrealized career goals, and reduced productivity can often be its direct consequences.

Just in passing, according to The National Institute on Drug Abuse, illicit drug use in America has been on the increase. In 2012, an estimated 23.9 million Americans aged 12 or older—or 9.2 percent of the population—had used an illicit drug or abused a psycho-therapeutic medication (such as a pain reliever, stimulant, or tranquilizer) in the past month. This is up from 8.3 percent in 2002. This is approximately one in every ten Americans. What is even more startling is that many of these addicts have difficulty in accessing treatment.

Lorelie Rozzano is an author, mother, grandmother and family councillor for Edgewood Treatment Center in Nanaimo, British Columbia.  As she mentioned in her bio, “she works a program for recovery herself and really understands, first-hand, the benefits of healthy families.” Rozzano has also written two other fiction books, Gracie's Secret and Jagged Little Edges.

Follow Here To Read Norm's Interview With Lorelie Rozzano

Follow HereTo Purchase Jagged Little Lies