Permanent Midnight

A Memoir (20th Anniversary Edition)

By: Jerry Stahl, Nic Sheff - foreword

Narrated by: Jerry Stahl, Scott Merriman

Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

“An extraordinary accomplishment.... A remarkable book that will be of great value to people who feel isolated, alienated and overwhelmed by the circumstances of their lives.” --Hubert Selby, Jr., author of Last Exit to Brooklyn

“[Stahl] is a better-than-Burroughs virtuoso.” --Thomas Mallon, The New Yorker

“Original, appalling, indelible picture of a man trying to swim and drown at the same time. Stahl has nerve, heart, a language of his own and a ghastly, riotous humor.” --Tobias Wolff, author of This Boy’s Life

“Permanent Midnight is one of the most harrowing and toughest accounts ever written in this century about what it means to be a junkie in America, making Burroughs look dated and Kerouac appear as the nose-thumbing adolescent he was.” --Booklist

A searing confessional infused with the darkest humor, Permanent Midnight chronicles the opiated abyss of a Hollywood screenwriter and his formidable climb into sobriety.

Made into a major motion picture starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, Permanent Midnight is revered by critics and an ever-growing cult of devoted fans as one of the most compelling contemporary memoirs.

©2015 by Jerry Stahl (P)2015 by Rare Bird Books, all rights reserved. Music © 2015 by Joe Cardamone.

Gritty, no holds-bar, gut wrenching... HEROIN

Wow, where do I begin? This is as real as it gets. You want to know about heroin addiction?
This book is it. I laughed, I cringed, I was astonished. By far thee most down in the dumpster pit of addiction I've yet to read/listen to.
This blows the movie away.
Get this!
BRAVO to JS for having the soul-searching honesty to write this

Good story, distracting music

The story is real and raw and entertaining. The problem is that there is this awful jazzy music playing in the background the whole time. I tried getting my credit back, it was that distracting for me. I regretted this purchase.

Memoir assignment

I read Permanent Midnight for an assignment in my addictions class. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the story. I usually don’t do audiobooks but out of necessity I tried it. The music realllyyyyy ruined it for me. I think the story suffered because of it, but Jerry’s detailed recall and vulnerability was captivating!

Human Condition

This dude had a crazy life. Got it all and lost it all. Only in America.

WOW; Brutally Honest!

From page one gut reaching, raw and real addiction experiences of Jerry Stahl. The asks over and over- How is this man still alive? He truly has an Angel on his shoulder.
Well worth the read!

Such an unforgettable book ruined by frenetic guitar riffs

Honestly, I love this book and I enjoyed the voice of the narrator. I was so put off by the constant distraction of the background “music” (if you could call it that). It sounded like a meetup for 80s hair band guitarists, all warming up at once on an echoey stage. It made listening to this book resemble a subtle form of torture.

Couldn’t get past the strange background noise

The book was interesting but there’s an odd background sound that’s very faint, but super noticeable. I can’t tell if it’s music and supposed to be there or something else.

Great book, bad production

Not to beat a dead horse but the music ruins it. I read the print version years ago and liked it a lot. wanted to revisit it so i bought the audiobook. I can't listen for more than 30 minutes at a time because of the music and tin can audio.

Overwhelming

Beautifully captured debauchery. No one romanticizes addiction better. Exceptionally well written and voiced. Fantastic read.

Annoying background music

It would have been nice if the publisher released a version without the annoying background music that destroys the ability to enjoy the book