Chasing the Scream: The Inspiration for the Feature Film "The United States vs. Billie Holiday"

Johann Hari

Jan 2015 · Bloomsbury Publishing USA

About this ebook

The New York Times Bestseller

What if everything you think you know about addiction is wrong? Johann Hari's journey into the heart of the war on drugs led him to ask this question--and to write the book that gave rise to his viral TED talk, viewed more than 62 million times, and inspired the feature film The United States vs. Billie Holiday and the documentary series The Fix.

One of Johann Hari's earliest memories is of trying to wake up one of his relatives and not being able to. As he grew older, he realized he had addiction in his family. Confused, not knowing what to do, he set out and traveled over 30,000 miles over three years to discover what really causes addiction--and what really solves it.

He uncovered a range of remarkable human stories--of how the war on drugs began with Billie Holiday, the great jazz singer, being stalked and killed by a racist policeman; of the scientist who discovered the surprising key to addiction; and of the countries that ended their own war on drugs--with extraordinary results.

Chasing the Scream is the story of a life-changing journey that transformed the addiction debate internationally--and showed the world that the opposite of addiction is connection.

Ratings and reviews

The sweat and tears and non-judgemental intelligence that was put into making this book is unparalleled. Johann Hari is such an incredible journalist, writer, and human being. This book should be read by every person, whether or not you have been an "addict" is obsolete. This book is amazing, eye-opening, and heart wrenchingly just. When we thought there was no humanity left in journalism, or in our world, Hari searched the world to show us otherwise.

An absolutely fantastic read that turned everything I thought about addiction on it's head. I was always against the drug war, but this book only hardened my opinion about it's failures and it's victims while also giving me hope that this can end and it will soon.

Hari not only provides a sweeping argument against the war on drugs, but simultaneously tells stories with uncanny narrative tactics that make you feel like you're in the movies watching his book. Hari is genuine. Chasing is not just a book. He explains his methodology and offers a ton of resources to learn more and become active in the fight back. Check out his website. Tell your friends. Spread the news.

About the author

Johann Hari is the author of Lost Connections. He was twice named Newspaper Journalist of the Year by Amnesty International UK. He has written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and others, and he is a regular panelist on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher. His TED talk, “Everything You Think You Know About Addiction Is Wrong,” and the animation based on it have more than twenty million views. Hari lives in London.