The Night of the Gun: A reporter investigates the darkest story of his life. His own.

A confessional account of the author's struggles with addiction traces his rise from a crack house regular to a columnist for "The New York Times," describing his experiences with rehabilitation, cancer, and single parenthood. "Do we remember only the stories we can live with? The ones that make us look good in the rearview mirror? In "The Night of the Gun," David Carr redefines memoir with the revelatory story of his years as an addict and chronicles his journey from crack-house regular to regular columnist for "The New York Times." Built on sixty videotaped interviews, legal and medical records, and three years of reporting, "The Night of the Gun" is a ferocious tale that uses the tools of journalism to fact-check the past. Carr's investigation of his own history reveals that his odyssey through addiction, recovery, cancer, and life as a single parent was far more harrowing--and, in the end, more miraculous--than he allowed himself to remember. In one sense, the story of "The Night of the Gun" is a common one--a white-boy misdemeanant lands in a ditch and is restored to sanity through the love of his family, a God of his understanding, and a support group that will go unnamed. But when the whole truth is told, it does not end there. As a reporter and columnist at the nation's best newspaper, he prospered, but gained no more adeptness at mood-altering substances. He set out to become a nice suburban alcoholic and succeeded all too well, including two more arrests, one that included a night in jail wearing a tuxedo. Ferocious and eloquent, courageous and bitingly funny, "The Night of the Gun" unravels the ways memory helps us not only create our lives, but survive them."--Publisher description From David Carr (1956–2015), the "undeniably brilliant and dogged journalist" ( Entertainment Weekly ) and author of the instant New York Times bestseller that the Chicago Sun-Times called "a compelling tale of drug abuse, despair, and, finally, hope." Do we remember only the stories we can live with? The ones that make us look good in the rearview mirror? In The Night of the Gun , David Carr redefines memoir with the revelatory story of his years as an addict and chronicles his journey from crack-house regular to regular columnist for The New York Times . Built on sixty videotaped interviews, legal and medical records, and three years of reporting, The Night of the Gun is a ferocious tale that uses the tools of journalism to fact-check the past. Carr's investigation of his own history reveals that his odyssey through addiction, recovery, cancer, and life as a single parent was far more harrowing—and, in the end, more miraculous—than he allowed himself to remember. Fierce, gritty, and remarkable, The Night of the Gun is "an odyssey you'll find hard to forget" ( People ). "New York Times" reporter and columnist Carr crafts a groundbreaking memoir on his years as an addict. Built on more than 50 videotaped interviews with people from his past, Carr's investigation of his own history reveals a past far more harrowing than he allowed himself to remember