FREEDOM, ADDICTION AND HAPPINESS: What Happens When the Search for Transcendence Goes Awry?

An exploration of the "holy hell" of addiction and the journey to discovering true happiness

with author and NPR contributor Heather KING, and Irish Times columnist and renowned social commentator John WATERS

Presented by Crossroads Cultural Center

What is this thirst we all have for happiness, for greatness, for love? Why can it never be quenched? Is it something to be conquered, or is it what makes us the most human? We are pleased to have with us authors Heather King and John Waters who will help us navigate these questions and the quest for fulfillment. They will describe their wild path to freedom, by way of addiction. By facing the "holy hell" of their bottomless need, they discovered a truer and fuller humanity than could have otherwise been expected. Join us for a lively dialouge at The Last Bookstore in Downtown Los Angeles, followed by a Q&A and a chance to meet the authors. I once heard a sober alcoholic say that drinking never made him happy, but it made him feel like he was going to be happy in about fifteen minutes. That was exactly it, and I couldn’t understand why the happiness never came, couldn’t see the flaw in my thinking, couldn’t see that alcohol kept me trapped in a world of illusion, procrastination, paralysis. I lived always in the future, never in the present. Next time, next time! Next time I drank it would be different, next time it would make me feel good again. And all my efforts were doomed, because already drinking hadn’t made me feel good in years.
from Parched by Heather King It doesn't really matter how much you drink. Nor is it a matter of frequency, regularity or even drunkenness. The real problem is when you allow this companionable drug to worm its way into where your irreducible 'I' ought to be. from “Ireland’s Alcohol Culture” by John Waters The event is open to the public and free of charge. Reserve today for preferred seating www.addiction.eventbrite.com

About this Event

Date: Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Time: 7:00 pm
Location: The Last Bookstore
453 South Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA

About the Speakers

Heather King
Author, speaker, creative consultant

John Waters
Journalist for The Irish Times, author and playwright

Invitation

Download the Invitation here

Transcript

Not available

Photos - click on image below