Book Review: Basketball Junkie

"Basketball Junkie" is a memoir on Fall River’s own Chris Herren, a small town hero who possessed the skills to make it to the NBA.

Growing up in a troubled house hold, Herren tells us what it was like to basically have the world on his shoulders, or so it seemed. Herren tells us in great detail all the trouble he used to get into during his high school years, and how his brother was his role model. The book offers an interesting viewpoint of his parents, who were more concerned with his performance on the basketball court than his academic performance.

The book is great for high school kids, and specifically for student athletes, who definitely can empathize with Chris’s struggle to perform on the basketball court and make everyone happy. The book is also great for kids because it teaches the reader about the danger of drugs and alcohol.

Throughout the novel, Chris has an excessive drug and alcohol problem, which ultimately stops him from achieving his life-long goals and dreams. As much as Herren wanted to stop the drugs and get his life straightened out, he just couldn’t. There was no way for Chris to escape the grasp of the many drugs that had consumed his life.

Ultimately this is a great book and a tremendous life lesson on how to do the right thing and not get consumed by drugs and alcohol. Herren was eventually able to escape the drugs and alcohol and is now spreading drug and alcohol abuse awareness. This is definitely a must read, and a great book for everyone, not just sports lovers!