8 Comments

The novel is very good. Also set in the Bronx! It's much better than the film. Last Exit to Brooklyn is a great novel

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Last Exit to Brooklyn. Man, I haven’t heard anyone mention that film in decades. Some movie scenes get stuck in your head forever and can never be unseen.

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Cross eyed with stupidity. Genius.

I was going to say, and don’t forget Drugstore Cowboy and the next sentence…And then, but Ellen Burstyn’s Sara Goldfarb…

Great piece of writing.

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That was one of the most poignant things you’ve ever written. My daughter was addicted to pills and alcohol. One day she called her father because he had the money to get her into rehab. She’s 6 years clean. Goes to N.A. meetings and volunteers at rehabs and assists people straight to meetings. I think she will do this forever because she is grateful to be alive. She’s lost so many friends.

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I loved this. What an incredible ability to transport your readers. And I agree. I watched RFAD when it first came out on DVD and shrugged.

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Every now and then I’ll watch an AA-focused movie (When a Man Loves a Woman was actually pretty good! 28 Days was a star vehicle for Sandra Bullock!). Love your deep dive into how the 90s style undermined this one, melded with your personal history.

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That was so good, John! Full power to you, mate. Love your writing!

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It was a film popularized when I was in junior high which I was CLEARLY too young for but thought was the pinnacle of edgy at the time. It still haunts me

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