When the "black mist" overcame him, Stuart would become paranoid, angry and violent. At one point, he threatened his girlfriend with a knife, then threatened to kill their infant son if the police stormed the house. Over the years he racked up a conviction sheet 20 pages thick and came close, many times, to killing himself. He was addicted to glue, alcohol and heroin, and engaged in frequent bouts of self-mutilation using razors and glass. He led, as he said, "a very controversial, unpleasant life."

Yet the Stuart depicted in this book was also a man with a fierce sense of justice and honor — a frank, funny, eloquent and often thoughtful individual, who eventually got himself off the streets and into a detox program and became an advocate for the homeless.

# posted by Gerry Canavan @ 10:14 AM  |