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AUDIO BOOK, LIMITED EDITION HARDCOVER & PAPERBACK OUT NOW
From Music to Addiction
“An extraordinary glimpse into the mind and experiences of an intellectually and artistically gifted person, and his descent into a world of chaos and addiction. And that music! It could be considered something of a miracle that Smith is alive to be able to share this profoundly moving story.” —Ivan H.
More than a musical memoir
"Free Fall: Two Decades of Rock 'n' Roll and Addiction, 1979-1999" invites the reader into an intimate conspiracy that confronts the "wrong knowing" that plagues addiction and mental health.
Free Fall is not a book about getting better: it is the story of how one gets sick and doesn't notice. A cautionary account of the extraordinary risks to literally living for a song, Free Fall is also an inadvertent love letter to the songwriting of the late Sixties through the Seventies, to vinyl records and their precious liner notes and artwork, and to the pre-internet era of broadcast radio's last golden age. An era when a DJ was often the guru of the social media of its time, and the impoverished, transient lifestyle of a musical troubadour still held a shred of dignity within a larger, fading myth.
A Practical Approach to Untangling the Patterns of Addiction
All of the chapters in Free Fall are short, with the first seven chapters illuminating many of the cultural, biological, philosophical intersections that conspire to propel addiction and its stigmas. Simple, bullet point suggestions on to help those who suffer are included; these often contain sensible, two sentence metaphors to help untangle addiction's maddening complexities.
Advance Praise
"Poetic, gritty, intelligent, painful, sad and intense..."
"I especially enjoyed reading about the songs and then playing them."
"Poetic, gritty, intelligent, painful, sad and intense..."
"Brilliantly capturing the difficult human evolution from the unconscious to the conscious. So helpful to me to see this tenacious learning, loving, and insistence upon music amongst all the suffering.”
—Shannon W.
"Some stories need to be told. This is one of them."
"I especially enjoyed reading about the songs and then playing them."
"Poetic, gritty, intelligent, painful, sad and intense..."
"From chaos comes clarity and depth rarely found on the printed page; out of the shadows and devastation come hope and healing. Smith has achieved a remarkable feat: artfully combining educational and psychological theory on addiction and human development with a profound personal backstory. A powerful book!"
—Jane K.
"I especially enjoyed reading about the songs and then playing them."
"I especially enjoyed reading about the songs and then playing them."
"I especially enjoyed reading about the songs and then playing them."
“I had to put it down several times, as tears of sorrow and happiness, at different times, would arrive. I wanted to be present for them. I especially enjoyed reading about the songs and then playing them; they brought a new layer of meaning, like having two books in one.”
—Ellery H.
"A reflection on the significance of suffering."
"There are not enough words to express how I felt reading Free Fall."
"I especially enjoyed reading about the songs and then playing them."
“This story is one of loss, betrayal and victimization; of generosity, “benevolent synchronicity” and resilience. His prose style is both immediate and detached, lyrical and matter of fact, complemented by the poetry of his elliptical and layered songs. Now an esteemed psychotherapist, he has written a work of “affective empathy,” offering encouragement to persons with substance use disorders and guidance to those who wish to help them."
—Margaret T-S.
"To be slowly savoured and reflected upon."
"There are not enough words to express how I felt reading Free Fall."
"There are not enough words to express how I felt reading Free Fall."
“I usually tear through books, but I find Free Fall a book to be slowly savoured and reflected upon. It calls to me on so many levels.”
—Susan F.
"There are not enough words to express how I felt reading Free Fall."
"There are not enough words to express how I felt reading Free Fall."
"There are not enough words to express how I felt reading Free Fall."
“There has been a lot of addiction in my family. Going through her “Red Giant,” my stepsister ended up taking her own life. My father also suffered from addiction and died from related causes five years ago. I have always had a hard time with comments saying it was his fault. I didn’t really understand their predicament until I read the first 30 pages of your book. Society has only told me it is the person with addiction’s fault and choice to continue in their addiction. That they should have been strong enough to overcome it. This idea never felt right. Free Fall is helping me in this. And I love the music!”
—Erin K.
Choose How to Experience "Free Fall"
Author Narrated Audio Book with Music
Limited Edition Signed Hardcover with Music Package
Limited Edition Signed Hardcover with Music Package
Narrated by the author himself, Free Fall: Two Decades of Rock 'n' Roll and Addiction, 1979-1999, is more than a musical memoir. Beginning with a candid author's note that invites the reader into an intimate conspiracy with the music, the entirety of Free Fall can be more deeply understood within these songs and their lyrics. All of the songs of Free Fall are included in the audio book, as well as other thoughtful musical artifacts.
Limited Edition Signed Hardcover with Music Package
Limited Edition Signed Hardcover with Music Package
Limited Edition Signed Hardcover with Music Package
First-run hardcover editions of Free Fall are accompanied by music: both a compact disc and a flash drive contain 21 original songs that were composed and recorded during this same era, all by an intermittently homeless young man hurtling towards end-stage addiction. The entirety of Free Fall can be understood within these lyrics, and they broaden the reader to listener.
Paperback with a free track download
Limited Edition Signed Hardcover with Music Package
Paperback with a free track download
First of a two-book series, “Free Fall” is a true-life musical memoir. 20 years of rock 'n' roll adventure—one that was frequently thrilling and brave.
And doomed from the start. Paperback editions include a QR code for one free track download. Additional music tracks are available for separate purchase.
About the Author
Bradley Thomas Smith is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor and a Licensed Advanced Alcohol and other Drug Counselor at a major university in Los Angeles, where he also teaches. There he is the Director of The Center for Collegiate Recovery, guiding initiatives for Prevention, Early Intervention, and Harm Reduction for Substance Use Disorders. Bradley is also a psychotherapist in private practice and the bandleader of the classic rock musical group, “Leo Clarus"—The Clear Lion. He is twenty-four years sober.
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