Speed Writing

Dear Diary: Stephen Elliott'sThe Adderall Diaries (Graywolf) careens between true-crime gonzo journalism (why would a man from San Francisco's S&M scene falsely confess he strangled his former lover to death?) and his own long dark journey into the self (why does this help him beat his writer's block?). Bounding from amphetamine-fueled memories of his brutal past to the tortures of the present day—depression, drug addiction, and heartbreak—Elliott ruthlessly flays the truth past the point of tears, to heights of consciousness achievable only through the masochistic act of writing. Elliott may be writing under the influence, but it's the influence of genius.

E. S.